Why tutoring can make the difference when English is a second language

Matteo was in Year 4 and attending a small independent school in North London when we first started working together.  He was strong in Maths yet underconfident in English – particularly writing – as English was an additional language at home. His mother was particularly keen for Matteo to have an appreciation of reading.

My early observations showed he:

• was bright, quiet and reflective, with excellent concentration
• struggled to get started when writing a story and disliked planning
• created good sentences but lacked 'show not tell' skills
• found comprehension texts dull and difficult with lack of desire to learn new vocabulary

After 7 months of tutoring…Matteo found the one-to-one approach hugely beneficial in helping him fill in the gaps of English as a second language.  

He quickly caught up with the standards of his peers, showing more confidence when planning, better inference skills and fantastic original story ideas.  

Personal tutoring coached him well in exam techniques as he learnt better time management and gained greater confidence, ease and enjoyment for reading, new vocabulary and writing.  

Later…

He achieved success at the entrance exam to his chosen independent secondary school in London.