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AddRan College of Liberal Arts
Department of Modern Language Studies
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Peer Tutoring

Individual and small group peer tutoring is available by appointment for current TCU students who are enrolled in courses in the following languages:

  • German
  • Italian
  • French
  • Japanese
  • Chinese
  • Arabic

Important Notes

  1. The Peer Tutoring Program is NOT a Conversation Partner Program. Students who want to practice their conversation skills with a native speaker must contact their instructor.
  2. Meeting with a peer tutor is not a substitute for a one-on-one conversation with a faculty.
  3. Peer Tutors are not teachers. They will not teach a lesson that a student may have elected to miss by not attending class.
  4. Before working with a tutor, students are expected to have studied the assigned material on their own and have attempted to complete their homework assignment.)

 

Who is Eligible?

Students who are currently enrolled in a 3-hour credit course in one or more of the languages offered in the Department of Modern Language Studies may receive up to 10 hours of FREE tutoring in any given semester.

The Peer Tutoring Program provides priority assistance to those students who are encountering difficulty with class assignments and/or the general management of the language learning experience. For example, students who need assistance in developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills can request to work with a tutor. Faculty who see a critical need for additional assistance can refer their students to a peer tutor.

 

Tutors are advanced learners of one or more of the languages offered in the Department of Modern Language Studies or native speakers of one of those languages. Tutors are nominated by their instructors based on their proficiency and competence in the target language as well as their interest in the program.

All tutors attend one mandatory training workshop at the beginning of each long semester and participate in follow-up sessions throughout the semester. In this training, led by the director of the Peer Tutoring Program, tutors read about and learn to apply several one-on-one tutoring techniques and methodologies that are specifically suited for foreign language learning. Before students are fully vetted as peer tutors, they must commit to uphold the values and policies of the Peer Tutoring Program in the Department of Modern Language Studies.

Tutors are not language teachers but language assistants and coaches.

They will be able to:

  1. Explain the language concepts that beginning and intermediate learners have to master;
  2. Offer various practice exercises in all four skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing);
  3. Help to promote cultural competence;
  4. Engage students in communicative activities;
  5. Share strategies for learning and maintaining key skills that have been helpful to them when they were beginning and intermediate learners;
  6. Offer online and/or other language learning resources.

What Will Tutors NEVER do?

  1. Tutors will NEVER complete any assignment for their tutees.
  2. Tutors will NEVER predict or guarantee grades.
  3. Tutors WILL NEVER edit or write the assignments.
  4. Tutors WILL NEVER second guess a faculty’s evaluation of a student’s work.

 

Once students receive confirmation of their appointment, they are expected to keep their appointment and arrive on time.  If students anticipate a scheduling conflict or experience a medical emergency, they must cancel their appointment online, at least 1 hour before the appointment.

Important Note:

Students who cannot keep their appointment MUST cancel it no later than 60 minutes before the reserved time). Students who miss two consecutive times in a same semester will become ineligible to receive any tutoring help for the rest of that semester.

Students are expected to bring their textbook or a device that will allow them and their tutors to access online learning material. Students are also expected to provide any written instructions they will have received from their instructor concerning an assignment.

 

Make an Appointment

Eligible students may request an appointment with a tutor online through WCOnline.

How to use the WCOnline Tutorial Request Tool

I. To make an Appointment:

  1. Go to http://tcu.mywconline.com
  2. Register to create a free account
  3. Select the Language Peer Tutoring schedule from the drop-down “Current Schedule” menu
  4. Select the tutor with whom you want to make an appointment and click on the desired available time for the given day.
  5. When the appointment reservation form appears, fill it out; (Note:  Explain in details what material you want to revisit during the tutorial.)
  6. Click SAVE APPOINTMENT

II. To Edit Your Appointment:

  1. Go to the schedule and click on the appointment that needs to be modified; (a new window appears with the appointment details)
  2. Edit the appointment as necessary;
  3. Click SAVE CHANGES at the bottom of the form.

III.  To Cancel an Appointment (Must be done at least 1 hour prior to the schedule tutorial):

  1. Go to the schedule and click on the appointment that needs to be canceled; (a new window appears with the appointment details)
  2. Click CANCEL THIS APPOINTMENT at the bottom of the form.