Firing a tutor advice

[waa510]

Hi! My kids have been meeting privately with a native Japanese speaker for about a few weeks now with really nothing to show for it. The tutor speaks a fair amount of English, has visited the U.S. and is going to be living in CO in a couple years. I think b/c she can lean on English she isn't really speaking Japanese to the girls. B/c my kids have a harder time with Japanese, they are more than happy to speak their native language to her for the entire hourly session.  :glare:

 

So far, they've played some games that we own (asked her to bring games but she didn't) but only in English and made some origami while speaking English. She's taught them a few words for shapes while doing origami and the girls practiced writing a little bit more in hiragana/katakana. I'm paying her the equivalent of $25 US for each weekly session and Dh is starting to get annoyed that we're basically paying to help *her* learn English! I've asked my girls to try to speak Japanese during the lesson but their tutor will answer in English so not sure much learning is happening. I've tried to ask the tutor to bring books to teach from, picked up some Japanese books from the library, etc. At some point though, for $25 a pop, I'd kind of like the tutor to get her stuff together and get a curriculum plan or toys/games/something going. I thought I communicated this clearly before hiring but it's not actually happening! 

 

Pretty much everything my kids have learned has been from my teaching them, but I was feeling like my lack of native fluency was holding them back. Getting the tutor was supposed to help push them into greater fluency so they can talk more easily with the Japanese friends/kids we hang with. I'm dismayed that the girls aren't progressing as much as I'd have liked by now (1 yr here) and I don't have the time or energy to speed up my learning any more than I already am so I can move them along (spending at least 2 hrs day learning Japanese speaking/reading/writing it all). 

 

OK, so how do I break off this situation?? I hate confrontation but am getting to the end of my rope here. Please give me some tactful, kind but firm words to say to convey that this just isn't working for me anymore.  :sad:

[Penguin]

I would give her a chance to rectify her tutoring before I fired her. But that is because my philosophy (learned from a manager whom I respect) is that a person should not be surprised when he or she is fired.

 

I would tell her that the focus on English must stop, or you will stop using her. Give her a chance for a set number of sessions (two seems reasonable to me). Set clear guidelines for allowable usage of English. For example, my son's tutor still switches to English occasionally to explain an advanced concept. I am fine with that, but YMMV.

 

Think about what is acceptable to you, and give it to her in writing. You have spoken with her already and thought you made yourself clear, but her English listening comprehension may not be as good as she pretends it to be. She may not have accurately caught your intent. It is common for people to just nod, even if they didn't really understand everything you said.

Edited March 31, 2016 by Penguin

[waa510]

Hmmm...that's good advice.  I've never heard that advice : a person should know that they're about to be fired before you fire them. I think I can give her another shot after being more explicit about my expectations. Hmm...lots of food for thought here.  I'll talk to Dh and see if this sounds reasonable to him. Thanks! 

[Penguin]

Slightly off topic:

 

Of course, there are situations where people need to be fired without warning and immediately escorted out the door.

 

But if the situation is simply underperformance, then I think it is fair to give the individual another chance, while making it clear that you (the employer) have to have your expectations met or the arrangement can't continue.

Edited March 31, 2016 by Penguin

[Arcadia]

When we hired a native german speaker weekly for summer, we had her do reading with each kid out of those leveled story books followed by revising the lessons with my kids textbooks and workbooks which has guided conversation practice.

 

My kids german class teachers are native expats and some have teaching credentials. However it is a lot easier to progress with curriculum to follow.

 

I am a native chinese speaker but I use curriculum as a spine when helping my kids. Its hard to go without a spine and see tangible progress. My kids can learn conversation through immersion for chinese but they hear it 24/7 from us talking so very different from a weekly session.

 

Since it is a weekly session, let her assign homework whether it is vocabulary, handwriting, pronunciation, etc.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Does she know how to teach?  There is a lot more to tutoring in a language beyond just speaking it.  If she doesn't know how to organize a tutoring session, then I don't see how this is going to improve.  I've taught both English and Japanese for years and I have a set flow to my sessions. 

 

Review (which often is in the form of games)

New vocabulary/concepts with modeling of pronounciation and usage in sentences

Practice (which often includes games)

Listening practice (which can include listening to a book being read)

And depending on the level/language - some reading and writing practice

[waa510]

No, I suppose she can't really teach. Not really at all, apparently. I've provided her with curriculum (2 in fact) but she said it would be boring for the kids and she thought games would be more fun. I said, fine, bring some Japanese games to play and speak Japanese while playing them. She said OK. Next session, she shows up empty handed asking me where my games are.   :confused1:  I get out puzzles, she says the Japanese don't play puzzles (???) so I get out Headbands (kind of a guessing game with pictures) and they use English the whole time guessing the words in the game.  :huh:

 

I feel like this process has been way more difficult than it should be for a situation in which I'm paying someone. Frankly, if I'm paying you, you use a curriculum if that's what I want, whether you like it or not!! Maybe I just have different ideas of what a tutoring relationship is, so please set me straight if I'm just supposed to go along with the tutors plan (or lack of plan, in this case). 

[...................]

It doesn't really sound like she knows what she is doing  or that it is in any way a good use of your time.  A tutor should show up with a lesson ready, and then play games as a reward in the end, but they should be some sort of matching or memory game to practice the language or the lesson. 

 

I just think the whole situation sounds like it's not working, and you're going to waste your time trying to teach her how to tutor and how to teach.  I think you should give her two weeks paid notice, though, to respect her time.   Tell her you really appreciate her efforts, but you will need someone more experienced from now on, but to be fair you are willing to pay for two more sessions, if she still wants to come and just continue how she's doing things.

 

FWIW, though, you should expect to pay more for an experienced foreign language tutor.  :o)  Probably more like 40 per hour. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Are you still in Japan?  You should be able to find someone else.  I would just tell her "Thank you for you help but I will no longer need you after _____."  There are lots of language juku (cram schools) that teach English with games etc. so anyone who has gone through that should know the basics of how to do the same in Japanese. 

[waa510]

Yes, I'm still in Japan. I don't know how much longer we'll be here....it could be 2 years or 10. We're actively seeking other positions in the U.S. but as my Dh is high-ranking, it could take awhile to find the right fit. We can stay here for 7 years total before things get hairy so we have plenty of time (6 years) to find something in the States.

 

Anyway! I'm seeing now that I'll need to pay more $$ to get someone who knows their stuff. I've been shocked at how hard it has been to find a serious Japanese tutor here for children. Plenty for adults, but not for children! It seems as though many people's solution to the problem here is to just put their kids in the local Japanese schools. Seeing as how we don't currently plan on living here forever, Dh and I are hesitant to do that. 

 

I think keeping it short and sweet is the best method for letting her go. I think I'll try to continue our learning at home until I can find a better tutor. This has taught me to search high and low and think quite a bit about what I'm looking for and to communicate that in writing. I think I leapt into this situation with a bit of naivety. 

[Penguin]

The confusion over the games makes me think that she did not completely comprehend you. This happens all the time here, and this is a place where everyone supposedly speaks perfect English.

 

Good luck if you start searching for someone else! I also had to search high and low, and I would have thought there would be plenty of tutors to choose from. Nope.

 

We pay just over $50 per hour, but labor rates are high here.

Edited April 1, 2016 by Penguin

[flyingaway]

We found an excellent teacher through a cram school. She normally teaches English and at first wasn't sure about teaching her own language, but she has been teaching for 20 years, so I wasn't too worried. We paid 2000 yen per lesson, which was a discount since we were her first students for Japanese.

[Penguin]

Ours (not in Japan, obviously) is a college student studying to be a teacher of her native language to native language speakers. She speaks three languages, and I found her through a tutoring agency.

Edited April 1, 2016 by Penguin

[mamiof5]

Sounds to me that you are not paying for a tutor, since she just doesn't seem to know what she's doing. Just because you can speak a language doesn't mean you can teach it. I can talk from experience... my kids don't know my native language, and it's a real effort for me to teach it. I don't understand why, but it is. What about a Japanese app? Would that work for now while you figure out something else? On a side note... close friends just came back from a trip there and they are in love with the country!! What a wonderful experience for your family!! The best of luck in the language learning process :)

[waa510]

Well, she sold herself as a tutor but I'm not sure she really knows how to teach. I've so learned my lesson now!

 

Oh, we're doing a ton of stuff. We have kind of a mish-mash of things going on so our skills at speaking, reading, writing are very mish-mash too. ;) I use apps, flashcards, books, youtube videos, tv shows, curriculum books off and on and natural immersion that's way too fast most of the time! They've learned a fair amount considering but I was wanting to work on their pronunciation and get into dialogue with a native speaker. Doesn't look like it's going to work out having a tutor at this point. I think I'm just going to be happy with where our learning is atm and stop stressing about it.  :o

[Jean in Newcastle]

We found an excellent teacher through a cram school. She normally teaches English and at first wasn't sure about teaching her own language, but she has been teaching for 20 years, so I wasn't too worried. We paid 2000 yen per lesson, which was a discount since we were her first students for Japanese.

 

Yes, this is what I was talking about.  I taught a lot of English in the cram schools and my fellow teachers, who were Japanese, knew how to teach languages to kids even if they had learned how by teaching English. 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Do your kids play in the neighborhood?  That is how I learned,  even if it was with younger kids a lot of the time. 

[Renai]

I don't know if this will help you for now, but Virtual Homeschool Group has a Japanese conversation class that just started this semester. The tutor is Japanese living in Japan, so I don't know how that translates time-wise for you (7am CST). It's free.

[waa510]

Do your kids play in the neighborhood?  That is how I learned,  even if it was with younger kids a lot of the time. 

 

 

We don't live in Japan proper...we're on a military base with a massive chain link fence with barbed wire separating us from a Japanese neighborhood. Our fence is bordering a narrow road and a line of 6 houses.  Our backyard backs up to Japan itself so that we have our "Japanese neighbors" who we talk to, exchange candy/food/treats/notes/cards with through holes in the chain link but my kids can't run and play with their kids. And I probably just said way too much for a public forum. But they play with Japanese kids a lot through cultural friends groups. The kids will go mute when my kids come near them, or will whisper Japanese to each other. None will speak English to them even if they know it...part of that shyness thing they do. 

Edited April 2, 2016 by waa510

[waa510]

I don't know if this will help you for now, but Virtual Homeschool Group has a Japanese conversation class that just started this semester. The tutor is Japanese living in Japan, so I don't know how that translates time-wise for you (7am CST). It's free.

 

Well, that's 9:00 PM for us but this could work for me I guess. Thanks for posting! :)