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Guide to Choosing a Tutor

8. What Language Does He or She Tutor in?

A good tutor will conduct most of their lesson in the language being taught, so that you can quickly become comfortable with speaking and listening. This of course is a huge benefit that helps you learn the language so much faster.

A very important point to note however, is that since 2001 the Department of Education has been progressively increasing the emphasis on English in second language HSC exams.

For example, the 2 Unit Continuers Japanese HSC exam Listening and Reading components, which together make up 65% of the exam score, currently involve analysing Japanese passages in English. This is also the case for the 3 Unit Extension Japanese HSC exam Reading component, which makes up 30% of the exam.

This trend is slowly becoming more significant for all second-language HSC exams.

As a result, foreign-language tutors who are unable to teach the relevant sections of the curriculum in English are no longer equipped to adequately prepare their students for the HSC exams. Students will simply fail to develop the necessary skills in these essential areas and their exam results will seriously suffer.

It is therefore essential that your tutor is able to teach and speak proficiently in both the language being taught, as well as English.

Look for a foreign-language tutor who is able to teach the required components in English, and who also takes every opportunity to speak the language being taught during the lessons. It's really a free bonus to your education which costs neither you nor the tutor any extra time.

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