Federico

I have recently completed a Masters in Economic History with Distinction at the London School of Economics and have a bachelor’s degree in History and Politics from the University of York. Having had trouble with my grades in secondary school, I have witnessed first-hand how tutoring helped me fulfil my potential, allowing me to go on and earn a top-class degree at prestigious Russell Group universities. I am therefore very passionate about teaching and helping others fulfil their maximum potential.

As a Colombian, I am a native Spanish-speaker and have been studying it at mother tongue level since moving to Europe as a school student. I even took it up as an IB High Level mother tongue subject, together with English, helping me earn a bilingual diploma. My other Higher Level consisted of History, which I have continued to study on to university level.

I have undertaken studies in all the various branches of History, ranging from political, social, economic, and intellectual. My geographical range has involved Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe, from the 18th to the 21st century. All these years of developing the necessary skills and techniques to perform well in History have culminated in producing a Distinction-level dissertation in my master’s at LSE that I am currently working on having it published. It combined economic, political and intellectual History in interwar Colombia, and was praised for its exhaustive set of primary sources, engagement with the existing literature, and original interpretation. The standard grade for my other essays also hovered around the solid Distinction mark (70+ onwards). All these results, are the result of learning 'how to learn' during my formative school years, allowing me to understand the process of producing historical knowledge, and conveying it to others.

Tutoring Experience

Regarding Spanish, I have ample experience teaching the language, both during my IB Diploma years, as well as later on at university. I volunteered for my school's Romance-language Department, to tutor students undertaking the subject at IB Higher Level. At the time, the classes were mostly conversational and were intended to help the students enrich their vocabulary as well as their fluency in expressing their ideas vocally. Later, at University, I became one of the main Spanish teachers for the Latin American Society. As a society we offered free of charge Spanish lessons to members, and I covered both the absolute beginners as well as the more advanced students. Using slides, and learning exercises, I taught grammar, vocabulary and spelling. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and at the end of the academic year in 2019, we won the 'Best Society of the Year' award.

Tutoring Approach

In Spanish I take a very conversational approach, encouraging immersion but also a constant reviewing of crucial grammar and spelling rules as well as vocabulary. All this is crucial as it helps provide students with the vocabulary to express their own thoughts, as well as the important grammatical skills to be able convey it in as precise and succinct manner as possible. The immersive and conversational approach also exposes the students to hearing the language and recognising the words when spoken and not just written.

For History, I wish to help the student develop the two most crucial skills for obtaining good grades in the subject: historical analysis and essay writing. My approach to develop the former, revolves around covering the material with the student and engaging in a conversation to discuss the events, what helped contribute to shaping these vents, and what factor was more important in causing them. I also make use of real primary sources to discuss their values and limitations as a source, in preparation for document tests. To develop their essay writing techniques, we will go over the work they have already produced and/or plan to hand in, to discuss how best to convey the information in a concise and precise manner.