Oxford master's graduate with 300+ hours tutoring experience offering online English literature and language lessons from GCSE--university level

Find out more about Chloe

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  My passion for English literature, English language, and learning began at an early age during my school years. It flourished and was solidified during my undergraduate degree in English at Queen Mary, University of London where I also decided that I wanted to pursue a career in academia and teach literature at university level. After completing my master's in English at Oxford, I knew I wanted to spend my gap year before my PhD giving tutoring a go to develop some teaching experience, and I am loving it!

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I teach English literature and language from GCSE to undergraduate level. I teach all set texts on GCSE and A-Level syllabi and am always excited to read and teach books I myself haven't read before. I particularly enjoy teaching my older students as university-level teaching is what I am aiming for in my career, however I also love seeing the progress of my GCSE students, especially when they begin to find new and exciting readings in over-studied texts, such as Shakespeare. I'm less keen on GCSE-level poetry, as I feel it is taught rather mechanically in schools which inhibits creativity and personal interpretation.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  There have been three main English teachers in my life who have guided me to where I am today. I remember my earliest high school English teacher telling me that my writing and ideas were useless. We then had a new, young, and vibrant teacher later in the year who encouraged and believed in me - she told me that my work was about two levels above where I should have been working at. I struggled again with my two GCSE teachers, who often squabbled amongst themselves, but my A-Level English literature teacher was the real turning point. She inspired me to become an English teacher myself: her technique, passion, and belief in me had a lasting effect. More recently, one of my university professors was absolutely instrumental in my decisions to specialise in medieval literature, want to teach at university level, and apply (and get in!) to Oxford for a master's degree.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  I think tutoring is all about balance - the balance between listening and educating; praising and outlining areas for improvement; and combining the more 'boring' tasks of going through exam board specifications and objectives with fun activities to get students thinking critically and excitedly about books and stories. Each student at every age has something wonderful and nuanced to say about the subject if only you are willing to listen.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school. I remember in the days before our A-Level English literature exam, I had a 'premonition' about what the question would be in the exam paper. The whole class got excited and we all set to work--our teacher included--with banana bread, water, and highlighters ready to analyse that particular theme in the texts. Of course, the premonition was totally wrong and we got asked something unrelated in the exam, but it was great fun and the banana bread was nice.

  I remember in the days before our A-Level English literature exam, I had a 'premonition' about what the question would be in the exam paper. The whole class got excited and we all set to work--our teacher included--with banana bread, water, and highlighters ready to analyse that particular theme in the texts. Of course, the premonition was totally wrong and we got asked something unrelated in the exam, but it was great fun and the banana bread was nice.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  There are so many challenges in English studies at the higher level I am now working at: coming up with novel and practical research; getting articles and proposals accepted by journals; battling the academic job market, etc... But I would say the main challenge I have faced throughout and still face now is believing in myself and my own ideas and abilities. If you have an idea--however wacky--pursue it! Write about it, argue it well, and don't be afraid to take fresh stances on overstudied texts.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I specialise in medieval literature - specifically the literatures, languages and cultures of high medieval England and France, 1066-1300. I love to read and write about history and fiction, and my research often discusses the genres of historia and fabula, chronicle and romance in the Middle Ages. I also have a passion for Arthurian literature, myth and legend, and outside of my academic research I love to read fantasy novels.

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P) ?

  I am a highly-qualified, dedicated, and passionate individual who loves literature and thrives in an environment where I can teach others and encourage them to get excited about the subject too, even if they previously weren't. I love the variety of the job and the fact that I could be teaching GCSE Macbeth in one hour and guiding an undergraduate through their final-year thesis in the next. Essentially, I love to feel I have helped someone, taught them something valuable, or reinvigorated their motivation and passion for learning if it was wavering