Mary Selman - Tutors - Keystone Tutors

Experience

Since 2004, I have taught English (to native speakers and as a foreign language), Italian, Spanish and French to children, young people and adults on a private basis. This includes plenty of 11+, GCSE and A-level preparation, as well as training students for Oxbridge entry. My tutoring experience has included Maths as well as English support.

In terms of longer placements, on my Year Abroad from my BA in Modern Languages (Oxon) I taught English to French children over a 6-month period, which provided excellent TEFL and classroom experience; I also spent most of summer 2011 tutoring a family on the Black Sea coast. I am currently living with a family outside Moscow tutoring their 11-year old in preparation for CE.

I have also worked with pupils (and patients) who have special needs and communication difficulties including dyslexia and ADHD, notably during a 6-month placement at the Royal Hospital for Neurodisability and also in regular teaching posts over Skype and in person.

Recent Keystone Work:

11+ English, 7+, 11+ Science: English comprehension and Science for 7 year old (Started: July 2011)

8+, 7+: holiday tutoring for 5 and 6 year old (Started: August 2011)

GCSE Maths, GCSE French: GCSE all-round tutoring (Started: September 2011)

Spanish: for exams, French: for exams: French and Spanish revision for girl in year 9 (Started: December 2011)

GCSE French: GCSE French (Started: December 2011)

11+ English, 11+ Maths : Westminster Pre-Test (Started: December 2011)

Biography

I grew up in Lancashire and, besides my abiding love of language(s) and literature, have always been a keen sailor and musician. I read Modern Languages at Merton College Oxford, where I also sailed for the University and played/sang in various University bands and orchestras. I then went to University College London to study for an MRes in the neuroscience of language. Having recently completed a work placement at a residential hospital, I am now writing up my research project for UCL alongside tutoring - which entails lots of hard maths! I intend to start Graduate Entry Medicine in September 2013, and look forward to continuing as a professional tutor between now and then.

Personal Approach

Every student is different, and I like to enter each post with a completely open mind as to what approach will be suitable. Lack of confidence can often be mistaken for unwillingness to engage - so I endeavour to create a reassuring atmosphere where all questions are welcome. My own enthusiasm seems to rub off too!

Depending on what I'm teaching, I find that different levels of formality are usually required - for example, firing someone's interest in a literary text usually entails a combination of informal discussion and going over work done already in school or college, whilst working on the trickier aspects of (say) the French tense system or revising for Common Entrance Maths demands a rather more structured approach.

I have worked on language acquisition and developmental linguistics at both Oxford University and UCL, and my theoretical understanding of how people acquire their first languages and of how they learn languages later in life greatly informs my teaching. Pinpointing quite particular apparent 'mental blocks' in several children that I have taught would have taken far longer without it.

What I do when I am not tutoring

Aside from my work at UCL (a meta-analysis of selected elements of the last decade's schizophrenia research), I write articles for publications including The Independent and Dazed and Confused magazine, and translate texts from French, Italian and Spanish into English. The European Court of Justice and Aéroports de Paris number among my previous translation clients. I also love riding and getting out on the water whenever possible!

Testimonials

21/12/2011: Mary is calm and reassuring with my son, which is the perfect way to teach him (Mother of GCSE student)

17/10/2011: ”Mary is a very patient and thorough teacher” (Mother of Hong Kong based student)

17/10/2011: “We were delighted with the thorough way in which Mary led our daughter through the linguistics maze” (Father of linguistics student)

'Mary is a very patient and thorough teacher.[She]uses different topics and activities to keep Lok's focus. Apart from Science, Mary has also started to look at Lok's English. The teaching quality is high. I hope Mary can give tuitions to Lok on a long-term basis.' - Ida Liu, Hong Kong, Science and English for 11+

'Mary Selman is a hugely talented and inspiring tutor who has helped me develop both my Arabic and English skills over the last two years. She combines scholarly rigour and wisdom with irrepressible energy and makes studying a real pleasure.' - Charles Ogilvie, Fine Art doctoral candidate, Oxford University

'I passed the exam! Thank you so much for your help, I am positive that I would not have passed it without you!' - Hannah Cheater, 2nd year Linguistics finalist

Passport: Keystone Tutors has a copy of Mary Selman's passport and therefore can confirm that Mary Selman is a UK / EU national or has the appropriate visa to be eligible to work in the UK.