Sophia

Hi there!
Thanks for stopping by! My name is Sophia and I am currently working for a sexual health charity as a BAME community engagement coordinator whilst studying a clinical sexology diploma to become a sex and relationship therapist. I'm of mixed heritage background (Afro-Italian) and enjoy immersing myself in others' cultures through travel, food, and literature. I love reading and writing poetry in my spare time, and collecting house plants seems to be my latest hobby since lockdown!

Tutoring Experience

I have ample teaching experience which started with internally tutoring GCSE Latin students during my years as a sixth form Latin student. I have continued tutoring in Latin, Italian, English Literature, and English as a Foreign language both within school institutions and as a private tutor across all age ranges, including primary school, secondary school, and sixth form/college students. I have also taught English and English literature abroad while I was living in Italy and working as a British Council English language teacher assistant.

During the course of the last 6 years in higher education, I have honed my analytical skills and learnt how to consistently achieve top marks in both examination and coursework based tasks and feel confident in my ability to help students understand what different skill sets are required for each and how they can perform to the best of their abilities. As both a teacher and student I am familiar and comfortable with school curriculum and examination specs and also have the added advantage of having two younger sisters' who have experienced the recent examination reforms.

Tutoring Approach

My approach is welcoming and focused. From my previous experiences of both receiving and delivering tutoring, I understand how important it is so establish a supportive teacher-student relationship in which the student feels comfortable to make learning 'mistakes' (as they say in Italian, sbagliando si impara). Though I am a very strong believer that education should go beyond learning just for the sake of passing exams, I equally recognise the importance of identifying a desired outcome and focusing on working towards it. Over the last 8 years of tutoring, I have supported students with varying abilities and educational needs and as a result I am attune to understanding when using different approaches may be necessary. My interdisciplinary academic background and current therapeutic training has encouraged me to mould my teaching approach to be one which is flexible and integrative.