Conversational English – Be A Tutor! – Greater University Tutoring Service

The Conversational English (CE) program is an opportunity for members of the UW community to come together and practice their English skills in a relaxed and fun environment. Tutors are volunteers and tutor a group of 1-3 students. Groups will meet for 1-2 hours a week to work on English conversational skills. This program is ideal for those who have a passion for learning about language, culture, and international issues from their peers. Take this opportunity to get to know peers from all over the world and gain new insights and perspectives.

THE WORLD IS YOUR CLASSROOM AND YOU ARE YOUR OWN TEACHERS!

CONTACT US:

guts-ce@rso.wisc.edu

Tutor Information

As a CE tutor, you will be meeting with a group of up to three (3) tutees each week throughout the semester. At these sessions, you should focus mainly on English conversational skills and should be fostering a comfortable and open atmosphere in which your tutees can practice with ease and confidence.

Your sessions and how you conduct them are entirely up to you. We will not be giving you detailed lesson plans to follow, so you should prepare in whatever way you find most effective for your sessions. Because this tutoring program is more about conversational English than English used for other purposes (academic writing, interviewing, etc.) we do not expect you to be leading detailed and complex ESL lessons. We want you to be a friend and a resource for your tutees. Simply preparing some topics to discuss and maybe fun activities (such as role-playing scenarios) are great ways to prepare for you tutoring sessions.

Upon registering to be a tutor, you will choose time blocks that you will be able to commit to throughout the entire semester. The CE coordinators will look at your selections and choose what days and times to assign to you. Each group meets for 1-2 a week. If you wish to tutor for more than the minimal 1-2 hours a week, this means that you will be assigned more than one group of tutees. For example, if you wish to tutor for four (4) hours a week, you will have two (2) separate groups of tutees that you will meet on different days and times in the week.

How to Be a Tutor

Step 1: Sign up. Fill out the registration form found on this page. Be sure to read through everything carefully!

Step 2: Attend a training session. Before we can officially match you with a group you must attend a mandatory training session. You will sign up for a session in the registration form, or set up a meeting with us if none of the offered times work. We will send you a reminder three (3) days before the training session, but it is your responsibility to make sure that you are in attendance.

Step 3: Confirm your tutoring times. After you have been trained, we will send you an email with your assigned times for tutoring. If these no longer work for you, this will be your only opportunity to change them. After you have confirmed your hours, tutees can begin signing up for you group.

Step 4: Wait for contact from your tutees. When your tutees come in to sign up for a tutoring group, we will provide them with the email address that you have noted on the registration form (so be sure to make sure that everything is spelled correctly before submitting!). They will then be instructed to contact you and notify you that they will be at your next session.

Spring 23 Tutor Registration

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Attendance Policy

Tutor Attendance

As a tutor, you are allowed only two (2) unexcused absences for the semester. By unexcused, we mean a sudden cancellation without notice in advance to your group. Without you, your tutoring sessions cannot proceed, so we are holding you to a higher standard.

If your absence is excused, then it will not count against you. Here is what we define as excused:

Emergency situations (hospitalization, death in the family, etc.)
Illness
Pre-planned events (work meetings, club activities/outings, etc.)
Religious holidays / observations
Exams

Tutee Attendance

It will also be your responsibility to take attendance each week and report this to the CE coordinators. After we have confirmed your hours and given you a group number, we will share a google form where you can take attendance each week. If a tutee is absent, you must also note this and if the absence was excused or unexcused. Tutees are allowed three (3) unexcused absences throughout the semester. After this, they will be dropped from your group and someone else can sign up to take their place. Therefore, it is imperative that you correctly note whether their absence was excused or not.

If you ever have questions about what constitutes an excused absence versus an unexcused absence, please feel free to email us!

Other CE Events

Open Chats

These events provide a space for CE participants to come together and discuss a topic prepared by the CE coordinators. This is a great opportunity not only to use your language skills but also learn something new and learn from your peers.

Some past topics: