Andrew Giffen's Tutor Profile (see if Andrew is in your area!)

French
Up to 11 years (primary) - £15.00p.h.
11+ (secondary) - £15.00p.h.
GCSE or Standards - £20.00p.h.
A-Level or Highers - £20.00p.h.
Further/Higher (University) - £20.00p.h.
Adult/Casual learner - £20.00p.h.

German
Up to 11 years (primary) - £15.00p.h.
11+ (secondary) - £15.00p.h.
GCSE or Standards - £20.00p.h.
A-Level or Highers - £20.00p.h.
Further/Higher (University) - £20.00p.h.
Adult/Casual learner - £20.00p.h.

Computer Studies / I.T.
Up to 11 years (primary) - £15.00p.h.
11+ (secondary) - £15.00p.h.
GCSE or Standards - £20.00p.h.

Personal Description: I am 38, and based in Reading. I have a wide range of interests, including engineering, art, and sports (baseball and tennis). I am well traveled and have had exposure to people from all walks of life. This allows me to relate to people of all ages across the board.

Tutoring Experience: I have qualified teacher status for secondary education and have taught French and German to A-level, as well as in adult education evening classes.

Tutoring Approach: 1- I pitch to the appropriate level. I have a flexible approach to adapt to the individual's language level
"Il faut savoir marcher avant de courir!"

2- I reinforce success. It's essential to reinforce the student's confidence - the learning experience must be a positive one. The sad result of most formal teaching is that students make negative associations with languages ie, stressful examinations, classroom pressure, boredom etc.
"Mieux vaut tard que jamais!"

3- I encourage the student to mean what they say in the language. To have intention behind one word is far better than to say much more without meaning it.
"Encore une fois, mais cette fois pour de vrai!"

4- I use techniques to help the student think (maybe even dream) in the language. This is an essential step towards fluency.
"Je pense donc je suis!"

5- I have techniques to demystify essential grammar. Getting it right means more confidence.
"Je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes!"

Qualifications:

• Post-Graduate Certificate in Education - University of Durham
• BA Honours (1st) in French studies with German

Availability: Weekends / Weekdays (all times)
References Available: No
CRB Check: Yes

Date Registered:	13/05/2008
Date Last Logged In:	04/11/2008
Total Amount Of Feedback:	1
Total Positive Feedback:	1     Av. 5.00/5.00

From Tristan Plum (5/5): Very good (effective and enjoyable) natural flowing sessions. Andrew always tailors the subject matter to my specific needs. He has helped me achieve my learning objectives plus more: given me more confidence in what I considered a tricky area (Akkusativ + Dativ case), helped me to construct grammatically correct sentences (I had roughly the right vocab previously but delivered it in a jumbled order). His enthusiasm for the language is quite infectious (which definitely helps to motivate).

Overall, this has been a good learning experience and I would not hesitate to recommend Andrew to others wishing to improve their German.

Tristan

Reply from: Andrew Giffen: Thanks Tristan, it's not as difficult as everyone seems to make out eh. Bis nächstes Mal!