Tutoring in English
New perspectives on English
The modern English syllabus combines traditional approaches with newer methodologies, theories and critical perspectives. There has also been an increase in the range of texts and media studied: examples are now drawn from popular culture, image, film and the web, as well as from traditional sources such as novels, plays and poems.
In all cases, the emphasis is on the close critical analysis of texts in context, as students explore meaning-making across genres and media.
My expertise
I am ideally placed to help students at all levels, from high school to university, negotiate this new approach to studying English, and ensure they get the most out of their learning. My qualifications and experience include:
- degrees in English studies from Sydney and Oxford Universities;
- prizes, scholarships and awards as both student and teacher;
- 15 years experience as a university lecturer in English;
- experience teaching all types and periods of English literature, from Early English poetry to post-modern novels, cybertext and new media;
- thorough understanding of the theoretical paradigms informing the new English curricula;
- knowledge of grammar and linguistics, and their role in the new curriculum;
- experience teaching the analysis of image, film and multimedia;
- over a decade's experience designing, teaching and assessing courses in English, communications, multimedia and academic writing at university;
- experience marking HSC English exams;
- experience designing learning materials for teachers for the 2009-12 English high school syllabus.
My approach to teaching English
In teaching, I combine traditional critical methods and a detailed knowledge of the prescribed texts, modules and electives with new insights from contemporary theory including:
- gender theory
- semiotics
- discourse analysis
- theories of text and context
- structuralism, post-structuralism and post-modernism
I can help you improve all aspects of your performance in English, from knowledge of the subject, to text analysis, research methods, exam technique, essay writing and editing.
What Nexus offers
- Clarification of key concepts in critical and literary theory, language and text studies, including grammatical terms, and other specialized concepts like 'genre', 'register', 'sign' and 'subject';
- Study of the range of methodologies used throughout the NSW English syllabus for the analysis, interpretation and design of texts;
- Application of these methodologies to specific texts
- More advanced instruction in critical approaches, methods and texts for students sitting the HSC or studying English at university;
- analysis of image, film and multi-media
- Assistance with the research, planning and writing of essays and other assessment tasks.
- Exam preparation, and advice on exam technique.
How much detail we go into will depend on where you are now and where you want to go with your English studies. The advantage of one-to-one tuition is that we can decide together what to cover and how to approach it. But it is also possible for me to tutor small groups of students all working together on the same texts.