In 2022, I decided to take on an English Tutor position with a college. In this position, I was expected to guide students in terms of writing essays and responses. Sometimes, students would bring in their school reports, and I would look them over; I would ensure that the grammar and phrasing were correct and about school policy.
However, I later realized that reviewing assignments was not my favorite task throughout the job. Whenever people asked about assignments, the questions would feel repetitive: I felt that everyone would just come in for a review and nothing else.
There just was no personal connection. As weird as it may sound, I just didn’t get to learn more about any of my tutees; I only got to learn about the school assignments that they did.
My mindset soon changed when one of the tutees decided to book with me for a conversation session.
In these sessions, the tutee would practice and utilize their own knowledge of the English language to converse with the tutor. Although conversation sessions may sound draining initially, they soon became my favorite.
Throughout these lessons, I feel I’m learning more about the tutee and their perspectives on the English language learning journey. Some of these tutees even share their opinions of the world and living in a new country. Seeing how their own experiences have shaped their viewpoints is fascinating: It taught me the diversity of human society, including the cultural, political, and social impacts.
I then realized that conversation sessions allow me to connect with the tutee more on a student-to-student level.
Sometimes, the tutee would assume that tutors, in general, are geniuses who completed their courses and excelled. However, they do not realize that just like the tutees, tutors are students as well. They also have to write midterms, complete assignments, liaise with their professors, and pay tuition.
As a result, the conversation sessions allowed me to realize that I am learning more and contributing more to the community around me.
Conversing with tutees allows me to share my own experiences, listen to other experiences, and learn more about the school in general. They also allow me to remember that with anything, you are never too old, or it is never too late to start a new activity or hobby. Seeing how other people in my school partake in their favorite activities inspires me to explore and learn more about myself outside of work.
In the end, I realized that when I became a tutor, the result was not about helping the other people around me. The result is, instead, to learn more about the diverse perspectives and opinions of students in the community. Tutoring is a great way to learn more about the world and know more about different types of people. And it inspires me to learn more daily.
Featured image via Max Fischer on Pexels
