Tutor

Advanced Learners
For advanced learners – that is, those students who are 'advanced speakers' of the language – it can take a little time to discover what they can or cannot do. The term 'advanced learner' is a bit vague; however, it is primarily intended for those students who have been working with the language for some time and have a strong grasp of the basics and beyond.

Lessons

During the first lesson, the Tutor will begin with an informal discussion which, depending on the strengths of the student, may last half an hour or more. During this discussion, an analysis and a question-and-answer, or Q and A, session will ensue.

This first lesson typically goes one of two ways:

If a gap in the student's knowledge becomes apparent (e.g., a lack of control in sequencing the tenses, articulators – conjunctions – are used, pronunciation defects are revealed, or, for the more advanced students, an absence of flexibility in the nominal/verbal structures is indicated), then we will study the language through explanations and verbal exercises. Everything in the lessons are then geared to speaking the language; the language is not studied abstractly (unless, of course, you want it so).

If no particular weaknesses are immediately apparent, then hidden weaknesses will be uncovered through the use of gap-filling exercises and other types which are reconstructed verbally and spontaneously by the student. Advanced speakers are often very good at concealing (albeit subconsciously) their weaknesses, but it is necessary to discover them in order for the speaker to acquire greater fluency.

One other aspect carefully observed during the first lesson is the possible (often probable) discrepancy existing between the receptive (understanding) and the productive (speaking) skills of the student. This discrepancy is often considerable on one side or the other.

Lesson Management

Throughout our lessons, notes will be made of missing vocabulary that is exposed by the discussions or exercises, and those will be reprocessed for the next lesson to generate repetition and help ensure success.

Each lesson will begin with reviewing the previous learning, and each lesson will finish with more discussions because at the advanced level, volume is as important as the quality of speaking.