We are looking for more tutors in all languages including English. European time slots and British English are especially welcome.
Even 15 minutes a week would be fine.
You can just offer one on one discussions. There is no need to offer group discussions (max four learners). I can assure you, however,that they go very well, and people form happy little groups of learners.
With regard to your question re editing, I will leave it to Mark to answer you since I am not up to date on all the changes and remaining little bugs in the system.
I presume that you are all aware that if you make friends of people who tutor in the languages that interest you, you can see when they post discussions in your friends activity area on the Home page. Thanks to my friend Dooo for posting some discussions.
I’m interesting in starting to tutor (British) English sometime soon. However my main concern has already been highlighted, that of not being good enough for my ‘students’ as I’ve never done it before.
I could offer my help. I would sign up for English with native speakers if there are suitable times. I’m able to give some advice because I’ve had a lot of English conversations, and I’m also a German tutor.
Vera, that is a great idea. You practice your English and advise our new tutors about what is involved in tutoring. I am trying to do the same. If I see a new tutor in another language I try to sign up with him or her to go over what is involved.
Remember that tutoring at LingQ is not like being a teacher. Being a teacher in a school is a very difficult job. You have a curriculum to teach. You are responsible for the test results of your students. 70- 90% of your students are not interested in learning. Sometimes they disrupt the class. You need to keep them amused and occupied all the time. You need to be the source of knowledge. And still somehow you have to try to motivate them.
At LingQ, we only have motivated learners. There is no set curriculum. Learners can follow their interests. You can talk to one learner at a time, or up to 4 at most. There are no tests.
You just need to be familiar with the LingQ system and speak your own language well. You should be enthusiastic and encouraging. There are lots of sources of information regarding specific points of grammar if that is required. a quick google search usually turns more than enough information on any specific grammar questions, or word definition.
Yet these kind of questions rarely arise. Mostly you just engage learners in conversation, making sure that they speak most of the time, not you. Note down the words and phrases that they use incorrectly and send them to the learner in the discussion report, with a short summary comment with words of encouragement.
I am thinking of creating some content in English about my experience of tutoring at LingQ. Perhaps Vera and other could do the same in their native language.
There are barriers when you decide for the first time, if you want to be a tutor. The last time I looked at the Tutor Manual, it was IMHO, a bit lengthy and not up to date with how the system was working. Another small barrier is that a tutor does not see her/his one-on-ones. The new tutors are confused. The few and the smaller are the barriers the better. I agree that the new or potential and may be even the old tutors might not like Steve’s ideas on the forums about how tutors could be evaluated and ranked by the community. Friendliness without direct tutor ranking, which you all by the way create so nice, might be better, at least when you want more tutors.
You make some good points here Ilya. We first have to clean up all the bugs, then we should address how to make mutual tutoring a bigger part of what happens here at LingQ. шаг за шагом, step by step.
I don’t really tutor because my topics would probably involve prostitution, whiskey drinking, overthrowing the government, and streaking during nationally televised sporting events…
all things inappropriate for lingq unfortunately…
WE British have a proud tradition of streaking at major sports events, and to my mind it is the only thing that makes the Test Match worth watching. I didn’t realise that foreigners had got in on the act too.
I have in the past offered discussions on alien abductions, favourite conspiracy theories and how LingQ members can achieve world domination. I didn’t get many takers, but I wouldn’t want that to discourage your attempts at prostitutoring.
I was actually waiting for one of the English members to add that to the crazy things Americans do, you can youtube our exploits, it happens quite often.
Other conversation ideas: “how con like a gypsy” and “how to console you Canadian friend after about 4 o’clock Pacific Standard time on the last day of the Olympics”
Scratch that last conversation idea and switch it to: “how to make your Canadian friend almost cough up his heart with 30 seconds to go in the 3rd period”…
Hi Steve, believe it or not but some time ago I prepared a collection about how to use LingQ as a tutor and a student in German that includes some advices for new tutors. I didn’t have the time to record it but today I recorded some of the lessons. I recorded now some of the later lessons because they provide information for tutors. I hope it helps.
Here is the link to the collection: Aktiv mit LingQ - LingQ Language Library
Lesson 16, 17 and 18 include some hints about hosting a conversation.
You have brought to life again the thread they killed!
I expected it to be killed or switched to hockey yesterday, and later congratulated myself with how far-sighted I was. I turned to be wrong.
I am now tempted to start German as strongly as I yesterday I felt to switch all this to the hockey jokes myself.
