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Guide to Choosing a Tutor
When looking for a tutor, it's naturally very important that you know all the necessary facts about the person before hiring them. After all, you'll be placing a lot of trust in them that will affect your future academic success.
Whenever talking to a prospective tutor therefore, you should never let them make you feel as through you're being rude by questioning their qualifications. Always remember that you are the customer, and you have a right to know exactly what you're paying for.
1. How Did the Tutor Learn the Language Being Taught?
It's important to understand that when learning any foreign or second language, there is always a big difference between what is learned from books or in the classroom, and how the language is actually spoken in the real world. This is especially true of Japanese and Chinese, which are so closely tied up in their countries' culture.
It's not really possible therefore, for any tutor to have a strong command of Japanese or Chinese without having lived in Japan or China for a considerable amount of time. Their pronunciation will generally sound awkward, their expressions will often not be totally appropriate, and their speech will sound obviously irregular to any native person. Of course these limitations will then be passed on to each of their students.
It's most important to the quality of the language you are taught therefore, that you preferably choose a tutor who is a native of that country, or alternatively one who has lived there for at least 5 years. This way you can be assured of being taught by someone who is truly familiar with the language and its usage, and who can teach you excellent pronunciation and conversational usage.
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1. How did the tutor learn
