Xiu says
I have in total 4 years of tutoring experience in Australia (Sydney), Hong Kong and Singapore.
I taught English to foundation year (Pre-university) students in Australia Sydney while I was in university. Because of my strong foundation in grammar and vocabulary as well as writing skills from my primary and secondary education in Singapore, I am able to coach both Australian and Asian students towards better grades in order for them to enter good universities in Sydney. I also assisted many of my uni classmates from asian backgrounds with their thesis/essay writing during my course of study.
I also taught HKCEE(Eqv. to O levels) English to Form 1(Eqv. to Secondary 1/Grade 7) and Form 5(Eqv. to Secondary 4/Grade 10) students in Hong Kong for 6mths. In Hong Kong, I taught my students using English, English Phonetics, Mandarin n Cantonese too.
I am also giving individual English conversation classes to Korean adults and small-group English conversation classes to Korean students studying in Singapore as I am perfectly and completely fluent in English. I base my lessons on excellent intonation and the perfect articulation of English(British) phonetics.
Besides English, I am also adept in teaching Mathematics and Science.
For mathematics, I explain complex word problems by using the essential Model-diagrams so that my students can visualise the questions better. I will train them to dissect the questions sentence by sentence, and to add information to their model diagrams after each sentence. This will help weaker students to lessen their fear of looking at long complicated word problems. On top of this, I also train my students to have proper examination skills. For eg. time is a crucial factor in all the papers. To spend time wisely in examinations is something that most students fail to do so. They tend to spend too much time on the first part of the paper, leaving them with lesser time to deal with the word problems at the back. For multiple choice questions, I train my students to derive the answers faster, allowing more time to be spent at the later part. I always believe it is not only important for students to work hard, but it is as important to work smart.
For Science, I adopt a very simple rule. I assist my students to draw mind-maps after going through each chapter with them. Mind-mapping down each chapter will help students to know their facts better. After doing up a proper mind-map, one can understand, and even remember, the concepts better. When this is done, proper process skills will then become possible. There are no short-cuts to understanding science and hence, it is very important for students to be willing to put in the extra effort to draw up their own mind-maps.
I am a very good speaker and my students are always attentive during my lessons. I make it a point to teach in an exciting way so that my students will find learning fun and enjoyable, and hence be able to understand and absorb more of what they are taught. As such, I am both an adept and highly effective tutor in the English language.
I believe each and every student's method of learning and understanding is different and therefore will employ different teaching techniques to cater to different students.
Also, I expect my students to be proactive and responsible in their own studies as it takes effort from both sides to achieve better grades.
StarTutor's Review
Xiu Seah is a jovial and fun-loving lady. She strongly believes in the need for a relaxed atmosphere in order for her students to absorb better during lessons. Hence, she adopts a firm yet fun approach to make them more enjoyable. During lessons, Xiu Seah is not just a tutor, but also a friend to her students. She jokes and has conversations with them to make them feel more comfortable and relaxed.
By being dramatic in her own unique way, Xiu Seah never fails to fill her lessons with joy and laughter. For instance, she signs a ‘contract’ that contains very interesting terms with one of her younger students to convince him into doing her work and to listen attentively during lessons. She also adopts other interesting methods to get uncooperative students to sit down with her throughout.
Xiu Seah is an English language specialist. She has coached pre-university students in Sydney, as well as in Hong Kong in the past few years. Having taught so many different students before, Xiu Seah’s flexibility in teaching allows her to adopt different styles to suit different student’s needs. Xiu Seah draws inspiration from her father who was a teacher himself, and he was one of the reasons why she began her teaching career. Seeing her students improve under her guidance motivated Xiu Seah even more to continue teaching. Xiu Seah likes to talk to her students, and she encourages them to speak up as much as possible as she believes that this helps to build up their self confidence and public speaking skills.
Xiu Seah enjoys designing jewellery, apparel and textiles in her free time. She obtained a Diploma in Apparel Design & Merchandising in Temasek Polytechnic, and was later awarded a scholarship to further her studies in Australia. She eventually obtained a Bachelor of Design from The University of New South Wales in 2008.
Xiu Seah’s outgoing personality has allowed her to overcome students who are shyer by nature. Her ability to reach out to and communicate with children is the key to helping them achieve better grades.
- Interviewed by StarTutor (Cady, Weichao, Gavin), 18 April 2009
