Cottingley Tutors and Cottingley Tuition

Personal Description:
As a graduate of The Musashino Academy of Music in Japan, I have extensive experience in performing as a concert pianist in Japan and accompanist for Violinist and Vocalist for their concerts.
I accompanied on a Japanese Canzone CD which was released in 2005 and I used to make music for TV commercials. I'm not only limited to classical music, I also have experience and understanding of many types of composition, from ethnic forms right through to modern, contemporary, techno and electro. I am well traveled and have an understanding of many different cultures.
I am an outgoing, fun person and although I think this shows through to pupils, my lessons are strict and I prefer only to take on serious students who are determined to achieve their goals.

Teaching Experience:
I have been teaching for 13 years in Japan, 1 year in the USA and 20 years in the UK. I can train you to all levels, for all English or Japanese piano grade exams or for entrance to music schools, GCSE / A level Music, universities and all levels above.

Tutoring Approach:
Students who want to improve your skills & pass exams, I am confident that you will see improvement from the very first lesson.
I feel that music is not just about learning the notes & playing them in the right order - like people, every piece has it's own character, emotion & depth. I think it is just as important to get the student to recognise & express this, as it is for them to learn the correct technique.

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Personal Description:
I am a 45 year old lady residing in Ashford, Kent. I originally come from Africa and have been in England for 10 years now. I trained as a primary school teacher but resigned after 16 years mainly because I wanted to travel and broaden my experiences. My hobbies are reading and writing (for leisure), travelling and sightseeing, aerobics and swimming. I could however easily call teaching one of my hobbies because I always find myself teaching people wherever I go!

Teaching Experience:
I was a primary school teacher for 16 years but I also did private tutoring as a sideline. I taught English to the age group 9-10years and outside working hours I taught adult literacy classes. I think I did well because I always found myself with so many private students to teach that sometimes it was hard to cope . All the same I enjoyed every minute of it. I have also recently qualified as an EFL teacher and am hoping to start soon.

Tutoring Approach:
When I meet a student for the first time I always believe in taking time to know them. By this I mean their well being and /or state of mind. For example, if a student has come to class only because someone has insisted, then learning will be a chore. Or if they have personal problems, or they are hungry, tired or ill then we will not get very far. So I will take a few minutes to chat and get to know their state of mind as well as reassure them before we start and if there is anything I can do to settle them then that is what I will do first. I am saying this with a view to teaching adults because that is what I hope to do. I also believe in teaching in a very relaxed environment that is conducive to learning so I always try and get rid of all distractions before we start. I have been known to be a good teacher and I hope I will continue with my good style and reputation.

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Personal Description:
Having grown up in an Anglo Italian family in both England and Italy, I am totally bilingual and I have a passion for language teaching in all its aspects.

Teaching Experience:
II have taught both English and Italian language for many years and in all kinds of situations.

- I have taught all ages: from children to senior citizens.

- all levels, from elementary to advanced

- from individuals to university courses of over 100 students

- in a variety of professional contexts for companies

- in my home and in cafes to create an authentic environments.

I love seeing my clients make progress.

Tutoring Approach:
I believe in putting students at ease and fostering a positive emotional environment within which the students can learn by doing. Believing there is no greater incentive than success I always adopt a positive approach to teaching.

Although grammar is fundamental to any language, I prefer to teach students collocations (groups of words that commonly go together) than dry grammar rules. I leads to people speaking more instinctively and spending less time worrying about the correctness of what they are saying.

Building confidence in the learner and helping them realise that they can transfer natural communication skills from their first language to their second language is key to their success.

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Personal Description:
Bonjour!
I am a fully qualified, native French teacher (PGCE from the University of Portsmouth, Summer 1994).
I am married with two older children, themselves going through examinations at the moment. I also have four cats.

Teaching Experience:
I came to the UK in 1993, started teaching in a school in Sept. 1994 and teaching privately in 1998.
I no longer teach at a school but instead, teach privately to individuals or small groups.

I have been an examiner since 1998 so I am very aware of the skills and knowledge required by examination boards. I am currently a team leader for French GCSE and an examiner for A2.

I have taught a wide range of students over the years: KS3, GCSE and A Level, adult learners, younger children and adults in a business environment.

Tutoring Approach:
What I enjoy the most is to see people make big improvements and become confident with their French, from the moment they start to understand how the language works.
I am a good communicator and feel that I can understand people`s difficulties quickly so we can work on those aspects and start to make progress, once the foundations have been put (back) in place.

I am a dedicated, hard working and well organised person who enjoys seeing her pupils do well and (re)gain confidence.
I plan all my lessons very methodically and provide all papers / worksheets to my pupils. I also set homework and, more importantly, mark it! Very often, pupils will email me to ask me to check a piece of writing / homework that they are working on, and I am happy to help them with this too.

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Personal Description:
I am a native Arabic language tutor with over 25 years' experience teaching Arabic from absolute beginners to university level in UK . I teach adults and children online only

I teach Arabic (Modern / Classical) from complete beginners level, all the way to an advanced level, for both adults and children. Students learn all aspects of the language: reading, writing and speaking (general communication). I apply modern teaching techniques, which make the learning process appealing and enjoyable at each lesson. Recently I did different training with British council and Edexcel training online for New GCSE Arabic language.
First lesson is free.

Teaching Experience:
I have a huge wealth of experience in teaching Arabic to Adults and Children in the UK over a period of nearly 25 years. I started teaching Arabic to children privately (individually and in small groups) in the UK since 1992. I then extended my offering, by teaching adults in one of the Adult Community Colleges in the North of England. I then moved to London, and taught two courses of Arabic at Brent Adult Education Services from 1999 to 2001. During that period, I also completed my basic teaching training at Stanmore College in1999.
I then moved to Sussex and restarted in 2008 my Arabic teaching at Sussex Adult Education Services. I continue to teach there until March 2017 as I was the only Arabic Language Tutor at college. Besides that, I kept my private teaching to adults and children, either in person or through Skype, Zoom and Team.
My wealth of experience in teaching Arabic is manifested by the following:
1) I use a wide range and varied teaching materials: books; dialogues; MP3 sound files; card games; CDs; computer games; videos; and worksheets. All of these are at different levels - from absolute beginners to advanced learners. I have created and developed some of these materials, while I have carefully selected the others to suit my teaching at different levels.
2) I plan and develop suitable materials to teach individual students, according to their abilities and understanding. I don't just follow one or two text books, or a computer program to teach the language. I create a session plan for each individual lesson, and when I teach a small group of students, I use suitable differentiation methods to cover the different needs of the students. For example, I currently teach two young children (brothers) at different ages and one of them has a disability, so my teaching materials are different to suit each of them, in order to keep both of them enjoy and benefit from the lessons.
3) Teaching students with different abilities and backgrounds, as well as disabled students. For example, I taught a partially blind adult student, as part of a large group, and then individually. She enjoyed the lessons and continued learning Arabic. My students are at different ages; different professions; different backgrounds; and with different objectives to learn Arabic. I currently teach teenagers at GCSE level; several male and female adults (different professions); and a retired people.
4) I also teach at different levels. For beginners, I teach them the Arabic letters (pronunciation and writing) and communication skills in different day-to-day topics such as buying food and asking for directions. For the more advanced adult learners, I prepare them to be able to read, listen and understand the news in Arabic as well as reading stories, and debating topics. This gives them a good foundation if they want to work in Arabic speaking countries; work with NGOs where Arabic is required; and conducting business in the Arab world.
5) As a College Tutor, I have gone through several inspections / observations of my teaching. I used the feedback from these inspections to improve my teaching methods, style and materials. The feedback from my last observation session (in October 2016) was excellent, and I got the highest grade for a teaching session. The inspection report was full of positive feedback statements, such as:

"The tutor has a very high level of subject knowledge and communicated this in a calm and reassuring manner throughout. There was good rapport between the tutor and students which created a very supportive environment";

"Delivery methods were varied and included tutor presentation, use of sound files, handouts, speaking practice with the tutor, pair-work and some students using ICT resources. Tutor spoke clearly and utilised facial expression to good effect to demonstrate subtle differences in long and short vowel sounds. The pace appeared to be appropriate to all and differentiated learning activities enabled students to progress at their own pace. There were frequent opportunities for repetition. Handouts were either dual language (English / Arabic) .

"A range of assessment methods were in evidence including Q&A, quiz sheets and individual conversation between student and tutor in target language. Positive verbal feedback was given by the tutor throughout the session.
The tutor was well aware of the differing starting points of the students and the tutor had devised an excellent range of individual activities concerning Arabic to meet the needs of each learner. (One had matching cards, 2 played snakes and ladders, one had activity on iPad and one an activity on the computer.)";

"All learners were confident to speak in target language during Q and A sessions";

"Very clear differentiation was evident as the range of students was quite wide including absolute beginners alongside at least one student who had some previous knowledge to the extent that he could read/recognise written Arabic".

Tutoring Approach:
I teach online only, and have a good experience with this method (I taught last year an IGCSE student in the Middle East, and currently teach GCSE to 5 young persons, all online). I usually offer a free trial lesson for assessment purposes and to make sure the student is happy with teaching online.

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Personal Description:
I am 50 years old female, a native Arabic speaker who's trying to help children learn Arabic in a simple and easy way. I am very patient and professional, and my objective is to improve your child's skills in the Arabic language and in reading Quran which can change in a few weeks. I usually focus on writing and conversation practice. I use great and effective materials to help your child develop his reading/writing skills.

Teaching Experience:
I have tutored children with ADHD, primary and secondary levels for more than 10 years. I have also tutored candidates for Edexcel GCSE Arabic, IGCSE Classical Arabic and AS/A Level Arabic for the last 5 years.

Tutoring Approach:
My approach is quite simple. First, I get to know the student and find what level he/she is in and then work on what he/she is missing.

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Personal Description:
I was brought up in Cardiff and my claim to fame is attending the same school as Gareth Bale and Sam Warburton. I'm a Christian, married to Jifelane - the most wonderful woman in the world. She's from Mindanao in the Philippines and we met online! I'm a proud dad to two beautiful children, Isaac and Hannah. I'm much travelled, play guitar, write songs and enjoy carp fishing especially on a warm Spring or Summer day. I am also an author! I published my first book 'Moondust' in 2015 and have recently self published another two, available in the Blurb Bookstore.
As a person I am patient, reflective and believe strongly in integrity. I am compassionate and enjoy seeing the funny side of life - I attempt to bring these qualities to my work. I am a dedicated, adaptable and friendly practitioner who loves to bring out the best in children and others. I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference. I saw that children were the hope for today and for the future and that schools were vital training grounds for life. Now as an experienced practitioner, I still have an infectious enthusiasm and passion to see children learn and reach their full potential.

Teaching Experience:
My professional experience is rooted in the breadth and depth of a teaching adventure which spans over twenty five years. Teaching mostly across Key Stage 2 (but also including KS1), it is entwined with close collaboration with colleagues from Reception through to Y6. I am keenly aware of the learning journey through the Primary School. Most of my teaching career has been in England and I have taught in a diverse range of schools. I am familiar with and use a range of teaching and learning strategies and believe that getting to know the child, coupled with quality assessment is the best way to help move them forward.
In recent years, I have been an integral part of two highly successful schools. My last school received an exceptional report from the most recent ISI inspection at the end of 2014. I quote:
'Staff are highly successful in shaping the educational programmes around the children's' interests and needs, providing a range of highly stimulating learning opportunities across all subjects through a creative curriculum that frequently takes learning outside.'

Tutoring Approach:
I endeavour to use a range of communication strategies which include listening, observing, questioning, explaining, modelling, storytelling and coaching. I have high expectations of myself as a tutor and high hopes and expectations of the learners in my care. I believe that effective teaching and learning comes from a being a reflective and critical practitioner, so whilst I will use tried and tested approaches initially, I will then adapt to suit the learning needs of the tutee. Assessment for learning methods such as strategic questioning, using success criteria and regular quality feedback are embedded into my teaching and learning ethos. As much as possible, I endeavour to make learning fun, stimulating and child centred, sensitive to individual needs. Developing close but respectful relationships with the students lays the foundation for being secure enough to take risks and improve their learning.

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Personal Description:
My name is Eduardo and you can call me Edu. I'm native from Ecuador and I love to teach people how to communicate in my language. I can teach you via skype or whatsapp, I'm very felxible with my schedule. We can improve your language skills in conversatión, reading, writing and latin american culture. I manage many South American slangs if you travel to a specific country so you won't be lost!

Teaching Experience:
I taught to people from europe when I was living in Ecuador, Chile and Argentina and now from here I can give you all the tools you need to improve your spanish skills or just from the beginning.

Tutoring Approach:
We can arrange the modality you want and need.
no problem with the schedule, we can arrange that too

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Personal Description:
I am studying Aerospace Engineering and will be starting year 2 in September at the University of Sheffield, having averaged a 2:1 this year. I also completed a foundation year at the University of Sheffield in Science and Engineering with 92% in my further maths module and 90% in my maths module. I received A*'s in Mathematics, Numeracy and Physics, along with a Distinction in Additional Mathematics in 2017 for my GCSE's (Cowbridge Comprehensive School) and then an A in Mathematics, a B in Further Mathematics and a C in Physics in my Alevels in 2019 (Howell's School Llandaff).

Teaching Experience:
During year 12 and 13 I did mathematics with year 7's and 8's on a Friday morning during form time. We did maths challenges and quick maths problems. I was also a mathematics prefect during year 13, one of my roles was to help run and support other students during maths 'drop in' during lunch times twice a week, where years 7-13 could go for help with any maths they were doing in class, I usually helped years 7-10 and occasionally year 11.

Tutoring Approach:
This online lesson can be used to help with GCSE or below maths and numeracy. I can also help with additional mathematics (also called further mathematics with different exam boards) at GCSE level. I am happy to help with any level whether you are expecting to sit higher tier, intermediate or foundation tier.
Let me know what topics you are currently studying/going to study before the lesson and I will be able to provide questions for you to do, answer any questions you have and give you different methods of completing the question to find which you find easiest (there is normally more than one way to do something!)
I can also help with some physics up to GCSE level if required.
I will be around the South Wales area until the end of August and then I will be returning to Sheffield, however would be able to continue with some online lessons then.

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Personal Description:
I am a Masters student at Swansea university. I did my undergraduate in Classics achieving a 2:1, I also won the Alfred Moorhouse award for most proficient at Latin and Ancient Greek in the year. In my spare time I love to exercise and play video games and spend time outdoors!

Teaching Experience:
I have tutored online before with a student from Hong Kong in Ancient Greek. Also I taught kids in Tanzania about their rights and sanitation for 10 weeks.

Tutoring Approach:
When it comes to learning languages repetition is key, but this can also be fun. I aim to help you learn through repetition and practice, the benefit of this is the more you retain the more it makes sense causing learning to become fun rather than troublesome.

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Personal Description:
Hello! I am a French and German graduate from the University of Cambridge with experience in tutoring languages for children and adults through volunteering and working as a teaching assistant both in the UK and abroad.

Teaching Experience:
In the past, I have volunteered to help at a local lower school, where I would give speaking practice to small groups and help them reinforce new vocabulary ahead of mock tests. I have also been a teaching assistant in upper school, where I have helped students on a 1:1 basis.

Tutoring Approach:
I will tailor to your specific goals and also help you improve your confidence in the language through friendly tutoring.

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Personal Description:
I am teaching French and German I will start off using speech methods, so that the student feels relaxed and able to learn. This is very important. Depending on how we go we can then progress to pens and paper. Learning at this level ought to be enjoyable. I also teach adults at this level. I seek to build confidence in students, so that they can encounter native speakers and be able to do simple tasks like ordering meal in a cafe and an item of clothing in a shop. I have GCSE French and A level German.

Teaching Experience:
I have dyslexia, so I am sensitive to those who have this condition. I go at a slow pace to make sure the knowledge is consolidated before we move on. There is no hurry in learning either of these languages. Better to learn solidly and slowly
than poorly and in a rush. I teach in short sessions as these are most beneficial. There is homework if students want it. I am DBS cleared.

Tutoring Approach:
I am patient and empathetic and these are vital qualities in a teacher. I have travelled frequently to France in recent years, chiefly to Burgundy and also to Paris. I have a also been to Germany --I know Konstanz quite well and have been to Berlin.
Part of learning a language is learning more about the culture of these countries. I hope the students will be able to do this.

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