private tutor

[AirbusA321]

My aunt asked me to find a good private tutor for my cousin to help him get better grades at school once a week, and now I have found an Irish immigrant but I'm not yet 100% convinced of his English skills. He is not a teacher but at least studies at university, which is a good sign. What questions should I ask him to find out if he is qualified enough? I mean some tricky questions. It seems to me like he is bilingual, Irish and English, and maybe he is more focussed on Irish but I'm not quite sure.

 

[emsr2d2]

My aunt asked me to find a good private tutor [STRIKE]for[/STRIKE] to teach my cousin once a week to help him get better grades at school. [STRIKE]once a week[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]and now[/STRIKE] I have found an Irish [STRIKE]immigrant[/STRIKE] man but I'm not yet 100% convinced of his English skills. He is not a teacher but at least studies at university, which is a good sign. What questions should I ask him to find out if he is qualified enough? I mean some tricky questions. It seems to me like he is bilingual, Irish and English, and maybe he is more focused on Irish but I'm not quite sure.

As you already know he is not a teacher, I suggest you and your aunt meet him at least a couple of times and chat generally about how he plans to teach your cousin. Find out if he has any informal teaching experience at all, especially with children (you didn't say how old your cousin is but I'm assuming he's a child, not an adult).

What do you mean by "focused on Irish"? Do you mean that you think that Irish Gaelic is his main native language and English is his second language, even if he's fluent?

 

[AirbusA321]

As you already know he is not a teacher, I suggest you and your aunt meet him at least a couple of times and chat generally about how he plans to teach your cousin. Find out if he has any informal teaching experience at all, especially with children (you didn't say how old your cousin is but I'm assuming he's a child, not an adult).

What do you mean by "focused on Irish"? Do you mean that you think that Irish Gaelic is his main native language and English is his second language, even if he's fluent?

Yes, it could be that it is only his 2nd language but we need someone who learned English from the get-go.
My aunt does not speak English at all and I don't have too much time to talk with him, that is why I want to ask him only 1 or 2 very tricky questions about grammar and then hire him in case of correct answers.

 

[jutfrank]

If he does speak Gaelic I'm sure his English is at native-speaker level, too, so don't worry about that.

If he's not a teacher, his knowledge of grammar probably isn't great, so he might not be able to answer tricky grammar questions. This is not necessarily a problem and doesn't reflect much on his suitability to teach your cousin.

 

[Rover_KE]

I agree with your last point, jutfrank - the grammar knowledge of plenty of qualified teachers isn't great.

My main concern is that the OP is considering entrusting a relative stranger with the care and education of their cousin and going to some trouble to check out his credentials.

AirbusA, I can't help feeling that there are there are lots of qualified and accredited language teachers in Germany to whom you could entrust your cousin with confidence.

If you are trying to save money, is there a German equivalent of our English expression 'You get what you pay for'?

 

[emsr2d2]

It really depends on what kind of help you are looking for. I don't know how old this Irish guy is, nor do I know what the situation with teaching grammar in Irish schools, but if you'd found an English person of around 45 or less who isn't a teacher, they might well know nothing about grammar. That doesn't mean their English isn't marvellous and they might do really well at helping with conversational English. If your cousin needs in-depth grammar help, you need to know that this Irish guy's grammar knowledge is up to the task. I'm sure he doesn't want to take on a job he can't do so I'm not sure you need to ask him "tricky" questions. Start by asking him if he was taught grammar at school and/or if he has studied it since.