How should tutoring work?

Question

Ideally, a tutor should be able to meet you exactly where you are in terms of your needs and aspirations, and try to improve your level of knowledge by doubling down on the things you already know, while slowly addressing any weakspots.

Tutoring should encompass all four of the pathways of language acquisition (reading, writing, speaking and listening). I try to give my students access to music and culture so we can approach as much as possible the immersion method, which is so superior. It keeps learning a language fresh and interesting!

Answer 1

Tutoring is all about meeting students where they're at.

And I agree with everything you've written. While mastering certain grammar points and memorizing certain vocabulary is unavoidable for students in a classroom setting, those things often feel like equations to solve instead of real connections to the language.

I'm so glad that the immersion method continues to grow in popularity because after enough time and exposure to a variety of topics (particularly those that interest the student) it is absolutely undefeated.

Sadly, I think too many people have classroom experiences that focus on testing of particular topics instead of acquisition of language in the real world.