Clara T Tutor Interview

Q. Hi Clara T. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?: A. I was born in Melbourne, however moved to Cairns with my parents and siblings when I was 5 years old. I spent my childhood and most of my adulthood living in Cairns. If you are not sure where Cairns is, just think of the Great Barrier Reef! I come from a large family, having four younger siblings – 2 brothers and 2 sisters. My career has been interesting and varied ranging from working in tourism/hospitality, law, childcare and health administration. I enjoy very much assisting and helping people and find myself regularly working in these kind of roles. I am also passionate about history, archaeology, health, exercise, sociology and travelling. Teaching on Cafetalk has provided wonderful opportunities to speak with and listen to students talking about their lives, their culture and experiences abroad.
Q. Originally, you are from Australia, but now you live in Mauritius. How did that happen?: A. My husband is Mauritian and we met 5 years ago via a reputable online dating website. We became friends and communicated via Skype for quite some time before we met face to face back in 2011 when I made the journey to visit him in Mauritius. My husband travelled back with me to Australia where we lived for 2 ½ years and in 2014, we moved back to Mauritius. It is while living in Mauritius that I began my journey as an English teacher.
Q. How do you enjoy your time outside of tutoring on Cafetalk? Do you have any special hobbies?: A. From childhood I taught myself to read which helped me significantly in school. As an adult, I try to read whenever I have spare time to relax. I enjoy listening to music (singing along also!), swimming, running, horse riding, going to movies / watching tv series and getting outside in nature. The beaches in both Australia and Mauritius are beautiful and I have been fortunate to grow up and live in such picturesque places.
Q. What is, in your opinion, the most important thing to keep in mind when studying or teaching a foreign language?: A. I always tell my students never to compare themselves with others or “standards” of other people. Learning is an individual experience and we all learn differently. Some people are visual learners, while others are auditory (hearing/listening) and so on… What may suit one student, may not be suitable for another student. I always suggest to students finding a learning style that suits them and a teacher who supports their learning style. Also, it is important for students to take their time, be comfortable and relaxed when learning. While some stress can be productive, studies have shown that high stress and anxiety levels can prevent students from absorbing important information while learning and studying.
Q. What can students look forward to in your classes that is unique to the way you conduct your lessons?: A. It is very important to me that when teaching, I am always friendly, respectful and open with students in order for them to feel comfortable and secure during lessons. I am also mindful of allowing students to speak more in a lesson to give them time to practice and communicate their thoughts, feelings and ideas completely. While it is important to give feedback for improvement and error corrections when required, I provide supportive, positive encouragement and always look for the positive strengths, talents and skills of each individual student and tell them so.
Q. In your profile, you say that your lesson content always relates to everyday life, making it meaningful and practical. Can you tell us a bit more about what you mean by that and how you incorporate that into your lesson plans?: A. The world today is a global community where people travel and move to different countries and need to use what they have learned immediately to support them in their everyday lives. This is why I believe that when learning English, it should relate directly to your everyday life or experience. The English language continues to evolve and change with many combined factors such as technological, cross cultural and generational influences. It is not enough to learn the basic structures and grammatical elements of English due newly acquired lingo, slang, expressions and idioms which are continually being added to the English language. As society changes so too does the way we view English and communicate. All of my lessons focus on learning and becoming familiar with new idioms, expressions and vocabulary either through spontaneous or focused conversation, writing, reading and listening activities. Several of my lessons as examples are: “Focused Conversation”, “Everyday General English Idioms”, “Travelling English”, “Vocabulary Building Bank” and “Destination: Travelling Australia!”
Q. Finally, would you like to leave a message for your current/future students?: A. I always admire anyone who starts learning a new language that is quite different from their own language. Remember, it is ok to make mistakes – even native speaks get “tongue tied” and confused! Enjoy the process of learning, don’t focus on your weakness, rather remind yourself of your strengths and keep working on where you need to improve – but be patient and give it time. A positive attitude helps a lot with learning. I always tell my students to read as much as they can from a variety of sources/resources as this supports the other skills – speaking, listening and writing. That is, when you read you are learning news expressions, grammar, writing styles and vocabulary. You can use these when speaking, writing and understand what someone is saying when they are speaking to you.