Private tuition for ESL students

Introduction

Parents who bring their ESL child to the special meeting for new students before school starts have many questions. Most commonly, parents want to know how they can help their child with the enormous demands of learning subject content in English. Many parents ask specifically about the need to engage a private tutor to help in this task and what should be taught in private lessons.

Following are some frequently asked questions about private tuition for ESL students.

Should my child have private tuition?

There is not a simple answer to this question. It depends on many factors, such as the grade level of the child, the time of year he starts at FIS, his starting English proficiency, his attitude to having extra help, how much free time he has available after school, and so on.

The best person to answer this question for the individual child is his ESL teacher.

What should my child learn in private lessons?

Again, it depends on the individual child. The two major areas of focus for private help are: subject support and general English development.

In subject support the child is helped with the ongoing work that is set in subjects such as science, mathematics or mainstream English. This can be a good use of private tuition time because it deals with a child's immediate needs.

@ Tuition that focuses on developing the child's general English proficiency can be also useful. But it will probably take quite a while before any benefits are noticed in the classroom. ~

Once again, the person in the best position to tell you what kind of tuition, if any, would be most beneficial for your child is his ESL teacher.

Who should be my child's private tutor?

In general it is desirable to have a teacher who has been trained in teaching a foreign language. And best of all of course would be a teacher with training and experience in teaching English as a second language; i.e. an ESL teacher.

However, if you mainly want your child to have some extra practice in English conversation, any native-speaker teacher could do a good job. Alternatively, if your child needs help in a specific subject, such as mathematics or science, then a teacher of that subject would be a good choice.

Another source of subject help could be an older student who has completed the same course and has the same mother tongue as your child.

It should be clear from the answers to the previous questions that, whoever you choose, @@@ it is very useful if the private tutor makes contact with your child's ESL teacher. This can help the private tutor to get a clear idea of how best to help. ~~~

How can I find a private tutor for my child?

The best thing to do is to contact the counsellor of your child's school division. He or she will have a list of available tutors.

How can I help my child at home without a private tutor?

The answer to this question is covered in How to help your child learn faster.

A simple piece of advice in the meantime is to encourage your child to read good books, fiction and non-fiction, both in English and in his own language.

Conclusion

@@ You might wish to contact ESL teacher if you feel you that your child has too much homework. ~~ Rather than getting a private tutor to help, it may be possible to agree a temporary reduction in the amount of homework. Alternatively, the homework tasks could be made more manageable for your child.

Here is a brief video on the same topic.

And there is more information and advice in ESL students and homework.