Sophie Lawrence

As a neurodiverse person, I know firsthand that effective teaching should be tailored to each person’s individual learning styles, so my lessons are always shaped by what the student needs, first and foremost. Achieving short term goals is obviously important, but I also ensure my students’ academic success extends beyond their exams by building a strong foundation of achievable learning habits, curiosity, and, most importantly, self-confidence. The ultimate aim here is a lifelong love of learning and languages!

My approach as a tutor and an academic mentor is highly collaborative. This means no hour-long lectures or presentations! I almost always host lessons online using Google Meet and share any resources, like curated vocabulary lists, quizzes, and extracurricular work, on Google Classroom so students can practice in their own time. Lessons usually incorporate a blend of essay writing, conversation, and listening comprehension to ensure the students' Spanish skills are well-rounded, but that balance is also informed by the student's own needs. As I'm a linguistic specialist, I also take a hands-on approach to speaking practice, using linguistic knowledge and speech and motor techniques to improve my students' accents and their spoken Spanish skills.

While I use GCSE and A Level exam board curricula as the foundation for my lessons, I also incorporate students' hobbies and interests wherever possible. This not only provides an excellent set-up for individual research projects at A Level, but also demonstrates how learning a second language can be a valuable tool to explore the world and things they love. This captures the essence of my language teaching ethos - learning a language should be fun, functional, and rewarding!