How often to use a tutor?

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Bex
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How often to use a tutor?

Postby Bex » Wed Nov 08, 2017 1:47 pm

For those who read my log they will know that I have finally faced my fear and started Italki sessons. I have narrowed the 5 tutors I have tried down to 3.

Two of them appear to just want to speak and then they correct as I need it.
One wishes to work through a text book right from the beginning... I look at pictures and say "she has blonde hair and blue eyes", "she has two uncles" (obviously in my target language) etc, etc.

My aim is to improve my speech as much as possible, I easily have the time to take at least 2 hourly lessons a week. I am already listening to podcasts and watching TV to improve my listening comprehension and writing every day. Along with Anki everyday too.

My questions are?

    1. Should I use the one tutor all the time or a mix?
    2. Am I wasting my time with the text book teacher?
    3. Maybe just 1 hour is enough at the moment? Or is it better to speak as much as possible?
Any suggestions as to how to organise my time and sessions with these tutors would be very much appreciated, as I am just going around in circles with all the options at the moment.
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Re: How often to use a tutor?

Postby tarvos » Wed Nov 08, 2017 3:05 pm

The more you practice, the better.

I would drop the textbook tutor. Professional tutors are only good when they know how to adapt to your needs, which this one isn't doing. Some people want their hand to be held - if you are one of them, stay with her. If not, zzzzz. You can also try any of the zillion other Spanish tutors on italki, there's plenty. Unless you particularly want them to be Guatemalan.

If your aim is to improve speech, conversation is the way to go, but YOU need to prepare your classes by figuring out topics you'd like to talk about and steer the conversation that way. Some of my students come with grammar questions I elucidate for them in class, which usually helps clear up grammar doubts.
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Re: How often to use a tutor?

Postby Bex » Wed Nov 08, 2017 4:28 pm

tarvos wrote:The more you practice, the better.

I would drop the textbook tutor. Professional tutors are only good when they know how to adapt to your needs, which this one isn't doing. Some people want their hand to be held - if you are one of them, stay with her. If not, zzzzz. You can also try any of the zillion other Spanish tutors on italki, there's plenty. Unless you particularly want them to be Guatemalan.

If your aim is to improve speech, conversation is the way to go, but YOU need to prepare your classes by figuring out topics you'd like to talk about and steer the conversation that way. Some of my students come with grammar questions I elucidate for them in class, which usually helps clear up grammar doubts.


Thanks tarvos. So if I am just rambling away in terrible Spanish for an hour, with my tutor correcting occasionally (and making written notes on skype) and occasionally discussing any major errors...this would be good?

I seem to still be in the mindset that textbook is best, but your comments have me doubting my mindset. I like the textbook teaching because it saves me having to think of an answer and come up with the Spanish at the same time but a topic would do the same job. I have a HUGE problem with feeling like I'm being interrogated when I have my lessons, all those questions make me feel extremely uncomfortable :(
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Re: How often to use a tutor?

Postby tarvos » Wed Nov 08, 2017 5:48 pm

You can do the textbook at home. What would the teacher bring to the class that you can't do better on your own? Your goal in class is to pay 20 bucks for them to teach you something or give you something you can't get at home. Textbooks don't get everything right, so you should use your tutor... to clear up your doubts, either directly or by steering them towards your goals indirectly.

Can you get speaking practice with decent corrections for cheaper? Then you don't need to get tutored, unless you want something more akin to coaching. Or help with exam preparation.

I find language exchanges fickle friends and I prefer to shell out $10 for some speaking practice. Old hat to them. And in some cases it's all I got, when it comes to Shanghainese there isn't a lot of written material out there.

I won't shell out the $10 for Russian though, when I speak it daily.

Just think about this - what do you want to get out of the class? Make a plan, and then seek out tutors who fit that profile. There are gazillions of Spanish tutors and you may have to be discerning - but that's fine.
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Re: How often to use a tutor?

Postby Jbean » Thu Nov 09, 2017 1:23 am

My Spanish teacher is using a textbook. It gives the lessons structure. I feel like I'm making good progress and the lessons seem very organized, but we also spend time just talking. PM me, if you are interested in her name.

My experience with language exchanges hasn't been that great. I too would rather pay somebody to correct me. I have a friend who spoke little English a couple of years ago and who has a French mother. She liked being able to talk to somebody besides her family, but she would never correct my errors. Now she speaks better English and she prefers to use that language.
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Re: How often to use a tutor?

Postby Bex » Thu Nov 09, 2017 8:21 am

Jbean wrote:My Spanish teacher is using a textbook. It gives the lessons structure. I feel like I'm making good progress and the lessons seem very organized, but we also spend time just talking. PM me, if you are interested in her name..

Thanks Jbean... I have PM'd you.

Jbean wrote:My experience with language exchanges hasn't been that great. I too would rather pay somebody to correct me. I have a friend who spoke little English a couple of years ago and who has a French mother. She liked being able to talk to somebody besides her family, but she would never correct my errors. Now she speaks better English and she prefers to use that language.


I don't think I would enjoy language exchanges with my low level of speaking, my vocabulary seems to be accepatble and I can usually find a way to express myself in a roundabout way but the thought of trying to do this with a someoneone who wasn't a teacher would be awful for both myself and the other person. Maybe once I improve it would be possible but not whilst I speak like a toddler :lol:
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Re: How often to use a tutor?

Postby Bex » Thu Nov 09, 2017 8:24 am

Maybe I should change the question from "How often to use a tutor?" to "best way to use time with my tutor?"
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Re: How often to use a tutor?

Postby rdearman » Thu Nov 09, 2017 8:07 pm

I don't know if you've read my log, but I'm doing the same thing as you, but in French. I've found that it is helpful to have more than one community tutor to switch between. I decided to have one French person, one Swiss, one Belgium, and I've booked a person from Morocco also. The idea is to get more accent exposure, although at the moment I can't really tell a difference.

I don't know what your level is, but if you're B1 or better you should be able to hold a conversation. I suspect that you feel like you are being interrogated because it is the only way for the native speaker to continue the conversation. In his book, Boris Shekhtman explains:
Short, simple answers hinder conversation because they very quickly transform communication into interrogation, making both the foreigner and the native speaker feel awkward.

Some tips for you which I feel are relevant:
  • Never give a short answer! Always be as verbose as you possibly can.
  • Try to end with a question when you speak, this allows you to take control of the conversation and not just be battered with questions.
  • Memorise some "islands" you can swim to. Some long bit of speaking which you have down pat and can rattle off for ages. Things like: Oh! It is funny that you asked where I'm from, because recently I went back to visit my parents and I encountered my best friend from high-school and you'll never believe it, he now owns a company ... Then you launch into a story about your best friend who started Google, or whatever. blah, blah blah.
  • Practice making your stock answers more verbose, so instead of "My name is X and I live in Y", change to "My name is X, but my mother calls me beanbag, because when I was young I swallowed a beanbag and had to go to the hospital to get it removed. I live near Y, but I'm really hoping to move out into the country because I feel that Y has too many traffic problems. What about traffic where you live?
  • Don't forget to learn filler words and phrases, things like: "Well it is clear to me that", "Without a doubt", "In my humble opinion", "What a great question, let me think about that for a second"

Also, I figure I'm paying so I always ask them:
  • Give corrections at the end unless I ask for it.
  • Don't speak to me in English unless I ask them to (and never ask them to)
  • Spend the last 5 minutes of the lesson giving me feedback on how I can improve (this could be in English if you need it)
  • Please wait for me to try and remember the word, if I can't remember I'll ask.

He who pays the piper, names the tune.


All the community tutors I've had on iTalki have been OK with this. Plus I'm only looking for conversation practice, so Mr. Textbook would go right in the rubbish bin for me. At the moment, I'm happy with one lesson a week and some "internal dialogue" practice during the rest of the week, although I'm now thinking about bumping up to 2 lessons per week for a little while.

As far as topics go, if you're struggling with vocabulary during your lessons, tell them to restrict the conversation about one subject, for example cooking. Then bone up on vocabulary related to cooking, and work up a "cooking island" which is your story about cooking you're going to steer into the conversation.

Bex wrote:Maybe I should change the question from "How often to use a tutor?" to "best way to use time with my tutor?"

Hopefully, some of that was useful to you. Although actually most of the above was the answer to this question: "How can I prepare myself better for the time I spend with a tutor."

Good Luck.
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tarvos
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Re: How often to use a tutor?

Postby tarvos » Thu Nov 09, 2017 8:17 pm

I suggest booking a Canadian as well - the Quebec accent is pretty notorious for its completely different intonation and vocabulary, and it would be well worth your effort spending some time on it.
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Re: How often to use a tutor?

Postby rdearman » Thu Nov 09, 2017 8:19 pm

tarvos wrote:I suggest booking a Canadian as well - the Quebec accent is pretty notorious for its completely different intonation and vocabulary, and it would be well worth your effort spending some time on it.

I was going to do that, but really it is a problem of timezones. It is difficult for me to book something with them since I want mornings in the UK, which is stupid-o-clock in the AM for them. :)
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