Japanese with Alexander B.

Hello everyone! My name is Alexander (Alex). I am a recent graduate of the University of Georgia (with majors in political science and international affairs as well as minors in Chinese and Japanese). Previously I have worked as a Mandarin Chinese tutor for elementary school-aged kids and enjoyed the opportunity to make my own lesson plans and teach what I want to rather than just helping classmates with random assignments or completing busywork. Outside of Chinese I am well-qualified to tutor students in other subjects as well, some of which include Japanese, history, geography, and even writing. I am an IB Diploma recipient, graduated near the top of my high school class, graduated magna cum laude from UGA and was initiated into Phi Beta Kappa. I have always viewed helping people as one of the most important things I could do and my personal philosophy is that any activity is worth doing as long as you learn something from it and enjoy it. To me, tutoring is the intersection of these two ideas and can therefore fulfill my desire not only to help people but to provide them with a chance to learn something new. With tutoring, I can become far more acquainted with the students than in a conventional classroom, learn about what works best for them, and use all of my available resources to create a unique as well as effective lesson plan. As long as a person is willing to learn, I am ecstatic to help them reach their goals and become a more globally aware person. As for my methods, I could be described as a "by the book" kind of instructor who makes use of numerous textbooks or related materials to form a well-rounded lesson plan. For example, one session may be just learning vocabulary or grammar and then another week may be spent learning about the origins of the language or making cultural arts and crafts. It is not out of the ordinary for lessons to include a bit of everything if time provides. I stress reviewing the material often and because of that I may create flashcards, give homework, or provide access to certain resources online which may help the student memorize the material between lessons. If something needs to be reviewed, I will make sure it is well-learned before jumping to the next topic so as to make sure the student does not become lost amidst an avalanche of unfamiliar terms. I also like to integrate videos or my own personal experience into the lessons so the students may see the real-world applications of the skills they are learning.