LoginJulia - Kingston upon Thames tutor
Information About Julia:
Personal Description:
What makes my classes the best option to learn Russian?
- You will acquire Russian naturally in a fun and stress-free learning atmosphere.
- You will be learning with a native speaker.
- You will make progress every single lesson without exception! My lessons are result focussed and highly engaging.
- You will save time by learning from the most effective language acquisition techniques.
- You will have an online access to your individualised lessons materials via your personal Moodle account enabling you to learn anywhere anytime.
- You may choose to take classes according to your needs.
- No obligation initial consultation.
My classes are for
- Adults, Business and Travel
- Children of Russian heritage or working towards a qualification
My lessons for children are based around
- developing your child's speech, reading and writing,
- improving his comprehension
- building her Russian vocabulary to the "educated" standard,
- learning about Russian culture and history
- working on language intereferance and language code switching.
In my teaching children I use proven methods and stragegies developed in American and German schools specifically for biligual children, as well as materials created by a very talented Olga Soboleva.
Teaching Experience:
Teaching adults and children both at prep school and privately.
Tutoring Approach:
As Stephen Krashen puts it, "Simply being a native speaker of a language does not in of itself qualify one as a teacher of that language. Conscious and extensive knowledge of grammar does not make one a language teacher either. Rather, the defining characteristic of a good teacher is someone who can make input comprehensible to a non-native speaker, regardless of his or her level of competence in the target language."
Your primary goal as a student is to learn a language. In that regard my primary job as a tutor is to guarantee the effectiveness of your learning process in relation to your needs and expectations.
How do I achieve that? First and most importantly by combining the right set of tools in my teaching repertoire:
- TPRS - Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling - is at the core of my methodology.
Traditionally there has been a prejudiced view that only certain people can 'do' languages. That only smart students can become proficient and that only the really smart can move on to advanced study. TPRS has demonstrated that the vast majority of students can achieve high levels of success at all levels of foreign language study, and that acquiring a second language isn't nearly as difficult as we teachers sometimes make it. TPRS is making particular headway in language classrooms across the US and considerable research has been done and published on its efficacy.
TPRS works because it is brain-friendly and multi-sensory methodology, fitting the needs of various learning styles. Students develop a real "ear for the language," learning to listen and respond to what sounds right.
- Teaching grammar in meaningful context from day one
The focus is first and foremost on the message, with realistic expectations (level-appropriate) for grammatical accuracy. My philosophy is that of John DeMado: "Linguistic accuracy is a destination, not a point of departure." My way of teaching grammar is based on usefulness, frequency of use and level appropriateness.
- Tremendous amount of Comprehensible Input.
This approach supports the language acquisition theory by Stephen Krashen, who says: "We acquire language in only one way, when we understand messages, that is when we obtain comprehensible input."
- Reading as a major component of learning process.
In his book, The Power of Reading: Insights into the Research, 2nd edition, (p. 37) Stephen Krashen states, "Studies showing that reading enhances literacy development lead to what should be an uncontroversial conclusion: Reading is good for you. The research, however, supports a stronger conclusion: Reading is the only way we become good readers, develop good writing style, an adequate vocabulary, advanced grammatical competence, and the only way we become good spellers."
- Teaching Russian to heritage speakers as a language arts/social science.
What students say:
"As a language teacher myself, I was very particular about the kind of Russian lessons I wanted: communicative, engaging, learning through interaction. I didn't want to get bogged down in grammar but instead to focus on useful vocabulary and phrases I could actually use in Moscow during my regular visits. Julia's lessons have fitted this brief perfectly. Even in our first lesson, I was using Russian to interact in a very simple way, which gave me a huge confidence boost. Julia got to know me well in the initial lesson and then tailored all our classes to my interests and daily activities, making the lessons really relevant and interesting. I initially explained to Julia that I could only do 20 minutes homework a day while commuting into work. She therefore provided vocabulary flashcards I could use on the train to maximise this time. The whole service is bespoke! Julia is a patient, encouraging and engaging teacher "
I would highly recommend her lessons." Sarah, Surbiton
"I took about 5 months of private lessons with Julia, in preparation for a long motorcycle trip around Northern and Central Asia. Although I had been learning a bit of Russian a few years back, I had forgotten everything. In 5 months I went from not speaking any Russian to be able to speak simple sentences, ask questions, explain situations, and feel confident that I can find my way round in any situation that may arise through the trip. Julia impressed me by her enthusiasm, by how much research, effort and preparation she put in, to design the lessons to fit my specific needs, for this journey. I definitely would recommend her to my friends and anyone who wants to learn Russian fast and efficiently." Maria, New Malden
Subjects Taught:
Qualifications:
- Centre for International Education, Moscow State University - Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language
- Samara State University, Russia - English Language & Literature
Further Information:
| Availability: | Weekends / Weekdays (all times) |
| Types of Tutoring: | Travels to you / From their home / Online |
| References Supplied? | Yes |
| Current DBS/CRB Check? | Yes |
| Additional Languages Spoken: | English |
