JennyD Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Has anyone here had particularly good luck finding a language tutor for your early elementary school child? If so, how did you find the person? I have been trying and failing to find a French tutor for my first grader (my 3yo will tag along as much as possible). After some subpar experiences with a couple of teachers, I am determined to find someone with some kind of background in early education. I would also love to find a person who could help me teach the kids myself. (Basically, what I want is a Suzuki teacher for French.) Really, this shouldn't be that hard -- we live in a city, very near several universities, and I am willing to pay well for the right person. However, I just can't quite get this sorted. There are a ton of very well-qualified French tutors for teens and adults, and there are loads of energetic early education majors and grad students wandering about, but it is proving surprisingly difficult to find both skill sets in the same person. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 It is tough. We have found a couple tutors through Craigslist. One was really good, but really just teaches adults. But it was helpful to learn from her ourselves, and she had a set curriculum she uses. The other was for the kids, but seemed to mostly want to help them with homework (they were at a bilingual school at the time). We also found a tutor by asking a local high school teacher for a recommendation. (We didn't know the teacher, just looked up her email on the school's website). She got us in contact with someone who was a native speaker and was in college for early education. She was definitely more personable. BUT in both cases with the kids' tutors I could not get them to just speak the 2nd language to them. Even though I asked them to from the beginning, they both spoke mostly English. They didn't seem to understand that they could speak the 2nd language and act things out and the kids would understand eventually. I was thinking it might be better to look for a baby sitter or nanny-type person instead of a "tutor." The tutors seem more comfortable helping with homework or doing reading/writing, when I was really looking for someone to just converse with them. Still looking for the best solution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Do you have 'Fun Language Clubs' there? We found a great tutor through them, and also Alliance Francaise, if they're in your area too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 It is tough. My 6 year old wants to learn Spanish. There are plenty of full-day immersion schools around here, a few classes all the way across town that would take too much time away from my other dc, but little in the way of tutors, even in a state with lots of native speakers/native bilingual people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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