English can be an intimidating language for many. It’s the most used language globally in today’s day and age. but, a lot of parents do not at first recognize the very need for an English tutor for their child. Reasons are myriad. Some think it’s the general school curriculum that suffices, while others think it’s not an important issue at all!
Why is English so important?
Well first, to understand the importance of English as a language, let us look at some facts:
- In addition to the approximately 400 million native speakers, English is understood and/or spoken by1-1.6 billion people.
- Almost a quarter of the world today speaks English (as their first or second language).
- English is now a part of the curriculum in far-flung places like Japan and South Korea. Therefore, if you know the basics of English, you can make yourself understood in nearly every corner of the world.
English clearly is an important language for every budding global citizen today. Proficiency in written and spoken English is a must for being able to communicate effectively.
More than securing an A in English, an effective tutor can help your child ace the communication game early on. Good communication is the key to success today. And good communication encompasses:
- Conversing and expressing well in a group setting
- Reading and comprehending text in English
- Writing comprehendible text
- Communicating formally and informally (written communication especially is important today in the world of international businesses)
- Speaking fluently
Also read: 5 Unconventional Ways to Improve Your Child’s English
If you want your child to succeed without any impediments of language, you must focus on their learning during schooling itself.
However, school and your personal instruction or help cannot be enough for building the highest level of communication proficiency. This is true, irrespective of whether English is your mother tongue or not.
Here are the 5 most important ways in which hiring an English tutor can help your child:
1. Learning English is a different journey for everyone – a tutor can identify the right one for your child
Not just with English, this is true with learning any language. A tutorial, a guidebook, a translation manual or even a crash course – there is no shortcut to mastering a language. With English, the nuances are even more pronounced.
Here is how an English tutor can help your child in identifying their most suitable learning journey:
- A qualified tutor can always identify red flags or the areas of weaknesses effectively (using pre-assessment tests and verbal discussions).
- Tutors usually handle the needs of one student at a time. It gives them more leeway to curate lesson plans in grammar according to the assessed proficiency levels.
- A tutor can gauge a child’s vocabulary and grammar proficiency most accurately. It’s because they tend to spend more time informally, a diagnostic test is often not enough.
- Your child will open up more with the tutor. They can tell them clearly about their problem areas, which is not the case usually with the teachers at school.
Also read: Why Private Tutoring Can Be the Best Investment for Your Child
2. End goal-oriented instruction
Think, what are your child’s goals of learning English? Try asking them and it’s likely that you’ll decipher the following:
- The daily end goal of learning English at school for them is just being able to finish homework (in the short term).
- Securing good grades or passing in an essay test could be the only real, long-term goal.
Now, with an English tutor, your child’s goals could be much more precise. You and your ward can together discuss end goals and expectations with the tutor, in the very beginning. Most English tutors are usually specialized in standardized tests in English (e.g. IELTS) or spoken English or accent building or grammar and creative writing.
Thus, having an English tutor can help your child achieve their specific goals much more effectively. The rewards of this goal-oriented learning are usually much higher than the generic learning at schools alone.
Here are some common goals that students seek achieving with English tutors:
- Certain levels of performance (read scores) in standardized tests.
- Reading speed, comprehending and analytical capabilities.
- Essay writing, project-report writing, written formal communication capabilities.
- Grade improvement in annual examinations at school.
- Fluency in spoken English.
3. Regular practice and discipline
At schools, the most you can count on is a period of English and that too not daily. Your child’s books and the focus both shut once the period bell rings.
One hour or an even shorter English period at school can realistically entail only a limited amount of practice. This is more because, in a classroom, a teacher adjusts their speed according to the average class. Your child may fit in either side of the average – and that’s why you need a tutor!
A tutor brings in the habit of daily practice and performance feedback. Every tutoring session involves continuous, real-time feedback that helps a student much more than generic practice at school.
This is particularly relevant for learning English grammar where practising according to one’s proficiency levels is the key. A tutor can tailor the practice sets according to your child’s current proficiency levels. They can also enforce the discipline of devoting time to the language on a daily basis – something that schools alone cannot do!
4. Personalized assessments, dynamic planning, and flexibility
A child’s performance on a standardized test is usually the result of their daily personal progress in a subject. Only finishing homework can never guarantee a superior performance on these tests.
A tutor can help your child learn, assess their own progress and plan for their examinations in an effective way. Here’s how it makes all the more sense for English:
- A local English tutor can explain concepts in the general local accent and context. It aids faster learning and keeps your child comfortable with interaction.
- If your child has a grammar weakness, a tutor can give them more daily tests on grammar instead of a full paper entailing essays and literature.
- If one mode of instruction doesn’t work with a child, the tutor can always change it on the go. For example, if grammar cheat sheets don’t work for a while, a tutor can quickly try out videos or cue cards. A teacher at school might not change their modus operandi for your child alone!
- In English, it is very important to master one step in the sequence before the next. Hence, continuous feedback and correction are critical. Tutors can exclusively conduct the required one-on-one discussions and analyses after an assessment test.
5. You as a parent can have more say with a tutor
Do you feel left out from your child’s learning process at school? Well, you can always partake in the learning of your child when you engage a private tutor. A teacher at school even if they intend to help your child with personal attention has many constraints of time and resources. A tutor, on the other hand, will actively seek your participation and feedback.
Also read: 5 Most Important Qualities of An Effective Tutor
Here are some ways in which you can be a part of the English learning process and make the best out of the time invested in it:
- You as a parent get to choose the tutor – at school, you can’t have a say on the teachers’ academic qualifications or communication style.
- At any time if you do not like a tutor, you can always let them go and find another suitable one.
- You can be a part of demo sessions to see if a tutor’s teaching style is going to suit your child’s personality (e.g. is the tutor too chatty for your relatively silent child?).
Are you ready to invest in your child’s English skills and help them succeed professionally and personally? Talentnook has plenty of options to choose from. Register now to explore the best of English tutors offering their services in your vicinity. Take the plunge today and see the difference that private tutoring can make to your child’s communication and expression in English!
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