French Department Tutoring Service

(If you are not a UVa student in a French class, but are interested in hiring a private tutor, please visit the following page on our site: http://www.virginia.edu/french/ugrads/tutoring2.htm)

The French Department staffs a tutoring service with regular hours of operation through the last week of classes. Students should sign up for tutoring on the sign-up sheet posted near the French Department office (the door of 301 Cabell Hall). Please sign up for no more than 1 or 2 half-hour appointments in a row. The room number depends upon the time and day of the tutoring session. Room numbers are posted on the sign-up sheet.

Please note: This is a service provided by the French Department, using what small funds we happen to have shifted around. The number of hours of free tutoring we can offer is very limited. Students who need a great deal of work on writing in French and in English should take advantage of the English Department's writing center.

What the tutors will do:

• discuss the students' writing habits; identify those that are useful; help the student to come up with new strategies for approaching writing assignments.
• guide students to address the writing topic assigned, according to the format assigned.
• guide students to outline and structure their writing assignments.
• identify problems of tone and register.
• identify areas where errors in grammar and/or syntax obscure meaning.
• identify patterns of errors.
• guide students to rewrite awkward sentences.
• identify areas where students should revise and correct errors.
• identify the need to check vocabulary for accuracy.
• guide students to use resources such as dictionaries and the textbook effectively.
• help students to master specific grammar rules.
• help students develop learning and studying strategies.
• practice dictations, practice "questions orales," practice conversation and role play.

What tutors will NOT do:

• Tutors will not proofread papers.
• Tutors will not help to research the paper.
• Tutors will not contribute to the content of papers or other homework.
• Tutors will not correct papers.

What Instructors should do:

• If you have students who need help writing in French, or who need tutoring in French in general, let them know where to sign up.
• Tell the students you send for tutoring to bring a copy of the instructions you have given them, along with notes, outlines, etc.
• Instruct students to bring a copy of a graded writing assignment in French, along with a writing sample in English, if possible.
• If you have specific instructions/restrictions for tutoring beyond the basics delineated above, provide a brief written summary for both the student and the tutor.
• Because the hours we can devote to free tutoring are very limited, please consider sending students who need significant work in writing (not just matters of French, but writing process in general) to the English Department's writing center.

What Students should do:

• REMEMBER: The Tutoring service will not proofread or correct your work.
• Students should take an active role in tutoring. Be ready to explain what it is you need to work on, what skills you need to develop.
• For papers and compositions, bring the assignment and instructions from the instructor to the tutoring center, along with any preliminary notes, outlines, drafts, ideas.
• For other tutoring, be prepared to explain exactly what you need to work on.
• If possible, bring a copy of a recently completed, graded writing assignment in French and in English.

For more information:  Writing, Honor, & Community: A Guide to Compositions in the Department of French