In this article you will discover how a language tutor could help you to learn a language and improve your foreign language speaking skills.
Learning a foreign language with a language tutor can be a rewarding experience. A tutor can help motivate you as well as give you confidence speaking a language.
A good tutor also help you in many ways that books, apps and other resources cannot.
Below are some ways in which a language tutor could help you to learn a language.1. Help you to fill in gaps in your knowledge you may not realise you have
A tutor may be able to identify gaps in your knowledge that you may not realise you have.
Most learners, for example, do not realise that in many foreign languages ongoing actions that started in the past are often referred to in the present tense. This is often the case even if in English you refer to them in the past.
The most common structure that catches people out when speaking a foreign language is in "have been -ing" structure (e.g. I have been learning Spanish for five years). In other languages this structure is often said using the present tense (e.g. I learn Spanish since five years). This is usually the case for Spanish, French, Italian and German and inevitably many other languages.
2. Get you speaking
People often try learning a foreign language by learning lists of words, but freeze when it comes to speaking.
One common complaint is people speak the other language too quickly.
The reality is it is not surprising that people who learn from books and apps lack confidence when they want to speak, because they have never had real life conversations before. They are also fearful that the person answers with a "phrase" that they have not learnt.
During tuition sessions you have the opportunity to speak the language. The more you learn and speak, the more you will understand and your confidence speaking the language will grow over time.
3. Help you with your accent and correct your pronunciation
Developing a foreign accent when speaking another language is essential. A good tutor will not only help you to improve your pronunciation, but will also help you to develop your speaking skills with confidence.
Whilst apps and audio courses give you examples of how to pronounce things, they do not really give you feedback on your accent.
You may think you are pronouncing something correctly, but may in fact be saying it incorrectly. A tutor could help you improve your accent, so you sound more natural and therefore a more authentic sounding language speaker over time.
Understanding how people pronounce words will also help you to identify words more easily when people speak the language to you.
4. Improve your confidence
If your tutor tells you that you are pronouncing words correctly and helps you to make your sentences sound more natural, you will be a more confident foreign language speaker.
Speaking practice and gaining experience having conversations will boost your confidence to speak when on trips abroad, as you will know what to expect. Again, if you know what to expect and understand how to speak the language more, you will be much more confident using the language.
5. Motivate you
Having regular language tuition sessions can be great for motivation. If you see yourself improving week by week, you will be much more motivated to continue learning.
Many people also like the commitment of having weekly sessions. By doing tuition regularly, even if you have a busy schedule, you know that you are still regularly practising using the foreign language.
6. Gain experience using the language in a variety of topics
You may have been sticking to a limited number of topics. A tutor could help you to use the language in a wider variety of topics.
A tutor could also teach you phrases and vocabulary that is commonly used that you may not otherwise think of.
7. Talk you through any challenging aspects of learning a language
Learning a language is not always straightforward. Language learning is often unnecessarily difficult for people who rely too much on books, apps and audio courses.
Arguably many books, audio courses and apps do not explain how to learn a language in a very logical way. Many often give phrases and vocabulary, but give little to no explanation on how to put everything together when you want to create your own sentences.
A tutor could help you by explaining how the language works in a logical and comprehensive way. After all, if you understand what you are doing, you will also be much more confident using the language.
Using a tutor is especially useful when it comes to what many perceive as more complicated aspects of grammar. A tutor may be able to explain to you aspects of grammar that you perceive as complicated in a simple and comprehensive way.
8. Answer your questions on language learning
Unlike a book, app, etc. a tutor can obviously answer any questions you have on the foreign language. If you understand a language better, you will be more confident speaking the other language.
9. Support you through your language learning journey
A tutor is there to support you on your language learning journey, however long or short that learning journey is.
The tutor will also want you not only to progress in the language but also for you to see your progress. After all, if you progress, you will more likely continue doing language sessions. Both you and your tutor are a team and will inevitably have the same aims.
Give your language learning a boost by taking Online Language Tuition on Skype!
Hopefully this has helped you to understand the many ways in which a tutor could help you.
You could improve your confidence and skills speaking a language by taking Spanish, French, Italian or German lessons online (typically £23 for 60 minutes for one person). Get in contact today or see the Learn Spanish, Learn French, Learn Italian or Learn German language page.