Tutoring a Japanese beginner

[superapplecake]

Hi everyone,
Just recently I was recruited by my Japanese teacher to help tutor one of her first-year students. I'm excited to do so, but a little nervous since I don't have lots of experience tutoring...Also, I learn languages pretty well, so I am not quite sure if I'll be able to relate to the student's struggles.
Is anyone here a tutor that can give tips for what to do during lessons? Otherwise, what helped you when you were first learning Japanese that I could do with the student? Could anyone recommend any tricks for memorization or understanding?
As a side note, the first year students' abilities go up to basic comprehension of sentences/paragraphs, basic vocabulary, and hiragana/katakana (they only know about 10-15 kanji at this point). Their homework consists mainly of copying vocabulary, so I don't know how much I can help them with that, though they do have the occasional worksheet.

 

[CJones01]

As an experienced tutor of Japanese, in the first session, take a moment to connect with the student; allow for them to take initiative for what the sessions accomplish (what are they having trouble with? What do they want to get out of Japanese? What do they want to do with Japanese, etc.). Always ask open questions (why does this verb take wo? What does this kanji's reading change when paired with another? What is the rule for using kara as "because"?) and frequently check comprehension.

Your professor (presumably) chose you because of your skill and expertise, so you should be more than capable of leading a successful session or two or twenty. For somethings, rote memorization is necessary, but somethings can have fun mnemonics: before a PERSON place something GOOD to EAT (the kanji for taberu). Have the student create their own flashcards, and cycle through them sometimes (mix them up and always review). One thing that works really well is sentences as it works on grammar, vocab, adverbs, particles and so on. Push them into making more meaty sentences (I wake up. I wake up at 5 AM. I wake up at 5 AM and wash my face. After waking up at 5 AM, I always wash my face. On weekdays, after waking up at 5 AM, I always wash my face.)

If you wind up taking on more than one student, keep in mind each student's abilities and needs are different, so it behooves you to be able to adjust your tutoring style and approach. Start mining resources which have different explanations, styles and the like to fall back on or use for examples.

Good luck! Ganbatte!