Zhara
English
From United Kingdom
About me
I am a native English speaker and have been teaching for 3 years. It has been immensely rewarding. I have helped students succeed in IELTS, focusing on building confidence in pronunciation, fluency, sentence structure, grammar and writing skills. Experience: 1) Assisting a student, Muhammad who is living in Turkey. He had completed his degree in Petroleum Engineering and needed assistance to pass the IELTS test (Academic) test as he wished to pursue his Masters degree in a European country. His command of English speaking went from a satisfactory to intermediate level in a short space of time. He told me that my teaching style was of great assistance because we were focusing on a range of topics and I would bring his attention to grammatical benefits which he would then implement and thus gain confidence in speaking. He knew that he mostly needed help with speaking, listening and writing so I focused on him fulfilling core competencies within these 3 aspects. With speaking, he would teach me Arabic grammar and during this, I would correct his mistakes in speaking and focus on his fluency of the English language. I also helped him work through IELTS practice papers briefly focusing on the reading and comprehension aspect. He felt that his degree in Engineering and Mathematics background had equipped him well in being able to tackle the questions related to reading and comprehension and I found that he was indeed very good at this, so he would study it alone. His level went from overall 4.5 to 5 and after teaching him for a few months he improved and he gained a 7 – 7.5 in speaking, listening and writing and a 6 in reading. I was very glad to have met this student early on because he gave me insight to how the IELTS test format and scoring system works as well as become familiar with the past papers and how to approach teaching this level of English. This student was very grateful for my help and following his English test he started explaining the work he was carrying out for a world renowned Charity he was working at. One very important aspect of his work which he required assistance on was to present a concept note to gain funding in supporting young girls have access to further education, in deprived and war torn areas. He spoke to his manager who was impressed after reading a sample of my written work and they deployed my help. I therefore took submissions from this student and his colleagues in terms of ideas for the concept and re-wrote them in a clear, thought-provoking and emotive manner. Once I got into the flow of writing, I was able to add my own input and ideas of the benefits of this initiative and think of innovative ways to implement a safe, inviting learning environment for these deprived students. We are currently awaiting for the outcome of this piece of work. I thoroughly enjoyed being involved in all the aspects involved in this project from strategy, planning and writing aspect. 2) A second student who benefitted enormously from my help was Khadijah who resides in Alexandria, Egypt. She is a Science major who learnt American English in school but wanted to improve her command in the English language, increase in vocabulary and learn how to speak with a British accent. She was thrilled to meet me and we still speak on a regular basis. Her thirst and zeal for knowledge is also a motivation for me. She is highly organized in her approach to learning and she is dedicated. When I would set her homework after explaining a new concept in the English language, she would consistently deliver and ask relevant and interesting follow-up questions. She made a special effort with her accent and within a few weeks she was easily speaking with a British accent and I was helping her improve in this as time went on. 3) A third student who I would speak with regularly is a phD student who is studying in the University of Manchester. He had recently come to the UK to study from Jordan. I was surprised to find that his written English was impeccable, after he sent me a copy of one of his research projects. His speaking level however needed some polishing. He had a good grasp of a lot of vocabulary but due to his lack of speaking with natives, he would make some simple mistakes in the structure and fomrmation of his sentences and he was not fluent. After speaking with me for a period of 3-4 months we played back a recording from when we first started speaking and noted a marked improvement. I would make him speak for a period of at least 30 minutes 4 times a week, as soon as I would return from work. I benefitted greatly from speaking to him because he would share his experience of how he attends a twice monthly class with other foreign students and would explain how each lesson went, what they focused on and what he learnt. Due to his tight schedule and various other commitments, he did not continue with this large classroom environment and preferred to continue practicing one to one with me. Within a few weeks of learning with me, he told me now when he goes out in the evenings he is no longer tempted to sit with locals of his country or area but rather, is able to venture out and speak comfortably with all English speakers. This was a great success for him because he told me he no longer felt hindrances in speaking and can now deliver speeches and discussions in the English language with confidence. He told me this being more equipped in the English language has helped him has a great positive impact on him as he continues to work towards his phD in England. 4) After this period of time on conversation exchange, I decided to join a new website. By this time my level in teaching had improved. However, I was still very limited in time (was working a 6 day week) so although I was excited to join a new website, I made it clear that I wanted to teach a few select, diligent students. I had such a good experience so far but this website was slightly faster paced. I was very pleasantly surprised. I started to converse with 4-5 new students, some of which needed help with the IELTS test and were glad to have benefitted from my experience of teaching it. My experience in typing in Arabic had improved after speaking with the other students and I was learning the language in a very organic and intuitive way, without having to exert too much thought or effort into it. It had become a routine spend a portion of time typing in Arabic with the students I was helping practice English with. The student who was living in Turkey, Hakan would speak some Turkish from time to time and it made me intrigued to want to try and slowly learn another language. I searched for Arabic speakers residing in Turkey on Hellotalk and met another student of the English language. Turkey is a country which prides itself in its own culture and language and a place where the English language is not spoken too often. This student was thrilled to have met me, as a native speaker. His approach to language learning was inspiring and he would research to find the best resources. One such resource which I learnt to utilize and in turn use as a method of teaching is to have a split page, one side the language one intends to learn and the other side, the students native language. In this way, we would read to each other and within a few days I was able learn how to pronounce each letter of the Turkish Alphabet and begin to read in Turkish. Over the next few months we created a schedule around both of our work and improved dramatically. We were both so focused on achieving our targets, we had both an enjoyable and great learning experience. It further solidified my understanding of how the internet is such a powerful and beautiful way of connecting with others and learning about new languages and cultures. I quickly learnt the very basics of the language and traveled to Turkey with my Mother for more of an immersive experience. Having the Arabic language in common as well my knowledge of Urdu was a great asset because we began exploring similar themes in culture and word formations. This meant we were able to relate unknown concepts to that which we were already familiar with. This students works in a professional setting and regularly has telephone conversations with people from all over the world, their language in common being English so practicing with me greatly improved his confidence and practical understanding of the language. 5) I made friends with three other people who live in Egypt. Hamdy, who lives in Al Minufiyah, Egypt and teaching the English language in a prepatory school. He is full of energy and is a very impactful and animated speaker and I would speak to him regularly alongside my Mother. We would explore themes surrounded the English books he was teaching in school such as Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, Wuthering Heights and Animal Farm. He would read traditional poems to us in Arabic and portray to us the beautiful and depth of the language, this was an amazing experience for all of us. I also spoke to him about his desire to apply for a Chevening scholarship and will soon proof-read his application for this. • Maryam who is studying Industrial Engineering in Alexandria and works as a product engineer manager in a printing and production company. She is also learning German. She is the same age as me and her English is one of the best I have come across. She speaks with such ease and I am always happy to hear her voice. We therefore focus on my learning of the Arabic language – however she does have questions of how to use certain new words she uses in the correct context as well as reviewing grammatical rules together. We have become very good friends.Tutor Stats
Member sinceJuly 12, 2019
Book online class
How do I cancel a lesson?
You can cancel a lesson up to 12 hours ahead of booked time.
Is the lesson online?
We use ZOOM for classes. You can enter the class 5 minutes ahead of booked time. Go to "Dashboard". Click on "View" and click on "Join". You will enter the classroom on ZOOM.
