IELTS Fluent · Giữa khoá · Listening: Planning a Presentation on Peer Tutoring

Hannah: So, Leo, we need to decide how to organise our presentation on peer tutoring. Have you finished writing up your notes from the school visit?

Leo: Mostly. I was really surprised by what we saw, to be honest. I'd expected the older students to just give the younger ones the answers, but that hardly happened at all.

Hannah: I know. The tutors were actually quite strict about making the younger students explain their thinking. The sessions were shorter than I'd imagined, too – only about twenty minutes. But what struck me most was how much the tutors themselves seemed to get out of it.

Leo: Yes, the deputy head said the tutors' exam results had improved even more than those of the students being tutored. I found that hard to believe at first.

Hannah: Well, it makes sense. You have to understand something really well before you can teach it. I think that should be our main point, actually – that peer tutoring benefits both sides, not just the weaker students.

Leo: Agreed. Should we start with the history of peer tutoring? I found quite a lot of material about it.

Hannah: I'd rather not spend too long on that. Our tutor said she wanted us to focus on current practice in schools, so maybe just one slide on the background.

Leo: Fair enough. Now, what about the problems? The teachers we talked to mentioned a few.

Hannah: The main one seemed to be timetabling. Finding a time when both age groups are free is really difficult. Some schools do it at lunchtime, but then the students miss their break.

Leo: And training. The tutors only had a single afternoon of training before they started, and one girl told me she didn't feel prepared at all.

Hannah: Right, but the school is planning to add more training sessions next term, so I don't think we should present that as a major weakness. Organising a suitable time is the bigger issue, because there's no easy solution to it. The cost isn't really a problem – the materials are mostly free.

Leo: OK. Let's go through our sources quickly, then. What did you think of the government report on tutoring schemes?

Hannah: I looked at it last night. It's quite long, but it's full of figures – the number of schools involved, results before and after the schemes, that kind of thing. We should definitely use some of those numbers on our slides.

Leo: Great. And the handbook I borrowed from the library?

Hannah: It's well written, but it was published over twenty years ago, before most schools even had computers in the classroom. A lot of the advice just doesn't apply any more.

Leo: That's a pity. I thought it was mainly written for teachers, so it would be useful.

Hannah: Actually, it's aimed at parents, but the age is the real problem. Then there's the online article you sent me.

Leo: I thought the language in that one was quite difficult.

Hannah: Really? I found it easy enough to read. The problem is that it's very vague. It talks about learning together in very broad terms, but it never actually discusses tutoring in schools.

Leo: Hmm, true. So how should we finish the presentation?

Hannah: I'd like to end with a recommendation – maybe that schools should match tutors and students according to their interests, not only their ability levels. The pairs we saw who liked the same things seemed to get on much better.

Leo: Good idea. And we could show a short video clip of one of the sessions. The school gave us permission to film.

Hannah: Only if it's really short. The presentation mustn't go over fifteen minutes, and that includes questions from the audience.

Leo: OK. Shall we meet on Thursday to rehearse?

Hannah: I've got lectures all Thursday afternoon. How about Friday morning in the library?

Leo: Fine. I'll book a meeting room so we can practise out loud.