Private Tutors for English.

N

neil100

Hi,

I'd like to get some help for my 8 year old son, to help improve his English writing and spelling.

Whilst I believe that as parents we could help him ourselves, I think he would respond better to a more structured approach from someone he doesn't know.

What I am worried about is how to identify a good tutor, and where to find one.
We are based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, and would appreciate any help anyone can give.

Thanks
Neil
 
I agree with what you've said Neil. I'm thinking that maybe if you tell us what you've tried so far to improve his english, you might get a few more ideas/tips/experiences as to what other techniques you could try.

And are his school grades in English as high as the class average?
 
Just wondering if you read to him? Has he found a book he enjoys & wants to read himself? I think when the Harry Potter series came out, it helped many young people improve their reading. Is he into trucks, dinosaurs, fashion, sharks etc....maybe get a few books on a topic he's into. Maybe even some Roald Dahl books (or whatever the rage is with kids these days)?

I think the enjoyment factor of learning can go a long way towards him wanting to be a better reader.

Has he been checked for dyslexia? This can often impede kids' reading abilities & put them off wanting to as it's not easy when the words don't look the same as they do to everyone else.

Good luck :)
 
vincenzo said:
I agree with what you've said Neil. I'm thinking that maybe if you tell us what you've tried so far to improve his english, you might get a few more ideas/tips/experiences as to what other techniques you could try.

And are his school grades in English as high as the class average?
Click to expand...

Hi Vincenzo,

His school grades are pretty average. He has good imagination, but tends to speak too quickly, jumbling up words in his sentences, and this also transfers to his written work, where he often rushes everything he wants to write too quickly. If we then ask him to read back what he writes, he gets frustrated because he knows there will be mistakes, and I think he thinks we are criticizing his work.

At spelling, he is actually quite good at learning to spell a set of say 10 words, and as parents we have been able to do these as part of his normal homework. However, when he comes to write these words as part of a story for example, the spelling reverts back to more of a phonetic interpretation.

He does have a very mild form of autism and I think he would benefit from someone working with him to help him structure his writing, and to encourage him to slow down and maybe to think of the whole sentence before he actually writes it down.

Regards
Neil
 
mary&mat said:
Just wondering if you read to him? Has he found a book he enjoys & wants to read himself? I think when the Harry Potter series came out, it helped many young people improve their reading. Is he into trucks, dinosaurs, fashion, sharks etc....maybe get a few books on a topic he's into. Maybe even some Roald Dahl books (or whatever the rage is with kids these days)?

I think the enjoyment factor of learning can go a long way towards him wanting to be a better reader.

Has he been checked for dyslexia? This can often impede kids' reading abilities & put them off wanting to as it's not easy when the words don't look the same as they do to everyone else.

Good luck :)
Click to expand...

Thanks.

His reading, I think, is actually very good. He does sometime mis-read words, often saying "was" instead of "saw" for example, but on the whole, he can read well. We have started to test his comprehension after reading text, because whilst he is able to read the words well, he doesn't always understand what is going on in the story.

Yes, we do try and pick books that he might enjoy, but must also admit we haven't read to him for quite a while as we have put more focus on our younger daughters night time routine of having a story.

Cheers
Neil
 
neil100 said:
Yes, we do try and pick books that he might enjoy, but must also admit we haven't read to him for quite a while as we have put more focus on our younger daughters night time routine of having a story.
Click to expand...

Just an idea, if nothing else; but could you combine the two and have your son try to read the story to your daughter...?
 
all but two people in my highschool passed Yr12 english - myself and a good friend of mine.

the curriculum was bullsh_t and the teaching was disengaged. i struggled and got 51% and my mate got 53%.
 
Hi again Neil,

Just thinking of some games you can play with him like getting him to read the names of shops or street signs when you are out.

Maybe have a blackboard or a piece of butcher's paper in his room/lounge room & each day add a word to the list so he can practise writing it & seeing it during the day? To help with comprehension, maybe he can draw pictures or write other words alongside the 'word of the day' that mean similar things? When he's mastered x amount of words, then he can buy a book as a reward.

Agree with Aaron. There's not enough emphasis on spelling, grammar, comprehension these days in the classroom...unfortunately, I think this puts a lot back on us as parents to spend time reading & teaching them ourselves if the school system doesn't have the time & resources to do it.

Good luck :)
 
Hi Neil,

Have you had your son's vision tested? I don't mean just his eyesight, but an educational vision test.

Just the fact that he mixes up words like 'was' and 'saw'. All kids do this to a certain extent, but by age 8 it might indicate a problem with his eye-brain co-ordination.

It sounds similar to my own daughter. She was doing some strange reversals with her reading, had the test and discovered a couple of little issues including eye-tracking. She ended up having a 10 week course of Vision Therapy which fixed everything up. It's all about getting your eyes and brain in synchronicity. Since then she has absolutely soared ahead with her reading/writing etc - to the point of now being identified as academically gifted. Best $1000 we ever spent on her.

Your son also sounds a bit like her in that he has a wonderful imagination - too busy writing down his fabulous stories to bother with spelling etc.

Anyway, just because of the similarities between your son and my daughter, thought I should mention the Vision Therapy. It is worth looking into if you haven't already.

Best of luck.
Caroline
 
Sounds like your boy is doing well Neil. I can ask a very experienced and knowledgeable psychologist friend of mine for some tips if you like? I'd benefit aswell btw, as I want to improve my educational skills aswell.
You mentioned a mild form of autism, do you have any more information you can give me?

ninja edit: I'm out of kudos atm guys, some really good points being brought up here!
 
What a pity we don't live closer I'd have put my hand up for the job! :)

I've been tutoring my grandson for a few years now, who has trouble with reading, writing, spelling & maths. He's never been diagnosed with a specific complaint and is considered smart, funny, creative and 'normal' in every other way.

The education department doesn't put lables on children - they all fall under 'learning disability'. There is a reading programme he may be eligible for which runs for about 6 weeks. Ask his teacher. It's quite selective - only 6-8 children chosen per year from a wide school district and it may be run in a school some distance away from your home - you may be eligible for transport if he is chosen and you have trouble getting him to & from the programme. It takes precedence over everything else so, if chosen he can kiss good-bye to school excursions, concerts, sports etc. Note: it's no 'wonder cure'. I spoke to the tutor at the end of the course and she said for many/most of the kids - it's just the way they are. If you're waiting for the penny to drop you'll be waiting a long time. But every little bit helps right? :)

Has he been assessed to identify his specific areas of difficulty? This may be helpful so you provide help where he needs it most.

We did get a tutor through SPELD, the dyslexic organisation - lovely, helpful people. http://speldnsw.org.au/
The SPELD S.A. site has lots of useful info too.
http://www.speld-sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=55

Playing board games such as Scrabble is an area where you can help (but allow him to swap some letters with no penalty if they are too hard to make anything from.) Kids love playing board games and don't even realise they're learning! To help my grandson with counting in the early years we played pontoon (21) and dice games. :rolleyes: because the key to them learning is repetitiveness, but done in an interesting or fun way so it isn't boring.

Unfortunately for kids with learning difficulties the focus is on 'what's wrong with them' or 'what they're not good at' so we need to remind them that NOBODY is good at EVERYTHING and to let them know what they are fantastic at to keep their confidence and self esteem up. (I'm sure you do this already.) :)

In the meantime here's a great little site with literacy games to play.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks1bitesize/literacy/
 
The danger is passing on a kind of anxiety about it to the child.

We homeschooled our 2 children and had 2 very different reading/writing/comprehension experiences.

One learned to read and write when he was 4 - we did nothing but read to him.

One did not, could not, read or write until she was 8. Nothing made sense to her. It was like a code she could not crack. But we weren't worried in the slightest because we had experiences in our homeschool group of families that some kids are just late code-crackers. Treating her inability to read was not considered a disability by anyone at all around her.

She became fluent speaking Spanish and her first reading experience was in Spanish which is a very phonetic language. From then on she started to read English. She's made up for lost time and is now well into a second degree in law.

My longwinded point is that some kids are just late learners when it comes to language.
 
Hi Neil,

It sounds like your son has specific needs and it may be difficult to find someone to target his needs.

Does your son have aspergers? If so the problems he is experiencing are fairly typical. Is the teacher helping with specific learning tasks? Transferring learned knowledge (eg from spelling lists to sentences) is difficult, as is comprehension of texts (specifically inferred questions).

I will PM you. If you like you can Email me with more info and I can help with strategies.
 
The absolutely best thing I have ever done with our kids, learning wise, is reading aloud to them. We all sit down together after tea, everyone gets comfortable, no talking, no tv, I say, "can anyone remember where we were up to then?" and then they answer and I find the page and we start. At the moment we are reading Island of The Blue Dolphins which everyone (aged 6 - 14) enjoys, just one more chapter PLEASE. It is great for reading comprehension and word use and finding the flow of a story ... and it is special family time as well. Most nights we read then sometimes there is a gap of aweek or two between books.
At his age, I would recommend HATCHET (Gary Larsen). Survival and adventure. :)
 
JamesGG said:
Just an idea, if nothing else; but could you combine the two and have your son try to read the story to your daughter...?
Click to expand...

Thanks James. Actually we have done this in the past, and both quite enjoyed it.

mary&mat said:
Agree with Aaron. There's not enough emphasis on spelling, grammar, comprehension these days in the classroom...unfortunately, I think this puts a lot back on us as parents to spend time reading & teaching them ourselves if the school system doesn't have the time & resources to do it.

Good luck
Click to expand...

I tend to agree with you. Generally I don't see there being a link made at school between the spellings they have to learn, and then using them in writing and with correct grammar.

Lily House said:
Hi Neil,

Have you had your son's vision tested? I don't mean just his eyesight, but an educational vision test.


Anyway, just because of the similarities between your son and my daughter, thought I should mention the Vision Therapy. It is worth looking into if you haven't already.

Best of luck.
Caroline
Click to expand...

That is very interesting Caroline - do you have any contact information regarding this ?

Thanks

Olly said:
What a pity we don't live closer I'd have put my hand up for the job! :)

I've been tutoring my grandson for a few years now, who has trouble with reading, writing, spelling & maths. He's never been diagnosed with a specific complaint and is considered smart, funny, creative and 'normal' in every other way.

The education department doesn't put lables on children - they all fall under 'learning disability'. There is a reading programme he may be eligible for which runs for about 6 weeks. Ask his teacher. It's quite selective - only 6-8 children chosen per year from a wide school district and it may be run in a school some distance away from your home - you may be eligible for transport if he is chosen and you have trouble getting him to & from the programme. It takes precedence over everything else so, if chosen he can kiss good-bye to school excursions, concerts, sports etc. Note: it's no 'wonder cure'. I spoke to the tutor at the end of the course and she said for many/most of the kids - it's just the way they are. If you're waiting for the penny to drop you'll be waiting a long time. But every little bit helps right? :)

Has he been assessed to identify his specific areas of difficulty? This may be helpful so you provide help where he needs it most.

We did get a tutor through SPELD, the dyslexic organisation - lovely, helpful people. http://speldnsw.org.au/
The SPELD S.A. site has lots of useful info too.
http://www.speld-sa.org.au/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=55

Playing board games such as Scrabble is an area where you can help (but allow him to swap some letters with no penalty if they are too hard to make anything from.) Kids love playing board games and don't even realise they're learning! To help my grandson with counting in the early years we played pontoon (21) and dice games. :rolleyes: because the key to them learning is repetitiveness, but done in an interesting or fun way so it isn't boring.

Unfortunately for kids with learning difficulties the focus is on 'what's wrong with them' or 'what they're not good at' so we need to remind them that NOBODY is good at EVERYTHING and to let them know what they are fantastic at to keep their confidence and self esteem up. (I'm sure you do this already.) :)

In the meantime here's a great little site with literacy games to play.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks1bitesize/literacy/
Click to expand...

Thanks Olly, what a shame indeed! However, thanks for the links and other suggestions.

Pecan said:
The absolutely best thing I have ever done with our kids, learning wise, is reading aloud to them. We all sit down together after tea, everyone gets comfortable, no talking, no tv, I say, "can anyone remember where we were up to then?" and then they answer and I find the page and we start. At the moment we are reading Island of The Blue Dolphins which everyone (aged 6 - 14) enjoys, just one more chapter PLEASE. It is great for reading comprehension and word use and finding the flow of a story ... and it is special family time as well. Most nights we read then sometimes there is a gap of aweek or two between books.
At his age, I would recommend HATCHET (Gary Larsen). Survival and adventure. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Pecan - it's not something we have really thought about. We have tended to read to one or other of the children, but not all together.
It sounds like you all have a lovely time!

Thanks to everyone who has chipped in with suggestions and ideas. They are all very much appreciated.

Neil
 
Neil:

Sounds similar to what I had when I was younger!

When I was around that age I was diagnosed with a very mild form of autism (apparently), and the same issues in regards to trying to read/write/speak too fast and it all became a mess. This has gone away somewhat with time, however I still do have a habit of speaking too fast at times and the same with reading. The reading isn't an issue for the most part as it just means I'm taking it all in a lot faster, however if it means reading aloud it still can become rather jumbled so speeches/talks have to be memorised instead of dot points/reference cards. I don't know how my writing has gone as it is rather limited due to an unrelated syndrome.

As others have mentioned I would be wary of making the child very aware of your attempts as to not cause anxiety, also you don't want this issue to get over-inflated or think that its unresolvable.
 
That is very interesting Caroline - do you have any contact information regarding this ?
Click to expand...

Hi Neil,
I have a great optometrist I could recommend, but they are in Melbourne and you are in Sydney.......

Try asking at your school - our school recommended the optometrist we use.
Say you would like your son to have an educational vision test.

Especially ask the head of Preps (is that what you call your 1st year primary school students in NSW?) as often schools will suggest that all children have a vision and hearing test before starting school, so they probably have contacts they can pass on to you.

Otherwise, do you have a reading-recovery teacher at your school? -they may also be able to recommend someone suitable.

Failing a recommendation, I would try Googling in your local area. Try "Vision Therapy" or "Educational Vision Testing" as your search criteria. Make sure it is an optometrist with specialised training in this area who tests your son. Even if the test comes back as showing no issue, it is worth paying the $100 or so to eliminate this - it is actually quite a common thing, and if there is an issue in this area, it can be fixed!

Best of luck. Please let us know how you go.
Caroline
 
Lily House said:
Failing a recommendation, I would try Googling in your local area. Try "Vision Therapy" or "Educational Vision Testing" as your search criteria.

Best of luck. Please let us know how you go.
Caroline
Click to expand...

Thanks Caroline, I have found one close-by and will be getting him checked out as a precaution.

Neil
 
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