Yanan

My subject specialisms are Biology, Maths, Chemistry, and Chinese Mandarin. I also tutor combined sciences up to the GCSE level. I started tutoring in 2009, and have worked with over 100 students and had over 3000 hours of teaching.
I adopt a structured approach and provide individually tailored strategies to help tutees develop a productive framework for learning and exam preparation.

Having completed a BSc in Biomedical Sciences and 4 years of doctoral research training in Medical Imaging, I developed a passion for science. I motivate students to appreciate the real-life application and impact of science. I encourage students to unravel the ‘so what?’ question, in the hope to expand their interest and understanding of science.

As a native Mandarin speaker, I help learners enjoy the language not only theoretically but also from a cultural perspective. Examples include traditional customs, current or emerging cultural phenomena and conversational styles.

As a tutor, I aim to help the tutee:
• Fill knowledge gaps to build a solid foundation.
• Learn to
o build knowledge systematically;
o enjoy learning and problem-solving – making it fun and effective.
• Build confidence and independence.

In my spare time, I enjoy art and craft, Chinese calligraphy, cooking and reading.

If you are looking for a fun and productive learning experience, feel free to get in touch - I look forward to working with you!

Tutoring Experience

I have 10+ years of tutoring experience, with 100+ students aged from 4 to 18+ in the following subjects:

• Biology
o GCSE (AQA, Edexcel, OCR), IGCSE (Edexcel), AS/A-level (AQA, Edexcel, OCR A/B Salters)

• Chemistry
o GCSE (AQA, Edexcel, OCR), IGCSE, AS/A-level (AQA, Edexcel, OCR A/B Salters, IB Diploma, Degree Foundation Level)

• Mandarin Chinese
o Beginner, GCSE (AQA, Edexcel), HSK 1 & 5

• Mathematics
o Primary, 11+ Common Entrance, GCSE (AQA, Edexcel, OCR), IGCSE (Edexcel), AS/A-Level (AQA, Edexcel, OCR A)

• Combined Science
o Primary, GCSE, IGCSE (AQA, Edexcel, OCR)

• Reasoning (11+)
o Non-verbal reasoning (GL, CEM), verbal reasoning (GL)

Tutoring Approach

For academic subjects -
• Explain key concepts following relevant syllabus.
• Guide tutee to understand, apply and reinforce key concepts via interactive example activities and question practice.
• Review topic-specific exam questions to build an effective and independent revision method and exam practice techniques.

For language (Chinese Mandarin) -
• Learn the phonetics and usage of Pinyin.
• Apply Pinyin to learn words and phrases by themes.
• Guide the tutee to develop an intuitive understanding of basic grammar and apply the knowledge to construct a sentence.
• Implement taught content via speaking and writing tasks during and after the lesson.
• Audio-record all lessons to facilitate independent revision and practice.