Mei

Tutoring Experience

I am especially keen to teach English at GCSE, IB or undergraduate level and help out with entrance examinations for sixth form schools and universities (including personal statements and the ELAT.

For two years during sixth form, I volunteered weekly as a teaching assistant in both primary and secondary schools. I have experience with ages 7-18, helping younger students with creative writing and focusing on essay writing skills and personalised EPQ support for older students.

Having applied to boarding schools for sixth form I am familiar with the 16+ exams and have tutored students in Hong Kong interested in applying to schools in the UK, looking at non-verbal and verbal reasoning tests.

Since leaving Hong Kong, I continued to tutor students over Zoom, building up their confidence and supplementing their school English lessons.

Tutoring Approach

I’ve heard many people complain that they either don’t enjoy English or that they don’t get the hang of exams so I think it’s really important to strike a balance between catering to the marking criteria whilst still developing your own critical voice.

For example, with an essay-based question I would initially focus on discussing an extract together to come up with ideas organically and then organise them into an essay plan that is in line with what the examiners want.

For school-level English a sound grasp of terminology and confident close-reading skills are crucial, whereas at a higher-level reading around the subject is much more heavily valued.

I’m a big fan of the tutorial system at Oxford and I think there are valuable aspects of the tutorials to incorporate at any age, such as maintaining a conversational tone and asking questions to stretch, strengthen and challenge students’ perspectives.