Tutor Profile

Catherine

Private German and Spanish Tutor in Caterham

I am a tutor of French, German and Spanish up to GCSE and A Level and also aim to inspire adults for a love of language learning, whether it be for work or pleasure. I worked for many years as Head of German in a high achieving independent school in Surrey. Whilst being very aware of the importance of examination success in today’s world I am also devoted to sharing mysheer love of mastery of languages with each of my students .

Teaching Experience

I have over thirty years teaching experience, during which time I have had the opportunity to develop many different teaching styles, whilst keeping thoroughly abreast of technological advances in recent years, the latest of which being the exciting world of AI which, as long as it is used judiciously, can tailor tasks for the individual within seconds. I am also thoroughly acquainted with the new specifications for all the main examination boards and am a real expert in Edexcel and AQA A Level, GCSE and iGCSE. Latterly I’ve also been involved with exam preparation towards Scottish Highers. I have also been excited to help students embarking on the new 2024 specifications with their highly engaging content which is more relevant than ever to today’s youngsters.

Tutoring Approach

Now is the time to get ahead of the game with some tuition, in terms of being really match fit to put yourself across in the best possible light in your GCSE and A Level exams. However you learn best, I’ll spot it quickly and adapt my teaching to create stimulating and fun lessons, tailor made for you! In between lessons I shall be sending you links to additional online resources as appropriate, to top up your knowledge and work on weaker areas in your own time. I’ll mark your work, conventional script or online, giving you clear concise feedback on how you can improve and really stand out from the crowd! I’m also happy to receive audio files to give feedback on your speaking and / or do so face to face.

As an adult learner, you may well be excitedly looking ahead to a long awaited holiday and topping up your speaking skills could be just what you need right now so you’re well equipped in all those real life situations abroad like hotels, shopping and restaurants.For those of you in search of an academic qualification, I can train you up in all the skill areas for A1 and beyond via the Goethe Institut Zertifikat and Institut Français Delf exams.

Qualifications

PGCE

PGCE · Homerton College University of Cambridge · 1989

BA (Hons) German and French

Bachelors · Royal Holloway, University of London · 1986

Reviews

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HarjinderFirst Tutors

Catherine has quickly established a way of working with my son and the improvement and confidence in his Spanish/German is significant .

NicolaFirst Tutors

Catherine is so lovely, friendly, patient and most of all is really helping our son with his GCSE revision. He is making great progress and is feeling much more confident, which is what we needed from these lessons. The process has been so smooth and easy. Thank you so much!

AndrewFirst Tutors

I have been learning German with Catherine for a few months now. I had some basic prior knowledge, and Catherine quickly knew where to pitch lessons, so they were challenging but not frustrating. She also quickly got a feel for how I learn best. For me personally, that is a mixture of conversational (i.e. comprehension and practice) and more structured exercises (eg grammatical points), always in a relaxed and engaging manner. I initially wanted to prepare for a trip to Germany, but now want to continue towards language qualifications with Catherine's help.

MaryFirst Tutors

I have no hesitation in recommending Catherine who has been tutoring my son for several months. Catherine has a great teaching style; she is approachable, professional and knowledgeable. It is clear that she is up to date with the current GCSE syllabus and is keen for her students to perform well. I have no doubt that she is improving my (reluctant) son’s grasp of German.

TessaFirst Tutors

Catherine has been tutoring me in Spanish for a couple of months now and I have found her to be a great teacher. I felt nervous to start with but she's made the lessons fun and interesting and has created an environment where it's okay to make mistakes and just have a go! She has tailored the lessons to my interests and is flexible in focusing on different areas of learning where needed. I would highly recommend Catherine to other language learners.

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Tuition onlineTuition at tutor's homeDBS checkedTuition at student's home (Travels up to 5 km)
  • The highest level of qualification that this tutor has provided us with a copy of is a Bachelors (or equivalent)
  • This tutor has an average feedback rating of at least 4.75/5 from 10 or more reviews.
  • This tutor states that they speak three or more languages (in addition to English)
  • This tutor offers a 10% discount on their first / introductory lesson.
  • This tutor is happy to teach online
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