GAIN CONFIDENCE IN ENGLISH THIS SUMMER
Liddane’s ESL Coordinator, Alex, used to live and teach English in Paris. The school where she worked wanted her to always use English, her social interactions were largely limited to the American expat community, and so she struggled to gain the fluency in French that would have allowed her to pursue the activities and opportunities she desired. “There were all these things I wanted to get involved with,” she says, “but I wasn’t confident enough in my speaking abilities. I was even nervous to order at my local bakery, because I was worried I’d say the wrong thing or come off as rude.”
Now, with 20 years of experience teaching ESL, Alex helps English learners of all backgrounds reach their language goals. Seattle is home to many communities of non-native English speakers, who are often here as working professionals or family members of working professionals. In Alex’s experience, these individuals often have some English proficiency, but they may not have the confidence, for example, to ask questions to their child’s pediatrician, speak to administrators at a child’s school, or join a new club. Similarly, many single professionals only date and socialize within their own language communities if they feel they can’t express themselves in English. LTLS helps to empower anyone who isn’t as active as they’d like to be because English proficiency holds them back.
Liddane’s ESL approach is 100% tailored to individual needs and desires. If spoken fluency is someone’s main goal, our tutors will design a lesson plan around oral and aural skills, with less emphasis on written grammar and punctuation. Tutors will often start by getting to know a client’s interests and strengths, and then branch out from there. For example, if someone is on a recreational sports team or is interested in attending more sporting events, that can serve as an entry point for a whole range of conversation skills. Then, as tutors get to know their clients, they will target specific areas for improvement, such as pronunciation, vocabulary, or modifying tone.
It’s difficult to express yourself if you’re not confident in the language. Our goal is to empower English learners to advocate for themselves and their families, and to engage as fully as possible with all the opportunities and communities English communities have to offer. For more information or to schedule a session with one of our tutors, please contact us at info@liddanetutoring.com.
TUTOR MENTOR PROGRAM
Part of what makes Liddane Tutoring & Learning Services stand out as a tutoring service is our Tutor Mentor program. Even before tutors begin working with students, they are paired with a peer mentor. Mentors are tutors with extensive tutoring experience as well as comprehensive knowledge of LTLS’s mission, protocols, and values. At minimum, all tutors meet monthly with their Tutor Mentors one-on-one to discuss student progress, solicit advice for lesson plans or pedagogical approaches, or to brainstorm methods to help students build executive functioning skills. In addition to the monthly meetings, tutors frequently reach out to their mentors to share accomplishments or to get another pair of eyes on an academic challenge a student might be facing.
One crucial component of the Tutor Mentor program is the concern level system. During monthly meetings, mentors work with tutors to label every student with a low, moderate, or high concern level. Reasons for a moderate or high label include social/emotional challenges, academic struggles, or specific communication needs. When tutors and their mentors label a student as a moderate or high concern, Andrea Liddane is automatically notified by email, and the student is monitored more closely. Students often share things with tutors about their academic or social lives that they may not share with parents or teachers. The Tutor Mentor program and the concern level system ensure that a tutor is never solely responsible for helping students through challenges and that elevated concerns are proactively noted and addressed when necessary.
Tutors have frequently expressed how much they value this peer mentor program. One tutor recently had a student who struggled in AP US History. The student did all the reading and homework questions, but when it came to weekly quizzes, she struggled with recalling and articulating the necessary information. The tutor reached out to her Tutor Mentor, and the two brainstormed a studying system that combined both a cumulative list of course concepts in a Google Doc, as well as physical flashcards. The tutor then worked with the student to create a schedule for adding to and reviewing the list and flashcards throughout the semester. The dual system of information, as well as a schedule for frequent content review, helped boost the student’s test scores significantly. This is one small illustration of the ways in which tutors collaborate with Tutor Mentors to help students succeed.
In contrast to many tutoring organizations, which train new tutors and then pair them with students with little opportunity for peer feedback or oversight, LTLS has intentionally designed a robust behind-the-scenes support system. Although this system is largely invisible to students and parents, it’s a crucial part of the service we provide when your child signs up for tutoring. Student progress is never the responsibility of one person alone. We believe that collaboration and peer support are crucial to our mission of engaging and empowering all types of learners.