Tutor Profile

Arina

Private English and Craft and Design Tutor in Cambridge

Dedicated educator qualified in the UK and Australia. Passionate about working with young and adult learners. Strong commitment to individual development of each student through fostering positive learning experiences. Effective communicator across cultures and age groups. Taught in London, UK, Sydney, Australia, and Krakow, Poland.

Teaching Experience

English language tutor (2016 – current)

  • Teaching students how to create a story according to narrative genre conventions, such as characterisation, using a dialogue, creating a setting, and a sequence of events
  • Teaching students how to create a persuasive text such as an opinion column, a speech and a discussion essay
  • Giving guidance on how to analyse various text types in terms of their literary devices, themes, plot development, historical, cultural and political context and their language conventions
  • Teaching students aged 5 - 17 years old
  • Preparing students for The Perse School Cambridge writing section of Year 3 (7+), Year 7 (11+) Entrance Test
  • Preparing students for GCSE English Language
  • Preparing students for Independent School Year 5 (9+) and Year 6 (10+) Entrance Exam in English
  • Teaching phonics to Year 1 and Year 2 students, using Total Physical Response in combination with art and craft techniques
  • Teaching reading comprehension, writing, vocabulary, grammar and punctuation
  • Teaching literary analysis: literary devices in prose and poetry
  • Mentoring students on how to build relationships with peers at school and how to work cooperatively with peers and teachers
  • Communicating with parents to provide them with an update on their child`s progress

English as a Foreign Language tutor (2016 – current)

  • Analysing individual needs of every student and creating a learning programme to meet their needs
  • Teaching adults and young learners
  • Teaching General English and Business English using the integrative approach (e.g. combining speaking and listening skills; speaking and reading skills)
  • Assisting students in integrating into the British culture by providing systematic practice of speaking in various social scenarios
  • Preparing for IELTS, TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, B1 Preliminary, B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency and OET
  • Consistently providing students with homework and extensive feedback on their speaking and writing skills
  • Teaching English for Specific Purposes: English for such professionals as psychologists, educators, businessmen, accountants, geologists, earth scientists, environmental engineers, power engineers, lawyers, UX designers, interior designers, architects, marketing, branding, and HR professionals
  • Teaching primary school students using various methodologies, such as Total Physical Response, art and craft techniques, and teaching through stories and persuasive texts
  • Teaching English writing, literary and poetry analysis to secondary school students

Academic writing and study skills tutor (2016 – current) teaching

  • how to structure various assignments such as reflective and critical analysis essays, reports, grant proposals, multimodal assignments
  • how to write grammatically and stylistically accurate assignments
  • how to reference according to referencing styles such as APA, Chicago, Harvard and MLA
  • how to write a draft, do research, proofread and edit
  • how to meet requirements of university assignments
  • time management and study skills techniques

Art teacher and tutor (2015 - current)

  • Teaching drawing, painting and sculpture techniques to children aged 5 - 17 years old and adults
  • Teaching watercolour and acrylic painting techniques
  • Preparing students for GCSE Art
  • Teaching how to draw people, still life, landscape, cityscape, and seascape compositions
  • Teaching art history one-on-one according to the Edexcel A Level History of Art specification
  • Using visual arts techniques to teach English and Russian
  • Art teacher at Chatswood Intensive English Centre (Oct-Dec 2017) in Sydney, Australia

Russian tutor (2011 - current)

  • Teaching children aged 5 - 17 years old and adults
  • Teaching beginners, intermediate and advanced learners
  • Preparing for GCSE Russian
  • Russian language teacher at BigWorld Pty Ltd (2013 - 2017)
  • Proofreader for ImmerseME, and translator for Berlitz Australia and private clients

Tutoring Approach

  • Using visual and audio material to accelerate learning
  • Catering for a diverse range of learning needs in an interactive way that promotes students’ engagement
  • Analysing individual needs of students and meticulously tailoring lesson plans to address these needs
  • Consistently providing students with homework and extensive feedback
  • Assisting students in their careers

Qualifications

Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (DELTA)

Masters · Cambridge Assessment English · 2024

The Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA)

Professional · Cambridge Assessment English · 2019

Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary)

Bachelors · Australian Catholic University, Strathfield · 2016

Bachelor of Fine Arts

Bachelors · UNSW Australia · Distinction · 2014

Diploma of Fine Arts

Other · TAFE NSW · 2012

Reviews

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PippaFirst Tutors

Arina is a wonderful tutor! Her lessons are engaging and well-structured- it is clear that she takes pride in her work. She is also very knowledgeable about languages and learning in general, with unique insights into what kinds of things students might find difficult. She is kind and flexible as a teacher, with a great sense of humour. I have really enjoyed classes with her so far.

Tutor response

Thanks Pippa! It's increadibly rewarding to work with you: you give 100% in every lesson and pick up information on the fly. It's really amazing to see how you build up your knowledge in using the Russian language.

SilvanaFirst Tutors

Dear Arina, The editing support and ongoing guidance have been highly constructive. Your feedback has been clear, professional, and supportive, and it has significantly strengthened the quality and clarity of my work. I appreciate your consistency and attention to detail throughout the process. Kind regards, Silvana

Tutor response

Dear Silvana, Thank you for your feedback. I'm glad that the work we did together led to good results. The piece of writing that you worked on had so many aspects and it's great that we could carefully consider each aspect and make sure all your ideas were expressed.

PaulaFirst Tutors

My son had a nice class with Arina. However, unfortunately her skillset is not quite aligned with what my son needs at the moment. She seems like a really nice tutor - thank you!

Tutor response

Thank you very much for your feedback Paula. I really enjoyed working with your son. We only had one session, and he worked through the task that I gave to him really well and completed it to the standard that was expected from him. Perhaps, if he and I had more sessions, it would be easier for you to see that my skillset is aligned with what he needs. I'm really sorry that you were not able to see that after one 60-minute online session with your son. I wish your son all the best in his academic journey! It's been a real pleasure working with him.

VenkatFirst Tutors

I found Arina through the First Tutors website, where she had excellent reviews, and decided to go with her to help my 8 year old son develop his creative writing skills. My son really enjoys Arina’s approach to teaching — he says she explains things clearly and helps him build confidence to think beyond his usual limits. We’ve had a few sessions so far, and I’m truly impressed. Arina is kind, patient and creates a positive learning environment that my son looks forward to every week. She provides high quality exercises for homework, offers constructive feedback during lessons, and always takes time to appreciate his efforts and progress. Overall, I highly recommend Arina as a tutor for any level of English learning, she’s professional, engaging, and genuinely dedicated to her students growth.

Tutor response

Dear Venkat, Thank you so much for your feedback. It's a great pleasure working with your son. It's also very helpful that he completes homework tasks and brings them to each class. Definitely, practice during the class + doing homework yields better results. I also really appreciate his questions during our lessons. Plus, you give me a lot of information about your son's academic performance at school, which is very helpful for me to plan the lessons in such a way that addresses your son's needs. I'm looking forward to the next lesson!

GabrielaFirst Tutors

Arina is a wonderful english teacher. She prepared the classes carefully, and I could ask all kinds of topics I wanted to talk about at any time. After the classes, she provided me with very helpful learning material. The classes always passed by very quickly and every time I realised that I have learned a lot! Thank you so much, Arina!

Tutor response

Thank you so much Gabriela! It's been a great pleasure working with you. Your dedication and a high level of concentration during the lessons made the lessons very effective. Thank you for all your questions and enthusiasm!

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