French Grinds – Finding The Right French Teacher
French Grinds
What should you look for when looking for French grinds?
Just because you can speak a language does not necessarily mean that you can teach a language. If you are looking for a French Grind, you need to be sure that you have found the right teacher.
The following is a checklist that you need to be able to tick off and the more ticks, the more comfortable you will be with your decision.
EXPERIENCE
This is actually the most important factor when considering whether or not to go with a particular teacher.Ask the following questions:
- Do you have experience of teaching the French curriculum in an Irish secondary school?
- What year groups do you teach?
- How many years have you been teaching?
- Have you ever corrected exams for either Junior or Leaving Cert French?
- Have you experience as an examiner for the oral exams?
If the teacher is relatively new to teaching, they may not have an in-depth knowledge of the papers and the trends over the last number of years.
FRANCE
Have you ever lived or studied in France or a French speaking country?
This is an important question, as a teacher of French with a lived experience of the country, will have a better understanding of French culture and more accurate pronunciation, which is so important for both the oral and aural components of the exams.
NOTES
What notes does the teacher give the students? If the notes are just a series of photocopied material from books, you may not be getting the essential information. Ask the teacher if the notes cover the four linguistic skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. This is a basic requirement for any French teacher. Students should hit the four skills in every unit of learning. Teachers who plan their lessons around topics demonstrate a clear understanding of the curriculum. You should receive your notes in advance of the lesson, as this will give you time to prepare the material.
PRICE
A private French grind will set you back between €40 to €50 depending on who you get. The more experienced teachers will charge about €50 but you can get French grinds at a cheaper rate from a college student. Again if the price is on the low side, there may be a very good reason for this. In a group setting, expect to pay anything between €20 and €35 per class. The average group grind will cost about €25 to €30 per class.
PRIVATE V’S GROUP
Students are used to working in groups, as this is how they learn in school. Group grinds work because the dynamic of the class lends itself to discussion and is obviously a key factor in learning a language, which is a social process. However, some students like the idea of working on their own with a tutor. This is fine, so in the case of private versus group, I would go with the one that suits you best.
FACE TO FACE V’S ONLINE
We have become used to learning online. If you find an online grind, make sure that the proper safety measures are in place. In a group setting, your camera should be switched off to protect your privacy and the tutor’s camera should, where possible, be switched on. Students are used to focusing on the teacher, not on each other. Online is a brilliant option, as you don’t have to travel to a grind centre, which involves time. However, you must have a good WIFI signal.
LIVE V’S RECORDED GRINDS
Personally, I am not in favour of recorded lessons. I feel that they are just lectures if they are recorded. There is no real learning and the student is not an active participant in their own learning. All of my classes are live, and that means that students are involved at a personal level in the class. Language learning requires students to read, listen, speak and write. The best way to get good at any of these skills is to practice them, in real time with an experienced teacher.
FEEDBACK / HOMEWORK
You should get homework from a grind and your homework should be corrected by your grinds teacher. If you are not getting homework, then how will you know how you are progressing? This is absolutely the case with French, but maybe less so in other subjects.
SUPPORT
A 1 hour weekly grind is great but there are 167 hours left in the week. What happens if you have an issue with something on a Tuesday, but have to wait until the following Monday for a response? Not good enough! If you are with the right grind teacher, you should be able to contact them to ask questions. I set up a WhatsApp group for my own students, so that they can contact me as and when they need to.
REVIEWS & WORD OF MOUTH
If your grinds teacher has an online presence, check to see if they have got reviews on Google. A website will never show a less than wonderful testimony, but Google reviews are outside the control of the teacher, so will give a more objective view of them. Read as much as you can and ask the grinds teacher about their track record. I always say that a teacher is only as good as their last set of results!
MAKE CONTACT
If you are willing to pay your hard-earned money over to someone to educate your child, you need to make sure that they will do their best for your child. Establish contact with the teacher and make sure that they are interested in your child’s learning. Yes, grinds teachers are doing grinds for financial reasons, but find the ones that actually love what they do.
Bon Courage,
Liz