Experienced English tutor since 2020 for children age 5 to 9 years old.

1. Empathetic: Understands what it’s like to be a student who may lack confidence, feel stressed, be overwhelmed or just not understand the material.
2. Honest: Don’t hesitate to say that you do not know about a particular concept. Trying to bluff your way through will only hurt the student and your reputation in the long run.
3. Enthusiastic: If the tutor does not display a love for the subject they are tutoring, how can they expect the student to enjoy it. Come to the lab with a positive attitude that will rub off on the students.
4. Good Listener: The tutor should develop good listening skills so that they will better understand students’ misconceptions and errors.
5. Asks good, open-ended questions: The tutor should ask the student questions in order to evaluate a students’ understanding (see section on probing questions).
6. Encourages independence: You do not want the student to rely on you at all times. Let them know that they must put forth an effort to benefit from tutoring. Give students strategies to be independent and more effective learners by having student look at how they think and learn, how they study, and how they manage their studies with the rest of their life.
7. Patient: This is probably one of the most important characteristics of a tutor. Never act annoyed that the student does not know something. Even if they ask the most basic question, always demonstrate your patience.
8. Maintains confidentiality: Any personal information such as medical conditions, handicaps, test scores should be between you and the student.