Stephen

I gained my Spanish degree in 1979 from the University of Birmingham. The course included a year abroad which I spent in Oviedo in northern Spain.
I joined Nationwide Building Society as a Trainee Manager shortly after my degree and progressed to be a Branch Manager in a number of locations around the country.
I took early retirement in 2008 and returned to my love of Spanish. I took an on -line refresher course from a language school in Málaga and started work as a tutor.

Tutoring Experience

I have been a tutor for the last fifteen years.
In my previous career as a Branch manager I was able to identify the learning styles of my staff and initiate training,coaching and mentoring in order to ensure their development. All of these transferable skills lend themselves perfectly to my tutoring approach.
I have experience of all types of tuition, from adult beginners to students preparing for exams.
I have been successful in tutoring students to improve their performance and achieve top grades in GCSE and GCE exams.

Tutoring Approach

I ensure that I respect tutees and that they feel comfortable with me.I establish their learning needs and give plenty of positive support.
A student should never be passive and be allowed to absorb knowledge only.I encourage my students to be active and participate fully.I use a variety of teaching methods to increase the learning potential of the student by introducing subject matter that is meaningful and relevant.
I also appeal to a student's sense of fun so that lessons are enjoyable whilst also delivering an important learning message.