Hannah

I have been teaching languages for 21 years and set up Express Language in 2006, when I started teaching French and then Spanish (in addition to English) as foreign languages, and proofreading and translating academic papers.

As well as teaching privately, I have also taught at and for various schools, institutions and agencies around the world.

I have training in, awareness of and experience of teaching students with various learning difficulties.

As a part of my private teaching, I offer the following:
- English: I teach English as a foreign language to children, young people and adults, whether to support them in their studies, to help them look for a job or to help them with communication in daily life. This can be in the form of regular lessons or intensive courses that include activities and sightseeing appropriate to the age and interests of the student(s). I also work with young children on communication and language in English (whether EAL pupils or first-language English children with need of extra help);
- French and Spanish: I support children, young people and adults in their studies up to A-level (Spanish) or university level (French), and also run my own courses for all ages, whether for business or holiday purposes, or for those who just want an extra string to their bow and enjoy learning a language as a hobby! I encourage adults to make connections with native people through language exchange forums and other means of improving and 'grounding' their language learning.

As a poet and book lover, I enjoy bringing literature into my courses (a necessary part of higher level studies in any case!) and as well as the above can work with those who would like to work on higher-level English skills such as discourse in speech and writing, creative writing, critical thinking, etc. Get in touch to find out more!

In addition to the qualifications showing on my profile, I have the following up to date qualifications/certificates:
- DBS Update Service (updated every year)
- Safeguarding and Child Protection: the essentials, 2022-23
- Awareness of Adverse Childhood Experiences (Level 2)
- Supporting Successful Learning in Primary School from Reading University
- Teaching Phonics in Early Childhood and another certificate in 'Introduction to Teaching Phonics' for UK primary schools
- Paediatric First Aid (Level 3)
- Food Hygiene and Safety (Level 2)

I have also attended and continue to attend a range of CPD courses in teaching MFL (French and Spanish, mainly for primary schools), and am a school governor, a role in which I have undertaken various training on, amongst other things, the new EYFS reforms and preparing for Ofsted inspections.

Tutoring Experience

Sept. 2006 to date: Express Language – Business Owner; Teacher, Proofreader and Translator
 Teaching French, Spanish and English to groups and individuals of all ages, for General, Academic and Business purposes; designing courses and creating resources tailored to each individual/group
 Planning and teaching Spanish after-school clubs to Y3-6 in three primary schools, liaising with school staff and parents as appropriate; these clubs have become very popular!
 Adapting teaching and learning methods to suit individuals with learning difficulties or other needs
 Offering extra tuition to children and young people (individuals and small groups) learning MFL at school; this includes exam preparation for older children and creating fun courses for younger children
 Running English intensive courses for individuals and small groups of all ages, as well as to a class of secondary school children from Italy (at Rickmansworth School in 2008), including activities, outings and cultural learning as a part of the courses
 Conducting and marking French and Spanish GCSE speaking exams for ‘Private Exams North East’ (2021-22) and for my own students (2016 to present)
 Teaching A-level MFL content
 Supporting students at university with English or French
 Supporting EAL children and young people in their learning of English, phonics, reading, motor skills, communication and confidence

July 2017 to Mar 2018: HMP Durham (employed by Novus; a part-time sessional position)
 Working with other teachers to plan and deliver a curriculum of ESOL and Functional Skills to prisoners

Sept. 2017 to April 2018: Primary PPA Cover and Clubs Complete
 Teaching French to Years 1–6 in Bluebell Meadow Primary School, Trimdon
 Running a “Bake Off” after-school club at Grindon Infants School, Sunderland, delivering pre-planned sessions to groups of 20 children from Reception to Year 2; this included supporting them in writing or drawing recipes after cooking
 Adapting and differentiating resources and lesson plans as appropriate; working with teaching assistants to ensure children with disabilities and learning difficulties could access learning and participate fully in class

Sept. 2002 to Sept. 2006: Private EFL tutoring
 I tutored students in EFL while continuing my university studies and internship year

Summer 2001 and 2002: EF Language Travel
 Teaching English as a foreign language to classes of up to 20 children in summer schools; organising and leading activities and outings

Tutoring Approach

My main aim is to increase students' confidence in their ability to communicate in the target language. I think that this necessarily involves a certain amount of creativity and fun! I believe that it's essential that students enjoy lessons and are motivated to come to them, as that enjoyment and motivation are a key part of their readiness to learn. As the teacher, I believe that creating that enjoyment and motivation in the student may start with me, but once I've helped to foster it, students can create it for themselves and come to each lesson motivated and expecting to enjoy themselves, and therefore ready to learn!

I teach using a communicative approach, i.e. the aim is that students learn to communicate as the first aim and the reason for all language learning (rather than learning lists of vocab or grammar for the sake of memorisation or translation, for example). I use task-based learning methods as much as possible, i.e. setting tasks that require the use of the language in order to achieve them, rather than using language for its own sake. An example of how this can work in a one-to-one or small-group lesson is through cooking: we read a recipe or watch a video to find out how to make scones (for example), and then make the scones, using imperatives (commands: get the flour, measure 400g, mix..., etc) to guide each other through the process.

I also tutor pupils for MFL GCSEs and realise that this can need a different approach. I have experience of taking pupils through intensive exam-preparation courses, looking at strategies for each of the speaking, reading, listening and writing exams. I have conducted speaking exams for private candidates and so am very familiar with the format of the speaking exam for the various exam boards, and can prepare students for this as well as running mock exams with them. Parents of the students I tutor always tell me how their grades improve once they have had a few lessons with me.

I have also run and taught a Spanish GCSE course that I then entered my students for, so I can enter people to exam centres as external candidates if that is desired.

Each course I run is designed with that course's specific students in mind, taking into account their interests and needs. Throughout each course I adapt my plans as required to reflect the students' progress and any requests they make. I incorporate relevant cultural elements and other aspects of interest into these courses, as well as all four skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and the three pillars of phonics/pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar.

Please note:
- I usually teach private lessons at my home. I'm happy to travel to students' homes, but travel expenses may be charged on top of lesson fees; this can be discussed when you get in touch. Online is also an option, but I find it doesn't work for all students and all learning purposes, so again, this needs to be discussed when you get in touch.
- Lessons for children/young people and levels up to intermediate are usually 45 minutes (£30 if at my home); for adults above intermediate level, I teach longer lessons (usually one hour). This differs for some types of course, e.g. intensive courses that incorporate activities and/or sightseeing, and necessarily involve longer but more varied lessons.
- I offer the first session free; this is not a lesson as such but an opportunity to get to know each other over a cup of coffee/tea/squash as appropriate and find out what you want to learn and why, as well as to find out what your interests are so that I can plan the best course for you.