Language tutoring can be a big investment.

But if you’re learning a language on your own, you’re already investing time and effort. Working with a great tutor helps you get a better return on that investment.

If you’re taking the plunge, here are 5 ways to make the most of tutoring:

1. 📲Self-teach before class so you can spend class time on things you can’t easily do alone.

Let language apps do what they do best: drill vocabulary, grammar patterns, etc. This stuff takes time but spaced repetition makes it as quick and personal as possible, so you can tackle it on your own time.

2. 🗣 Apply what you’ve learned with your tutor. 

Come to your sessions equipped with that vocab and grammar knowledge and put it to use! Have conversations, practice using words and grammar rules in context. Your tutor can then spend more time identifying and filling your gaps vs. trying to teach you everything new.

3. 🙋 Be an active participant.

Don’t be a passive participant in your tutoring sessions. Spend as much time talking in the language as you do listening to your tutor. Tutoring shouldn’t be a lecture.

4. 📰 Work with current, authentic materials.

It’s helpful to stick with one tutor with whom you work well. But you’ll encounter many different voices, accents, cadences, slang, and cultural norms in the real world. Incorporating authentic materials gives you that exposure while letting you stick with the tutor you love.

5. 🔁 “Review” your sessions.

Repetition and review are key to learning, but it’s hard to replay a tutoring session in your head. Ask your tutor to give you written notes after each session listing things you could review and work on: gaps in your knowledge, mistakes you make repeatedly, etc.

Ready to take advantage of tutoring? Invest in your language skills with our tutors, who are experts in incorporating all five of these best practices.

Sign up for a 2-session tutoring package and get a complimentary planning session with a free skill assessment!