Iona F

Year 8 Spanish

I tutored this student with severe ADHD for a year in Spanish. His parents reached out to me as he was struggling in his Spanish classes and finding it difficult to stay on task. These sessions were challenging as due to time constraints we had no choice but to work together at a time when he was off his medications, meaning he was very distracted. I was very patient with him and worked closely with him and his parents to create activities he was more engaged in (more visual, with real-life examples). We also shortened sessions from 1 hour to 45 minutes and introduced short breaks to accommodate attention spans.

Year 10 French

I tutored this student for several months with a focus on French grammar. She was quite weak on the fundamentals of grammar, so we returned to the basics and reviewed all of the French grammar she had already been taught at school but hadn’t really understood, in line with the themes and vocabulary she was learning in class. We also used reading texts to improve her comprehension and recognition of grammar (such as tenses and verb endings) that she had learned. After several months of working together, she was up to speed with her class and much more confident in her language skills.

IGCSE French (Cambridge)

I tutored this Year 11 student (Sevenoaks School) for a year to prepare him for his GCSE French exam. While he was a strong student, there were many gaps in his learning, and so the first few sessions were focused on identifying these gaps. Ultimately we identified areas of concern in some of the grammar (such as the future simple tense, imperfect tense, prepositions) and his listening. Our lessons were therefore grammar heavy and included speaking in the language as well as listening exercises to improve his comprehension. I also recognised that he struggled with time management, so in the lead up to exams we created a revision timetable for all of his subjects, which included breaking down French revision by grammar concept, topic and comprehension skill. I checked in regularly and worked with his parents to ensure he was sticking to this timetable, and he ultimately received an 8 on his GCSE.

IGCSE German (Cambridge)

I tutored this Year 11 student (St Paul’s) for a year to prepare him for his German GCSE. His parents reached out as they were concerned after he received a 5 in his mocks. His grammar was very weak, so we worked through the syllabus together and combined this with oral conversation around topics of his interest, then moving on to topics in the curriculum. He was very motivated, and I was able to work through past papers with him and set him work such as grammar exercises and vocabulary lists which took him from a 5 to his goal of an 8 in his exam!

GCSE German (Edexcel)

I tutored a Year 11 student (Sevenoaks School) for her German GCSE, having previously tutored her in French. She was lacking confidence in her spoken German and felt overwhelmed by the amount of work she had to do for GCSEs. While her grammar was quite strong and she was very high-achieving, her confidence had been knocked by issues at school. We prepared for the oral examination by speaking in German consistently and practising the specific themes in different ways (such as through general conversation and roleplays). We had previously built a rapport given I had worked with her in French, and by providing individualised support she felt able to make mistakes and learn. We identified high-quality vocabulary and sophisticated sentence structures for her to use, and techniques such as taking time to think before articulating her thoughts and starting out more simple before moving on to more complex structures. Tutoring also focused heavily on past paper revision and closely reviewing GCSE mark schemes together, which meant that when it came time to take her exams recently she felt prepared and knew how to approach each question. I also provided her parents with advice as to how to best support her oral preparation.

IGCSE German (Cambridge)

I tutored a high-achieving student for five months leading up to her German GCSE. She was very clear that she needed to work on her grammar as well as her speaking and writing. After discussing with her and her mother, I developed a study roadmap at the beginning of the five months, and we set up a WhatsApp chat with all three of us where she could ask me questions if needed and send through her work regularly, going above and beyond our one-hour sessions. We also developed a strategy for managing her vocabulary learning. I also consistently set her questions from past papers, building up to the full past papers and reviewing exam techniques. She ultimately received an 8 in her GCSEs.

A Level French grammar

While working as Graduate Resident Tutor at Wycombe Abbey, I tutored four Year 13 students jointly, focusing on grammar. Given this was a class of four, we worked collaboratively through activities adapted to their level; as all four were friends, there was a level of rapport already. Since we were moving quite quickly and I was working with multiple students at once, it was important to also develop a sense of achievement. I communicated with the Head of French to set work which aligned with the work they were undertaking in their regular French class (such as the novel they were studying Un Sac de Billes). They consequently remained very engaged. I also set them short writing exercises which aligned with the grammar I was teaching, and provided regular individualised feedback. The Head of French (who taught them) was impressed by their linguistic progress and all four went on to secure places at universities of their choice.

A Level French oral conversation

While working as Graduate Resident Tutor at Wycombe Abbey, I worked with this A-Level student entirely in French for four months, discussing in depth the syllabus topics (such as French New Wave cinema and immigration in France).This also included debating the topics and pushing her further to consider alternative arguments. The aim here was to develop her confidence in spoken French and to develop her critical thinking and ability to anticipate questions. She worked really hard and ultimately got into the university of her choice!

IB Standard Level French

I tutored this Year 13 student (ACS Cobham International School) for a year. She was on track for a 5 when we started working together; I identified that her major issues were in her confidence when speaking and her reading comprehension. With regards to speaking, we communicated primarily in French from the beginning, while also promoting a warm environment where she was able to make mistakes. We talked about areas she was interested in at first, such as football, and identified areas of grammar to work on as and when (due to some grammar mistakes that had become ingrained). Our sessions were therefore structured with conversation and grammar activities. She was also weak in her reading comprehension, and so we also practised reading past papers (building up to working under the time requirement) and reviewed mark schemes together. I helped her to identify different types of reading exam questions, as well as techniques and strategies to answer them (for example, identifying keywords and the types of questions, and how these correspond to examiner expectations). Early on, I challenged her to engage with each text by reading, re-reading and understanding and then explaining to me what she was being asked – we established a consistent approach, and she ultimately achieved a 6.

IB Standard Level Spanish

I tutored this student (Sevenoaks School) in IB SL Spanish for several months. This student was very motivated and confident, but lacked the vocabulary and grammar to discuss the IB topics in depth. Each lesson involved a discussion of specific grammar points, followed by a general conversation around her areas of interest and then the topics specifically (using vocabulary I assigned her to review between our sessions). To enhance her vocabulary, I also provided resources for Spanish music and TV shows such as ‘Las Chicas del Cable’, which we then discussed during our sessions as well. We identified the vocabulary and grammar structures she needed to be using in her answers. Closer to the exam, I worked with her on exam techniques and structure of the oral.

Hobbies