We provide intensive preparation for first, second and final year examinations in French, German and Spanish at top UK universities. We also provide an advisory service for tutees completing their third year dissertation in French, German or Spanish. 

 

Our tutorials focus on exam technique, getting the revision process right, and managing exam anxiety, and provide intensive practice and development of the six most common language tasks examined at university level:

 

• Grammar translation (translation from English into the target language);

 

• Translation (translation from the target language into English, usually from a set text);

 

• Précis writing (writing a clear, compact, logical summary of a passage in English and/or in the target language, which preserves only the essential or important ideas of the original);

 

• Essay writing (critical analysis, textual commentary, creative writing, and/or discursive writing in the target language);

 

• Essay writing (critical analysis, textual commentary and/or discursive writing in English);

 

• Presentations (technology-based presentations, e.g. PowerPoint or Prezi presentations in the target language).

 

Whilst developing each tutee's ability and confidence in undertaking these demanding language tasks, we seek also to develop:

 

• Reading skills - the sub-skills of skimming, scanning, reading for gist, and reading for detail are developed through the study of articles, academic journals, extracts from novels, poems and plays, critical guides and academic reports;

 

• Listening and speaking skills - tutees are exposed to the target language in its spoken form, developing pronunciation, intonation and fluency through debate, discussion and presentation in the target language and through the use of appropriate audiovisual materials;

 

• Vocabulary range - each tutee is exposed a variety of lexical fields and develops a unique system for recording and monitoring key vocabulary that is most pertinent to their university examinations;

 

• Grammatical competence - each tutee's grammatical control is developed through a series of bespoke grammar activities and cloze tests designed to consolidate and review tenses, moods, voices, cases, and parts of speech.

 

Our tutors have access to a bank of proprietary questions and papers, as well as past and specimen papers from top UK universities. Paper practice plays a critical role in preparing tutees for university examinations; they are used to help enhance our tutees' fluency and accuracy, to develop their vocabulary and grammatical control, to build confidence, to hone exam technique, and to provide both challenge and stimulation. Our tutors also work closely with each tutee to negotiate a personalised and effective strategy (or approach) for each university exam paper.

 

Our university tutorials follow a bespoke curriculum, tailored to the needs of each tutee. They may include the study of literary texts (and concomitant literary movements), applied linguistics, psycholinguistics and philosophy, at the tutee's request.

 

We tutor in the comfort of your home, online (via Skype, Zoom, Teams or FaceTime), or at the home of one of our specialist University tutors, at a time that is most convenient for you. 

 

We currently tutor in person within a 10 mile radius of Bournemouth town centre, including Christchurch, Parkstone, Poole, Southbourne, Westbourne, Boscombe, Moordown, Winton, Charminster, Ferndown, Wimborne, and Branksome.

 

Please note: our university tutorials serve to consolidate, develop and supplement the curriculum followed by our tutees at their university.