Teresita
Certified Tutor
I have been an educator for over forty years mainly teaching Spanish as a second language or to native speakers. Originally from the country of Belize in Central America, I speak, read, and write both Spanish and English fluently. I have mastered the teaching of Spanish over these years.
My passion for education is quite intense and I would like to continue in that field even now that I'm retired. I tutored my students that had difficulty in foreign language acquisition. My greatest delight was to see their progress and the satisfaction it gave them. I would welcome doing this on a one on one basis to help struggling students, or maybe just those who may want to work at an accelerated pace.
My focus would be to familiarize myself with the students' needs and to do what is necessary to meet those needs for their success.
In my spare time I love to read, research topics of interest on the internet, walk, listen to inspirational music, and provide counseling and support to troubled teens.
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Undergraduate Degree: Florida International University - Bachelors, Spanish
Graduate Degree: F I U - Masters, Modern Language Ed
Reading, Listening to inspirational music, counseling
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
I celebrate each moment of success in some area. I audibly speak positive things to the student about him/herself to build up self-confidence.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
I use different types of textbooks, the Internet/YouTube, and supplemental Spanish books.
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe in the teaching and learning environment, the focus should be on the student's needs, their desire to succeed, discovering their potential, and doing whatever is necessary to help them discover who they are in the process. I think it is also important to tie learning into the global community so they develop into respectful, responsible, caring, and productive members of society.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I would do my best to set the student at ease and create a comfortable environment to give student the confidence to express themselves freely, so that the core needs be discovered and addressed, even from the onset. This should create a level of expectancy for the desired outcome after many sessions of tutoring.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
Along with celebrating my students' successes, I would also offer ongoing motivational opportunities for them to branch out and use the resources available online or elsewhere to do or create activities that will help them master their skills. This would be incorporated in their assessment, which would involve them reporting back to me in some audio or written assignment.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
I would give them immediate feedback as much as possible so they can see and celebrate their progress. The challenge for improvement would be simultaneous with positive reinforcement.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would reteach using a diversified set of instructional strategies in an attempt to discover and build on the student's learning style.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
I would have them explore the key vocabulary words and explain their contextual use, then have them reread the article and explain to me what they understand. If they are still having difficulty I would pose key questions based on the article and walk them through the process of finding answers.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Context and relevance are key components in my instructional strategies. I build around a theme, and help students to explore it contextually through audio, reading, speaking, and writing. AS they learn to use the vocabulary and grammar contextually, I help them to use them in relevant settings.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Even though it may slow down the pace, I would spend some extra time reinforcing those difficult areas until they begin to better grasp the material before I move on to a new topic. I would stimulate independent learning through follow up online or other activities dealing with the same content.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Oral, written, reading, and audio assessment activities are great ways to ensure students' mastery. If they don't do well in one area, they may do better in another. I would use the result of these activities to discover the need to reteach.