Bridgette
Certified Tutor
Buenos Dias a Todos!
I am here to tailor my teaching to your Spanish needs! I have experience in teaching all ages and all ability levels, from kindergarteners all the way through college students, as well as native Speakers who may need to touch up on spelling or grammar. I was born into a Mexican family, so the dialect that I am familiar with is Mexican Spanish, but I also studied abroad in Spain for a year while working on my bachelor's degree and am therefore also familiar with the proper Castillian Spanish from Spain. I got my bachelor's degree in Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics from the University of California, Riverside and my master's degree in International Relations from Webster University in Washington D.C. Whether you need to prepare for a test, brush up on your conversational skills, read Spanish literature, or distinguish between the different accents, I am here to help you with your Spanish language learning needs!
Connect with a tutor like Bridgette
Undergraduate Degree: University of California-Riverside - Bachelors, Foreign Languages
Graduate Degree: Webster University - Masters, International Relations
Languages and Linguistics; I was a linguist in Spanish and Korean while in the Marine Corps
What is your teaching philosophy?
When it comes to foreign language acquisition, the first question that comes to mind is: what are your learning goals? Are you trying to ace a test? Do you need assistance with reading comprehension? Does your pronunciation need work? I take into account all aspects of learning a foreign language, including reading, writing, speaking and listening, ask the student what his/her goals are, and then prepare a lesson plan from there.
How can you help a student become an independent learner?
By pointing the student in the right direction as far as what helped me and providing the student with resources to work on the language on his or her own time.
How would you help a student stay motivated?
By providing positive feedback when I have noticed an improvement.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
Prepare a lesson plan ahead of time focused on the specific skill that needs to be worked on.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
If the student does not have his/her own reading materials, I will provide a piece of material at their level, and together, we will go over important aspects of reading comprehension such as getting the general gist, guessing, and understanding the context.
What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?
Finding out what their strengths and weaknesses are, what their goals are, and how many tutoring sessions they would like to utilize to achieve their goals.
How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?
Provide positive feedback as often as possible when the student is making an improvement. Ensure that the student is remaining actively engaged by ensuring that the student is learning rather than memorizing.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
At the beginning of each session, the student and I will establish goals that we would like to complete by the end of each session. About 10 to 15 minutes prior to the end of each session, we will revisit our goal list, see what we have accomplished, and see what still needs to be worked on, if anything.
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Firstly, I will point out what the student is really good at, and I will keep track of improvements that the student has made over time.
How do you evaluate a student's needs?
During the first session, I will ask the student: what are your short and long term goals? What are you trying to accomplish? In what time frame do you want to accomplish this goal?
How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?
By preparing a lesson plan ahead of time specifically tailored to the individual student's needs.
What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?
For speaking practice, I have a conversational textbook at my disposal. For reading practice, I will provide materials at the student's level. For listening practice, we will listen to audio clips, and I will ask questions about the clip. For writing, we will go over the grammar rules of Spanish spelling.
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
Establish a time frame, goals, and assess strengths and weaknesses.