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language Tutors & self learning | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| s_allard Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5431 days ago 2704 posts - 5425 votes  Speaks: French*, English, Spanish Studies: Polish | Message 17 of 22 21 April 2015 at 8:14am | IP Logged | ||
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Much of this debate about too much use of tutors is quite moot because in practice most people can only afford to
use a tutor in small doses. I doubt that people will waste precious and expensive time on things that one can do alone. An hour goes by very quickly. Nobody wants to waste time on trivial stuff. I wouldn't think of writing my letter in front of my tutor when I can do this beforehand and use our meeting for the really useful stuff. This is just common sense. Edited by s_allard on 21 April 2015 at 4:41pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tarvos Super Polyglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member China likeapolyglot.wordpr Joined 4708 days ago 5310 posts - 9399 votes Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish | Message 18 of 22 21 April 2015 at 8:28am | IP Logged | ||
You'd be surprised about how many people are wasteful and don't use common sense. Common sense, is, unfortunately, rather uncommon. It bears repeating. 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| s_allard Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5431 days ago 2704 posts - 5425 votes Speaks: French*, English, Spanish Studies: Polish | Message 19 of 22 21 April 2015 at 3:21pm | IP Logged | ||
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I let people spend their money however they feel. When I pay $50 CAD an hour for good tutoring, I certainly don't
beat around the bush. Something that has not been mentioned much is how important a tutor is for insight into actual contemporary usage of linguistic forms. I find that in a language like Spanish with a very wide geographic reach it is very important to know how forms are used in a given location. Something that is widespread is Spain may be rare in Mexico or have a different meaning. Then there is the whole issue of slang and informal usage that is not often covered in books. Here there is nothing like having access to a live guide. Edited by s_allard on 21 April 2015 at 4:40pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6598 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 20 of 22 21 April 2015 at 4:57pm | IP Logged | ||
What about boredom? Inconveniences? (commuting/time zones etc) Leaving yourself vulnerable? (I'd rather be vulnerable in front of a friend) Having to make plans in advance or even worse, having to schedule a specific time every week? (though I'm sure most tutors are flexible about that - but you're still choosing from the time they have available) Having to justify your methods/goals/preferences? (I'm sure many are ready to adjust, but you still need to explain) Also, for me as an introvert any spoken interaction is tiring, so I'd rather spend the precious limited energy on those who matter in the long run. And these downsides apply even to good tutors. It also takes effort to find one, and a bad tutor can demotivate you and waste your time. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| iguanamon Pentaglot Senior Member Virgin Islands Speaks: Ladino Joined 5263 days ago 2241 posts - 6731 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Creole (French) | Message 21 of 22 21 April 2015 at 5:29pm | IP Logged | ||
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You don't have to have a tutor to learn a language. No one is saying that. Well motivated learners can solve many (and some- most) problems on their own without a tutor's help. I have found (speaking only for myself) that a good tutor is worth their weight in gold. For me, it was the missing link in the chain that I needed to take Portuguese to the next level.
I have seen many, many, success stories here on the forum in my time here- both with and without tutors. I used a tutor to help me with Portuguese. I have not used one for Spanish, Haitian Creole or Ladino. With Spanish and Haitian Creole, I get my feedback from native speakers. Ladino, for me, is a reading, listening and writing language. With so few native-speakers left and most of them elderly, speaking opportunities in Djudeo Espanyol are non-existent for me. Yes, there is expense involved. (I've never spent more than $10 USD an hour- the cost of two and a half beers at a bar here) Yes, it can be difficult to find a good tutor who meshes well. Yes, scheduling can be inconvenient. Yes, it can be embarrassing to have a "bad language day" in front of a tutor, though the embarrassment is really mostly in the learner's mind. A professional tutor has seen and heard it all. I recommend using a tutor if it isn't too expensive for a learner's budget and if the benefit gained will be worth the expense and aforesaid difficulty involved. For me, the key is focusing on what I want to improve and what I can't do easily on my own. Combined with a multi-track approach it can be very useful, indeed. Edited by iguanamon on 23 April 2015 at 11:08pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| s_allard Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5431 days ago 2704 posts - 5425 votes Speaks: French*, English, Spanish Studies: Polish | Message 22 of 22 21 April 2015 at 9:25pm | IP Logged | ||
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Once again, iguanamon says it all. Nobody says you need a tutor to learn a language, it's just highly recommended.
And as for all that stuff about boredom and a long list of inconveniences when using tutor, it seems to me that the solution is simply to not use a tutor. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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