YellowFile

Beautyful Minds:

So what would you, as a parent, rather? A teacher with above-average but not stellar results, who is patient, dedicated and caring, or a teacher with stellar results, but is less caring, dedicated and patient with students?

Hmmm. I was thinking a little about your question there: stellar results vs dedication.

I'm not a parent (yet, lol), but I'm was a teacher in 2 separate secondary schools and now a private tutor. Having been a teacher in a school setting and now in a private setting, I think a good teacher is someone who has dedication and expertise in the subject he or she is teaching.

This doesn't necessarily mean stellar results, because someone who can achieve good results may not have the expertise to help other people achieve the same kind of results. The skills to help people improve in their studies is not the same set as the one to score in examinations.

So, coming back to the question, I believe a teacher with dedication will naturally have the initiative to hone his or her skills in teaching that subject. That skill may be picked up more easily by some teachers compared to others, but ultimately, it has to be learned and it is not innate.

Ms Peh

yiguangchen:

Perhaps as a priority, you should get your child to first learn to speak grammatically, and worry about the enunciation later (opinions might differ on this). A tutor with strong verbal ability in this would be helpful.


Cheers

Well said Many Singaporean students have trouble with basic grammar but they don't recognize the need to learn that well before embarking on an ambitious endeavor like doing creative writing.

What happens then is that you'll have written pieces of compositions sprinkled with grammatical errors and awkwardly placed descriptive phrases, which are obviously memorized from a list given in school.

Being an English tutor myself, this is what I'd do if I were to look for an English tutor for my child:

1. TESOL or MOE trained. A good writer may not necessarily know how to teach English. A person needs to be trained to know the parts of speech of the language and be able to explain why words or phrases are used wrongly, especially if the student doesn't grow up in an English speaking environment. Unlike those whose first language is English, students whose first language is not English really struggle to understand English grammar rules. They need someone who can explain WHY something is right or wrong, not just point out what is right or wrong. Huge difference there!

2. Familiarity with examination syllabus. Knowing what the examination encompasses enables the tutor to plan ahead and decide what to do during lessons throughout the year, so that each lesson is not just an individual one, but one that fits neatly into the entire scheme. In this way, you can be sure that your child goes through a comprehensive training with the tutor and is sufficiently prepared for his or her exam.

3. X-factor or the personal touch. Like it or not, students learn from teachers they like (lol). They are more willing to attend lessons and more open to learn if they respect the teacher. Most tutors are personable people but this is something I'd still look out for.

4. Experience. Teachers with experience can forewarn their students of possible pitfalls, which can potentially save your child many marks or even make a huge difference to his or her learning. Very valuable indeed!

Feel free to pm me if you have questions about English as a subject or about finding a good tutor for your child.

Hope that helps!
Ms Peh
http://englishtutorsingapore.org