Description: English Literature graduate and private online tutor Khadeja shares her thoughts and tips on how to build a strong rapport with students.
In any form of teaching, students are consistently exposed to the same environment and the same people.
As a tutor, it is essential to harness this consistency to build a relationship in which your student can thrive.
Building rapport is all about figuring out how to build trust and mutual understanding with your student so they can also achieve academically.
In this post, we’ll go through a few ways in which we can create this environment.
Goals and Aspirations
It’s very important to know what your students are striving to achieve to see how you can help them work towards these goals.
Some students might be predicted lower grades than what they are striving for.
Discussing this with them can help you give them that extra push when they need it.
Take Interest in their Hobbies.
Talking to students about their hobbies/interests is a good way to connect with them.
The student will see that you’re engaging with them personally, which will help with building trust.
In certain subjects, such as English or Foreign Languages, you can also use their interests as topics to build lessons on.
This will help the student engage with your teaching material.
Making Mistakes is Okay
Making mistakes can be really disheartening when learning.
It’s the tutor’s job to let the student know that everyone makes mistakes, and that is just an opportunity for you to help them.
Creating a space where mistakes are seen as opportunities allows the student to trust your teaching and have the confidence to try again.
It’s extra rewarding when your student gets the answer right the next time.
Be Human
While it is important to remain professional and establish boundaries when teaching, this does not mean that tutors should be robotic.
Students should know what is expected of them during lessons and the tutor should be fair in return, which builds mutual understanding.
But it is also okay to be appropriately humorous with your students in order to create a fun and light environment.
A good tutor should know when to reign it in.
Guide Them
Our job as tutors is to help our students achieve their grades and we do so by guiding them.
By giving students the chance to take the driver’s seat with their learning, tutors give students more opportunities.
This is to ensure they learn how to interact independently.
Activities should be focused on the students’ engagement, and we should guide them to answers instead of giving them.
This allows the student to build their own confidence. Whilst also trusting that the tutor will be there to help them when they need it.
Good teachers leave long-lasting impressions on students.
Not only do we help them achieve the grades they are looking for, but we also help them build life skills and confidence in themselves.
Building good rapport will help students learn more effectively and enjoy the lessons themselves.
By tutor Khadeja. Contact Us