25th April 2014 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A former government adviser recently spoke out, noting that teenagers in England are not being encourage d to express themselves, and criticising the government’s decision to reduce speaking and listening elements in English exams. Peter Hyman, now a head teacher, said that teenagers were becoming increasingly mono-syllabic and lacked the confidence and experience to express their ideas articulately. He concluded that it is a ‘moral’ issue that students should be able to express themselves eloquently.
This is an issue with which home tutors are very familiar. We teach students from a range of backgrounds and with a range of academic abilities, but the ability to express oneself articulately is something that is difficult to teach. The confidence and knowledge it takes to do this is not something that can be taught in a few weeks as part of a revision programme, but something that takes regular exposure, like learning a language. It is for this reason that many parents choose to hire tutors on a long term basis, not just for academic knowledge they impart, but so that they can help improve students’ confidence and speaking abilities in the long run.
This is not something that many tutors do explicitly, but many are nonetheless aware of the process. When children learn to speak, they are heavily influenced by their parents, friends and the media, taking on bits and pieces of what they hear around them. The best way for tutors to positively influence students’ ability to speak articulately is to encourage them to speak during lessons. Rather than going through questions by rote, or lecturing, tutors should engage their students in conversation, allowing them to get used to expressing themselves, and to build the confidence they need to become articulate adults.