Elana
Certified Tutor
I am a graduate of Oberlin College with a BA in Hispanic Studies and in Anthropology. I enjoy building a relationship with people I tutor and getting to know their interests and what motivates them. I am friendly and patient and think learning can be fun! This past year I worked served with Americorps where I worked with Reading Partners to support elementary students with literacy skills. I am passionate about languages and most enjoy tutoring Spanish and English as a Second Language (ESL). At Oberlin, I received training in the Organic World Languages method of teaching languages, which focuses on student production, and making meaningful language in context instead of memorizing. I find applying this framework is useful for teaching and tutoring both Spanish and English. I gained fluency in Spanish during my semester studying at a university in Chile, and have taught Spanish to elementary students and I tutored college students. I have worked with both children and adults learning English too. In my free time I study American Sign Language, go running, swimming, and hiking, and take the occasional zumba class!
Connect with a tutor like Elana
Undergraduate Degree: Oberlin College - Bachelors, Anthropology; Hispanic Studies
- ACT Composite: 33
- ACT English: 33
- ACT Math: 31
- ACT Reading: 36
- ACT Science: 33
I enjoy being outside-- walking, hiking, swimming. I take the occasional zumba class! And I'm very excited to watch the olympics! I'm studying American Sign Language and Deaf studies.
- AP Spanish Literature and Culture
- College English
- Conversational Spanish
- English
- ESL/ELL
- High School English
- Homework Support
- Languages
- Other
- Phonics
- Reading
- SAT Subject Test in Spanish
- SAT Subject Test in Spanish with Listening
- SAT Subject Tests Prep
- Spanish
- Spanish 1
- Spanish 2
- Spanish 3
- Spanish 4
- Summer
- Test Prep
- Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?
I believe learning should be student centered with active participation. Motivation and engagement are the keys!
What might you do in a typical first session with a student?
I would want to get to know them and their goals for tutoring. Then we could do a few activities in the subject matter as a way for me to get a feel of their skills, and to get started learning.
If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?
I would take a moment to reflect on the skill or concept and see if the student was missing any foundational skills or ideas necessary to understand this. If so, I'd teach those first so that the student is ready to learn this new concept/skill.
How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?
The most important thing is to ask questions as the student reads, this way the student is building their understanding as they go. There are also fun games like have a question cube that you can roll at the end of a page and get asked a random question.
What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?
Having the student teach back material is a good way to check for understanding -- it also improves retention when a student teacher material they recently learned!
How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?
Confidence is so important! By praising specific things a student does correctly, I can both give compliments and let students know which things they're doing right. Also, looking back at growth over time can be impactful for students and just empathizing with the challenge the material presents.