Find a private English tutor in Stoke-on-trent

Whether it's English Language, English Literature, or English as a subject more generally, you have to study English through primary school and until your finish your GCSEs at the end of secondary school. Alongside maths and science, it's one of a few subjects that's obligatory throughout all the years you spend in compulsory education.

While you can choose to study or drop other subjects during your time at school, English lessons are something students just have to get used to so with that in mind, let's see why it's important that you study English, the challenges many students face, what aspects of English you'll study at school and GCSE, in particular, and how private English tutors can help both students who struggle and students who want to excel in the subject.

Why It's Important to Study English

The obvious reason to focus on your English studies is that you have to. You can't drop the subject just because you don't like it so you may as well make sure that you do well in your exams. Even if you don't like the subject, you're going to have to spend a lot of time studying it so it might be worthwhile just accepting the fact.

Beyond that, language skills are incredibly useful, even if English is your mother tongue. While your French class may teach you about other cultures, your English language classes can change your everyday experience with the world as the English skills schools are teaching students can be transferred into many other subjects.

English Language is a subject where students, regardless of their level, learn how to interact with the language, something they do every day with everything from street signs to televised political debates. Your comprehension of the English language and knowing how to use it are skills that benefit every student from primary school to university.

You can also learn a lot about culture through your English lessons, too. English literature can teach students about English-speaking culture in both a broader sense and by learning about specific authors, poets, and artists.

What are the Challenges of studying English?

Not every student loves English as a subject and this can make things quite tricky since they have to study it in every year of compulsory education. Much like maths, English is a core subject and students will have thousands of lessons in it by the time they finish secondary school.

From a young age, most children in schools are taught that there's a right and wrong answer to every question and this can be a difficult concept to shake by the time they start studying English and the other social sciences in secondary school.

In a maths class, you often reach a certain number and are given a point for it on your exam. For students who prefer science or maths, English can feel like an unstructured mess.

The teacher is also hugely important. If you don't share the same opinions, it's going to be much harder to enjoy your English lessons and, in some cases, get good marks in the subject.

The material can also make the subject particularly difficult, especially in English literature. If you love every book and poem that you have to study on your course, you're going to have a great time, but if the reading material isn't to your taste, the course is going to be hour after hour of learning about something you hate.

Areas of English Studied at School

As we mentioned, at GCSE, English is split into two subjects: English Language and English Literature. English Language looks at our language, how we use it, and how we understand it. English Literature, on the other hand, is more interested in the themes and ideas behind stories and poetry.

We've taken the AQA exam as our guide, but there may be some minor differences if your GCSE is from a different exam board.

For the English Language GCSE, students will learn about analysing both fiction and non-fiction texts as well as how to compare them. They'll also look at writing, how to plan out their ideas and execute them. The English Language GCSE also covers the spoken language and includes speaking and listening, voice, and doing presentations in the English language.

English Literature includes Shakespeare, prose and drama, and poetry. Again, the texts studied will depend on the exam board and school.

One to One Private Tuition in English

If you need help with English at primary school, secondary school, college, or university, a private tutor can help. The main problem with the teaching in schools is that it's too generalised and it's unlikely that your teacher will have the time or resources to adapt the course to each student.

With a subject as nuanced as English, this can be a problem. Fortunately, private tuition at home or online can help as the tutors can alter their teaching to what works best for the student and provide academic support to ensure they get the results they deserve.

Private tutors can help struggling students catch up to their classmates or help gifted students, especially those applying to university, get the best exam results they're capable of.

Finding an English Tutor in Stoke-on-Trent

If you're looking for a private tutor in Stoke-on-Trent or around Staffordshire, consider looking for tutors on Superprof. You can find tutors teaching academic subjects, arts and crafts, musical instruments, and even life skills who can teach you or your children from the comfort of your home.

You can also broaden your search to include online tutors and learn from tutors all over the world. While there are some drawbacks to learning hands-on skills from an online tutor, academic subjects like English can be taught just as effectively online as they can with a face-to-face tutor.

On Superprof, you can view each tutor's profile to see what experience they have, how much they charge, and whether or not they offer the first lesson for free. You can use these free tutoring sessions to try out a few different tutors before deciding on which one is right for you.