Lauren V - Tutor in Farrarmere
Hi. My name is Lauren. I am 35 years old. I was born in South Africa and I live in Benoni, Gauteng. I have two degrees in occupational therapy, the second of which is a Master's degree from the University of the Witwatersrand. I have been working with children and teenagers between the ages of four and 18 years for the past 12 years, with most of the children aged between five and 13 years. I recently completed a qualification to teach English as a Foreign Language, and the principles are very relevant to teaching English as a Second or Third Language. I can assist children and teenagers to improve their listening skills, comprehension, reading, writing, grammar, sentence construction and spelling in English. I strive to be patient and meet the learners at their level, and assist them to succeed and progress within the lesson. Not all children learn the same way, nor do they learn at the same pace. I can work with children and teenagers who have difficulties in learning and concentration. I am only offering online lessons via Skype or Zoom.
Tutor basics
Teaching places
Online
Languages spoken
Lauren speaks English
Experience
Occupational Therapist
I served one compulsory community service year as an occupational therapist at Tambo Memorial hospital in Boksburg, Gauteng in 2009. The community service year is similar to an "internship" which a therapist needs to complete in order to register as an independent practitioner. I worked for a private practice in Houghton, Johannesburg between 2010 and 2014. I left the practice to open my own private practice in Modderfontein, Gauteng, and I also provided services on site at schools in Kempton Park as part of that business. I offered face-to-face therapy sessions up until March 2020, and I have been offering online sessions since then as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, I have been working with clients between the ages of four and 18 years as an occupational therapist for 12 years. Most of the children were aged between five and 13 years. I have also had to interact with their adult parents and teachers through hosting formal and informal meetings, giving verbal and written feedback regarding the child’s progress, and providing the occasional teacher workshop. Occupational therapy involves the use of teaching principles to help clients overcome their challenges. I have frequently addressed letter recognition, reading, comprehension, writing and sentence construction with children who did not speak English as a first language. I have often trained/taught basic concepts, namely shape, colour, size, body, sequencing and number concepts, all of which form part of early English vocabulary. My occupational therapy background also gives me additional skills to assist students who have learning or concentration difficulties, and my training in visual perception, memory strategies and learning techniques would benefit my English students. Adapting pre-planned activities due to problems that arise in therapy is a flexibility that is required to meet the learning needs of each student. Delivering online therapy sessions on the Zoom platform since May 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has given me some valuable online teaching experience. I have trained letter recognition, letter formation, reading and writing in English during that time.
Education
Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy - University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng
I studied for the BSc(OT) between 2004 and 2008. This is the general qualification needed in South Africa to become a qualified occupational therapist. The assessment and treatment of all ages and a variety of developmental, physical and psychological/psychiatric conditions is covered.
Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (Occupational Therapy Treatment of Perceptual Disorders – Paediatrics) - University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng
I studied perceptual difficulties that hinder learning success (including visual and auditory perception which are relevant to language learning) and best treatment methods to help learners overcome them. It included a research report.
Level 5 Diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (300 Hours) - i-to-i Teach English Abroad
The Diploma qualification included a 180 hour general TEFL Certificate, as well as a 60 hour One-to-One and Online Teaching Diploma Course, and a 60 hour Business English Diploma Course. I studied teaching approaches and methods, Vocabulary, Grammar, Pronunciation, and the Four Skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing). The qualification included coursework and assignments in lesson planning, lesson materials, student testing, error correction, and strategies for classroom management and online teaching.
Subjects taught
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English as a foreign Language
I have a qualification in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from a British accredited TEFL school. I have been working with children and teenagers between the ages of four and 18 years for the past 12 years as an occupational therapist. I strive to be patient and my experience would benefit students who have difficulties in concentration and learning. New vocabulary or grammar is introduced. The student then gets the opportunity to practice the new language. Students have a lot of time to practice the language during the lesson. This helps them to use the new language with their existing language by the end of the lesson. We can also work on speaking, listening, reading and writing. We need to understand what other person say to us. We need to understand what we read. We speak to communicate our needs, and to talk about what we have read, seen and heard. We write to communicate needs and requests, and to sign forms. Teaching English involves many pieces of a puzzle. Students can tell me what they need to work on. My qualification to teach English as a Foreign Language included a specialist course in one-to-one and online teaching.
Lauren teaches English as a foreign Language at High School, Primary School, University/College, and Adult level(s)
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Vocabulary
I have a qualification in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from a British accredited TEFL school. The principles of teaching English as a Foreign Language involves introducing new vocabulary in a fun way and ensuring that the student uses the new vocabulary multiple times in the lessons, whether in speaking, listening, reading and writing. This depends on the aims of the lesson, and the age and level of the student. However, the aim is to ensure that the student practices the vocabulary so that it is incorporated into their existing language base. Learning is more effective because the student is engaging in the lesson while having fun at the same time.
Lauren teaches Vocabulary at High School, Primary School, University/College, and Adult level(s)
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Reading
The principles of teaching English as a Foreign Language are also relevant to teaching English as a Second or Third Language. Teaching reading is a necessity but the student must be able to understand what they are reading, and be able to engage with the text, eg. to answer questions or talk about what they have read. Talking about what we have read is something that we do daily as adults. Teenagers and children need to learn the same skills. My goal is to improve the students' reading but also their comprehension and applying their understanding of that passage to their daily life or the task that they have to do.
Lauren teaches Reading at High School, Primary School, University/College, and Adult level(s)