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How Do You Tutor Someone Effectively?
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How Do You Tutor Someone Effectively?

Tutoring someone is one of the most rewarding experiences. Whether you are just helping your student grasp a tricky math concept or guiding them through learning a new language.

However, have you ever considered why some tutors are successful in their business, even charging high prices, and why others aren't?

The answer lies not in tutoring itself or business knowledge; the main reason for it is effective tutoring. An effective tutor is not someone who not only knows the material but understands how to connect with the learner. This is where the learning gets enjoyable and tailored to students’ needs.

Imagine a class where you are a student, and your tutor just gives you motivational videos to watch for the past couple of lessons. At the end of each lesson, you discuss for several minutes your thoughts about these videos, and that’s it. Would you consider it effective tutoring?

You might be surprised, but unfortunately, this is a common way of “teaching”.

You may ask yourself, but how do I connect with my students to be an effective tutor?

The question is complex to provide a short and straightforward answer. Hence, let’s discuss it thoroughly below.

Understand Your Student’s Needs

Before diving into lessons, do your best to understand what your student wants to achieve. Your students may struggle with a particular topic, want to prepare for an exam, or try to improve their overall understanding of a subject.

Normally, I identify it during a trial lesson. I talk with my students about their goals, strengths, and weaknesses.

For example, if you’re teaching English to someone, find out whether they want to improve their speaking skills, develop their vocabulary, or learn grammar rules.

Ask them to share specific areas they find difficult or boring—that way, you can focus your efforts where it matters most.

Make a Personalized Plan

Let’s talk a bit about the personalized plan. Overall, it is a program developed specifically for one person based on their current knowledge, the areas they want to focus on, and the end goal.

And once you know all of it, you can easily create a tailored learning plan.

Bear in mind that every student learns differently therefore, what you have planned to achieve in, let’s say, ten lessons can take much more or less. So, do adjust your approach, time frames, resources, materials, assessments, etc., to fit their style.

Also, determine your student’s learning style. We all learn differently. Hence, visual learners might benefit from diagrams, charts, or videos.

Auditory learners might do better with explanations, discussions, or reading aloud.

Kinesthetic learners often learn best by doing hands-on activities or practice problems.

Furthermore, define short-term and long-term goals in the learning plan.

Skills or areas to be improved in a few weeks (e.g., improving pronunciation, learning specific vocabulary for a trip, etc.) can account for the short-term goals.

And the broader objectives, which are long-term goals can cover several months (e.g., passing exam, improving communication).

The breakdown of students' goals into smaller, achievable steps will make sure they have small wins towards the bigger win. It works as a gigantic motivator for every learner.

For example, if they want to improve in math, plan sessions on specific topics like fractions or algebra, one at a time.

And keep the lessons flexible. Sometimes, the student may need more time on a topic than expected, and that’s okay.

Other times, your student can come and ask to repeat something you already learned a long time ago. It is also fine; do not stick to your plan and ignore your student. You are not following a strict curriculum, follow your student.

Create a Positive Learning Environment

Well, creating a positive learning environment sounds banal and obvious, doesn’t it? But it seems many tutors fail so hard on it. Even a specific article dedicated solely to this topic is required, in my opinion.

A supportive environment makes a huge difference. First, what is a supportive environment? It refers to a setting where students feel safe, encouraged, and motivated to reach their goals.

And whether you're meeting in person or online, create a calm, welcoming space.

Make sure your students feel emotional support without fear of judgment or rejection. Most of the effort I make as a tutor is creating this supportive environment for my students.

Use Clear and Simple Explanations

Effective tutoring is a lot about how you present information. You can hold a doctorate in physics and be a Nobel laureate.

But if you come and start explaining an ordinary person string theory using specific terminology and formulas, most probably the person will just get a strong headache nothing more.

Tutoring is about making things easier to understand. Therefore, try to explain concepts in clear, simple terms, using real-life examples your student can relate to. If you’re teaching fractions, instead of diving into complicated formulas, start with daily life examples like cutting a pizza into slices.

Avoid overly complex language and terminology unless your student specifically asks you to, especially if the student is a beginner or struggling.

Encourage Active Learning

To make your tutoring effective, instead of just talking to your students, involve them in the learning process. I am at all against a “parrot method” where a tutor spends most of the lesson talking and explaining materials.

I prefer to make sessions engaging, ask my students questions, present challenges, and let them actively participate, not passively listen.

Some time ago, I conducted my own experiment. I thoroughly explained new information to my student and scaffolded him through practice exercises. And before letting him solve an exercise alone, I asked him to explain this concept in his own words.

Do you think he managed? Barely, and most of the information was confused, lost, or not properly understood.

On the other hand, in another experiment with the same student, I included him in finding out what he already knows about the topic, working through theory and exercises together, discussing ideas, and associating it to his real case scenario. And when I asked him to teach me what he had just learned, the outcome was beyond expectations.

Be Patient and Adapt

Now a bit about patience and adaptation. These are skills that both a tutor and a student need to have and develop. Every student learns at their own pace. It’s natural for them to struggle with some topics and excel at others.

As a tutor, your role is to stay patient, even if sometimes it is difficult. Remember to be professional and use a sense of humor, never sarcasm.

Also, tell your students to be patient with themselves. We are people; we want to learn everything quickly and excel. However, our brain needs time to establish connections and memorize new information.

And do not forget to celebrate small victories with your students and encourage them to do more! Improvement might be gradual, but it’s important to acknowledge progress along the way.

Give Regular Feedback

Another powerful instrument for effective tutoring is feedback. It helps students understand what they’re doing well and where they can improve.

I usually like to provide regular and constructive feedback positively and encouragingly. Balance criticism with praise, and focus on how they can improve, not just what they’re doing wrong.

You should learn to give feedback in a way that even if you point out a weak point, your student feels motivated to practice.

See the difference between the two feedback:

“I think you did well grasp the main idea, but it seems like the details were overlooked. We really need to focus more on those areas to improve your overall confidence.”

“Great job on understanding the main idea! Let’s spend a little more time practicing the details so you feel more confident.”

The idea is the same, but the way we presented it is different.

Review and Reflect

Another great exercise to implement in your tutoring sessions is to do a quick review. Not only in lessons but also in daily life it is a very powerful technique to practice. For instance, I like to review my day in the evening and reflect on what went well and what could be done better.

The same is true with my lessons. Instead of asking my students if they have any questions, the answer in 95% will always be “no”. Instead, I do a quick review and reflection with them.

At the end of each session, I ask the students what they learned in their own words and whether anything is still unclear. This contributes to active recall, which strengthens memory. On top of that, it helps you see how well they have understood the material.

Another technique for review and reflection you can immediately implement is a retrieval practice. It involves asking students to recall and apply the knowledge from previous sessions without looking at their notes. It works as a powerful tool to deepen understanding and improve long-term retention.

Effective tutoring is more than just teaching. It is about connecting with your student, understanding their needs, and helping them grow at their own pace. Implementing the above tips will create an environment where your student feels supported and confident in their learning journey.

Liudmyla M from New Tutor

Written by Liudmyla M.

Experienced Tutor with over 12 years of teaching both online and offline. Passionate about helping students achieve their goals through personalized and practical methods.

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