Information About Bernadette - Waterford tutor

Personal Description:

Having grown up in the south of Ireland, I initially geared my university studies towards computing in the year 2000. When I finished my university degree, I decided to take a gap year in Mexico - little did I know this would turn into a ten-year venture. My teaching career began teaching English as a Foreign Language and Business to Central and South American students. Upon returning to Europe a decade later, I later opened a language school in Spain. I thrived on the pressure of building up a brand new school from scratch and enjoyed watching it go from strength to strength, resulting in more than 95% of my students achieving their desired English level in Cambridge and other international exams.

I later took on English language teachers and within this role, I particularly enjoyed training new teachers to ensure their understanding and delivery of the syllabus. Nonetheless, my real passion was in psychology so I then jumped at the chance to return to study and hence, impart my knowledge with others. I have a particular interest in social psychology, psychotherapy and person-centred therapies.

Tutoring Experience:

I have amassed more than 20 years of experience as an English (ESL), Business and Spanish teacher, working with teenagers, undergraduates and postgraduates. My students have gone on to perform to the best of their ability and have often achieved beyond their required scores in examinations.

Additionally, I have worked as an online tutor for more than seven years.

Approach to Grinds:

My teaching approach is based on the student and entirely student-centred. Participation and production. Following independent study, I use Grinds time with the students to allow them to ask questions, and clarity concepts. My students are encouraged to bring material they are covering, identifying the topics they are struggling with in order to gain the maximum benefit from our lessons.

They are based on a one-to-one basis and the syllabus will mirror that of their own syllabus. There will also be a great emphasis on past model questions and simulated situations.

My aim is to not only convey psychological knowledge and theory, but also strengthen the students' ability to formulate well-structured responses using reasoning and deduction.

I also like to bring real world application to the lessons so the student is invited to apply real world examples when necessary, with the objective of relating those examples to the subject.

Also, my own feedback should help the student focus on their strengths and weaknesses.