John

I'm John. I'm new to tutoring, though I have spent a decade teaching at a university in South Korea. I'm passionate about student autonomy, giving feedback, and seeing students grow: tutoring offers ample opportunities for these.

I have a PhD, over ten years experience in varied educational settings, and when I'm not teaching I'm a writer. My academic work has been published in journals and edited book collections, other work has appeared in The Korea Times, The Asian Review of Books, and in other publications and websites. I've been lucky enough to interview some of my favourite authors and filmmakers!

Tutoring Experience

My career in education has been varied. Some highlights include: leading seminars on the core module of a film history master's degree in London, teaching English in a rural village school in Georgia, giving business communication lessons to members of a local government agency in South Korea, and coaching PhD students on their academic writing for dissertations and journal articles. I have taught general education university classes in diverse subjects such as media, drama, cultural studies, and sociology, but my main focus is on academic writing and English.

My qualifications are similarly varied: I have a PhD in film studies, a TESOL certificate, and am currently completing a PGCE in international education.

Tutoring Approach

I start by getting to know the student, their goals and needs, and would then start to build a curriculum with input from them. Self-determination theory is at the heart of all my teaching, which involves giving students choice and control wherever possible, but also creating a clear roadmap to success and offering plenty of feedback so that students can see how they are doing. I'm well-versed in educational technology so lessons will be supplemented with interactive whiteboards, quizzes, images, downloadable resources and other materials as appropriate.

One thing that I've noticed recurring in my student evaluations is that students always talk about my passion and enthusiasm. It's true; I love nothing more than conversing about topics I'm passionate about and firing students' curiosity.