English Language Day: Cultivate a love for reading

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English Language Day is observed on April 23 annually to celebrate the English language and promote its history, culture and achievements. This date purposefully coincides with both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare.

In support of English Language Day, online tutoring platform, Teneo Tutors, celebrates their team of English tutors and the significant role they play in building student’s understanding, confidence and application of this subject in everyday life.

“English is a vast language, with more than 250 000 words in the Oxford Dictionary. The English language is the most broadly used and spoken language on the planet and it enjoys a good reputation for adapting words, concepts and cultural influences from around the world,” says Teneo Tutors Product Manager, Fay Williamson.

Melissa Bennett, an English tutor with Teneo Tutors has always had a love for the subject. “I enjoy the English language because it is universal and helps us to communicate with others from all around the world. I love getting to know each of my student’s learning journeys and being a part of enhancing their learning experience. My hope is that they begin to develop a love for learning that will ultimately encourage them to become independent life-long learners for the future,” says Bennett.

The Teneo Tutors platform allows accessible, live, one-to-one tutoring for grades four to twelve. “We currently have over one hundred, hand-picked tutors across all subjects in both South African and British International curriculums. Sessions are 50 minutes long and are offered in English, Afrikaans and isiZulu,” explains Williamson.

Online tutors are able to work through additional content with students to ensure a solid foundation of knowledge, to fill in any knowledge gaps and stay on top of school work. “In order for students to improve in English, I believe it is essential for them to develop a love for reading. Reading books accelerates vocabulary-building, improves grammar and sharpens your writing skills,” says Bennett.

Besides learning the basics of writing such as grammar, punctuation and vocabulary, reading will assist in learning how to transition sentences and paragraphs. It will help you to build and defend arguments, infuse personality and style into your writing, and improve your research skills.

Melissa’s advice for students wanting to improve their English is to read something of interest to them at the right level. “Try to read at the right level and read something that is of interest to you that you can comfortably understand and enjoy. If you need to stop every three words to look in a dictionary, it won’t be interesting for you and you will soon be discouraged. I also recommend getting into a routine of regular reading. For example, read for a short time once a day. Fifteen minutes every day is better than two hours every Sunday. Set a time to read and keep to it,” says Bennett.

Melissa loves adding value to each student’s life and encourages them to set goals and strive for consistency. “Goals are KING! It helps to have a strategy in place of how you plan to achieve your goals and by when. Remain focused and consistent in your efforts. Most importantly, remember to reward yourself when you’ve achieved your goal, whether it’s big or small. Each success should be celebrated.”

“Let’s collectively celebrate English Language Day by cultivating a love for reading amongst our youth to empower them for a successful future,” concludes Williamson.

For further information please visit: www.teneotutors.co.za

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