VoRTCS - Volunteer Refugee Tutoring & Community Support Program

Other useful tips

Correction
It is hard to know how often to correct the students:

do you correct every single mistake they make?
do you not correct them and hope they learn the correct way?
do you correct mistakes in their speech or just their written work?

Speaking a language relates so much to ego and confidence, as it affects how you present yourself and how you are seen by others.

Tutors need to be careful not to damage the students’ confidence by pulling them up on every single mistake. On the other hand, some corrections do need to be made in order that they learn to speak English well.

One way to correct the student's oral English is by ‘modeling’, which is by demonstrating the correct version of what they say as a part of conversation, eg:

Student: Yesterday, I goed to the park.
Tutor: Oh, you went to the park? What did you do there?
Student: Yeah, I went to the park, and we played on the swings.

Another possible strategy is to correct mistakes in written English more often than in spoken. This can allow the students an opportunity to speak without hesitation, while they can still learn the correct grammar and syntax through the writing.

Basically there is no one way of teaching English. You will quickly get a feel for what works with your students and what form of correction they respond best to and learn the most from.

Praise
You CANNOT over praise these students in their learning. Think about when you tried to learn another language, and how hard that was – particularly if you started as an adult.

Most students lack confidence in their ability to read, write and speak English, and even though they may pretend not to care, will significantly benefit from receiving reassurance that they are doing well.

It is important to understand that they might also be embarrassed about their level of English, and to support all their efforts and improvements, no matter how minor.

Always be warm, encouraging, supportive and praise your students. It is possible to praise your students without sounding condescending – you just have to be genuine and not over-the-top.

For every criticism you make of a student's work, it is a good idea to try to give two compliments.

Pronunciation
Many African students will mix up their 'ch' and 'sh' sounds, as these letters are pronounced oppositely in their languages. In addition, the vowel sounds are very difficult to master.

A few suggestions for helping your students learn how to pronounce and spell words correctly are:

read to your students a lot;
get your students to read to you
make a list of words that share the same phonics, eg. all the ”ate” words - late, gate, hate.
make a list of sounds, eg. all these letters can make the sound “or” - or, aw, oa, our, ore.
make lists or do activities based around 'blends' of more than one consonant, eg. br, pl, dr, ck etc.

Dealing with distractions
While it can be difficult with the whole family being tutored in the living areas of the house, try to minimize distractions where possible. If one student is easily distracted by another member of the household, try to ensure that they stay separated. If one lacks confidence, try to make sure that they can work somewhere where their siblings won’t correct them or laugh at their attempts.

Remember that attention spans can vary, and many factors can affect a student’s attention span – including hunger, tiredness, stress, and trauma issues. Change activities regularly, and try to come up with something fun to do each session.

It is important to be patient with your student, and remind them to focus on what they are doing where necessary. Don’t set unrealistic goals for them, such as finishing an entire book when it will take them an hour to puzzle out the words. Setting unrealistic goals will result in your student getting frustrated and upset that they are not able to meet them. Try to make it easier, such as reading every second page in a book yourself, or reading a few pages each week until they are able to read the entire book themselves. You can also read shorter stories or rhymes, or get your students to write short stories for each other to read.

Students’ behaviour
In terms of encouraging good behaviour, praising your students is a useful strategy. You can also encourage them to take pride in their work by keep pencils sharp, their books neat, and getting them to help you pack up etc. The students will look to you for clues as to what behaviour is or isn't acceptable. You need to set the limits so that the students know whether or not what they are doing is right or wrong.

To settle a student down, you might need to go for a walk for 5 minutes, or make sure you study away from another student if they are being distracted. If a student is being particularly disruptive, you might need to agree on a list of rules between the two of you, or a reward system. For any ongoing or serious trouble, talk to your coordinators.

What is most important is that the students know that for an hour each week they have someone's full attention. This is a big deal given that family life is fairly chaotic, and even better that the attention you give them is in English!

How do we get the right tone for tutoring sessions?
It is important to remember that as tutors, you are responsible for creating the atmosphere that you want to tutor in. It doesn’t need to be all work, work work, but neither should the students be running riot, or walking in and out of the room whenever they feel like it. Try to find a happy middle ground, where everyone works at the start of the tutoring session, and then you all play a game at the end.
Tutoring should be approached with a sense of fun and a positive attitude. You as a tutor are responsible for creating this atmosphere. If the kids see that you are enjoying yourself, it will create similar feelings in them and ensure that they get the most out of the tutoring program. Children will be more likely to participate and have fun when you set up a situation which encourages participation and enjoyment, and actively engages each child.

Remember that your student may not achieve things quickly, so don’t lose patience or get discouraged. Learning a language takes time! Any help you can offer them will definitely make a difference in the long run.

While still encouraging work, it can often help to make tutoring sessions as fun as possible - particularly where working with younger children. Doing practical activities can be fun, and writing and performing songs can enhance children’s confidence in writing and speaking English just as much as reading a book aloud.

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