English Tuition Bolton GCSE/GCE Literature and Creative Writing: How English Tuition boosts Confidence and Grades!

I recently posted parts of the following ‘interview’ on Superprof’s excellent new site. I reproduce aspects of the interview below,  as the interview about English Tuition proved very fruitful in terms of personal and professional reflection. I know that I modelled my tutoring approach around my positive experiences of teaching and I also know that I learned from some teaching approaches that I found less constructive. Effective English Tuition requires trust, respect and active listening as well as excellent subject knowledge and preparation. When a student feels safe to try out new ideas and to really think about their English Studies, they learn more deeply and grow in self-assurance.

Good Teachers. 

Definitely, two stand out. I had a wonderful English Teacher when I lived in Marple and she gave me the validation that I needed to believe in myself, especially when other teachers were less enthusiastic. I remember when I moved schools and was not happy, I used to recall her comments as a means to reaffirm my self-belief. Enthusiasm matters!  And at University, my tutor Steve never said a dull word. His tutorials were wonderful and showed me that thinking for myself involved courage and daring but made learning utterly special. I remember handing in a very worthy, ‘safe’ essay and when it came back he had written that writers were like ‘secret agents’ and that the reader cannot tell if they are actually on the side of good or bad. I had never thought about reading or writing in this way. I felt opened up to another way of thinking. I decided to be intellectually honest and daring in my writing and reading. 

 

What makes an effective tutor? 

A good tutor shows care and respect for all students. They listen properly. They listen actively. Have excellent knowledge of their subject. But prepared to say, ‘that’s a super question and I don’t know. But I will find out/have a think.’ A good sense of humour. And NEVER put a student down. If a student goes off track with their thinking, I always bring them back to the text and try a different way of looking at the problem. Learning to argue is essential for academic learning and for life. Being able to argue one’s point of view boosts confidence and is a very useful life skill!

 

 

A story about learning and confidence. 

When I was a student at Liverpool I was in a group I was sure,  knew far more than me. They were well spoken, articulate and confident. So I kept silent, week after week. It felt like Tuesday morning torture! I dreaded it.

But then one day ( we were studying Heart Of Darkness that week) I just didn’t agree at all with the discussion. And I sat there, silently fuming. Luckily my tutor picked on me.

’What do you think  Janet? ‘ he said.’

So I burst out what I felt and my tutor smiled and said, ‘You know what, I think you’re right.’

I was flabbergasted and then realised that being silent was not helping anyone. Least of all myself and certainly not the tutor or the group. The dynamic was wrong. I remember this still. Learning needs courage. You have to dare to listen to your own voice and speak up.