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tutors or English tutors for this matter, provide support both for the child
and the parents. These professionals are engaged when the parents deem that
their child requires additional help in his studies - a help which, in most
cases, can’t be provided by the parents themselves due to time constraints.
It is for
these reasons that establishing mutual trust and respect between the parents
and the tutors is crucial. If you’re an English tutor, allow us to share with
you a few tips on the etiquette for tutors, on the point of view of an English tuition
centre in Singapore.
Set boundaries. As a tutor, your first order of
business is to set up an appropriate learning space and personal boundaries.
But, in addition to these, you should also set English as the primary means of
communication, upfront. An exception is using a native language sparingly when
elaborating a particularly difficult topic.
Do not spoon-feed. Spoon-feeding practices tend to
impede self-learning. So, instead of excessively providing the child with
definite answers, allow him to discover his mistakes and use these
opportunities to encourage him to come up with his own solutions. As the saying
suggests, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man to
fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Don’t force new concepts. Although it’s acceptable to use
other materials, it’s important to teach the child what he is interested in
learning. For instance, if the student hired you to learn a specific lesson or
practice a certain skill set, it’s crucial to instruct accordingly. As it turns
out, the “customer is king” concept applies to English tuitions in Singapore,
as well.
Promote cultural sensitivity. In some cases, an English
language learner is from a different cultural background thus, has a different
set of values and perspectives from their tutors. If you’re in the same
situation, it is important that you are being mindful of the cultural
environment you are in and act accordingly. Better yet, you can be selective about
your students.
Don’t do the work for the child. As part
of avoiding spoon-feeding practices, you should never complete your student’s
work on their behalf. Otherwise, you are cheating your student out of valuable
skills practice, of which you are paid for in the first place. What you can do
is to avoid explicit error correction and instead, ask your student to scan for
their mistakes on their own.
Do not mentally and emotionally stress the child. On top of
all these, never use harsh and demoralizing words to the child. You are paid to
provide support whenever your student experiences difficulty in school and not
to add on his stresses. It’s crucial to empathize with the child and if you’re
contributing to his emotional and mental stresses, you can inflict long-lasting
consequences upon him.
To
conclude this article, it’s important to trust your own judgment. Exercise
caution and set clear expectations to eliminate issues in the end.
