Description: Pauline has a Masters degree in Education Studies and 20 years of formal teaching experience. She is a qualified teacher and mental health support worker who is highly recognised for her high level of empathy and patience with her students. Here’s her tutor profile.
With a background in psychology, I know that each and every learner is unique! For that reason I keep you (the student) at the heart of my tutoring by addressing your particular needs, goals and style(s) of learning. I aim to foster motivation and support you in your learning by making our sessions relevant, friendly and engaging.
I want my students to get the most out of our precious time together, and to that end we work on skills development at the same time as building knowledge and understanding of your field of study – be it English, psychology, sociology or research methods.
What do I mean by skills development? These are the all-important ‘how to’ questions that are often neglected in some educational settings. The key skills will vary according to your level and topic of study, but some examples are how to:
- complete a piece of homework or coursework assignment
- express yourself appropriately in English
- structure a piece of writing
- develop fluency in English
- distinguish opinion-based from evidence-based arguments
- approach and answer different kinds of questions in your subject area
- develop analytical or critical thinking
- understand – not just memorise – the material you are working on
- find your own ‘voice’ as a speaker or writer of English
- prepare and deliver an oral presentation – with confidence!
- reference an academic essay
- avoid plagiarism
- perform a literature search
- turn your project idea into a well-designed research proposal
- write-up a final project report/dissertation
- stay well and look after yourself when the pressure’s on
I consider myself as someone who never stops learning, and I think it’s a great way to be. I recently bought a piano in order to fulfill a lifelong desire to learn to play this captivating instrument. Not a linguist by nature, I started learning Modern Greek some years ago and after much time and effort have probably reached intermediate level with my understanding and use of this fascinating language. The secret to all learning? NEVER GIVE UP.
As a parent myself, I am all-too-aware of the concerns and challenges that learners and their families can face in school, college and university. As a tutor, I’m here to help.
I enjoy connecting with people from all backgrounds and walks of life, and find it hugely satisfying to be a part of each and every one of my student’s unique learning journey.
Teaching Experience
I have over 20 years’ experience as a facilitator of learning in diverse educational and professional settings, with a wide range of groups and individuals.
Having recently qualified (with Distinction) as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language, I am currently tutoring English-language learners of all ages (from children to adults) and at all levels (from beginner to advanced). I work flexibly to address the needs and goals of each student, and I cover English for specific purposes (e.g. academic, business or professional purposes) as well as general, communicative English.
In addition, I am an Accredited Higher Education Teacher with 18 years’ experience as an Associate Lecturer with The Open University of the UK. In that role I taught undergraduates on distance learning programmes in Psychology (Levels 1-3) and Social Science (Level 1). I specialised in teaching research methods and supervised individuals and groups in the design, implementation and write-up of their independent project work.
Furthermore, as a cross-faculty Learning Advisor with The Open University I provided study-skills support sessions in English for academic purposes, active reading, note-taking, exam preparation and writing skills (beginner to advanced).
Outside of my teaching work I have extensive experience as a (CBT-trained) Therapy Support Worker in the NHS, and I am a qualified Stress Management Trainer. This expertise equips me particularly well to work with students of all ages who struggle to deal with pressure, lack confidence or have difficulties with mood and anxiety.
Watch Pauline’s tutor video here. Interested in working with Pauline? Contact Us here.