Lynnea Befus: Academic And Creative Reading And Writing Tutor
About
About my areas of expertise:
As a bilingual writer and reader, I understand the difficulty of getting the words in my head onto the page in a foreign language. This experience has fostered a love for helping writers express their ideas in English, from the initial brainstorming to the final masterpiece. While I am a native English speaker, I read and write Spanish fluently. I also have extensive experience translating Spanish into English, primarily in written form. I write clearly and professionally but also love creative and artistic written expression.
About me:
I was born and raised in Costa Rica, a small, tropical country in Central America. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, I have returned home to be with my family. Because of this, I work with students online.
My international experience has helped me develop a love for the individual experiences of students and their stories. No matter who you are or where you're from, your story is unique!
About my passions:
I love the creativity and expression that goes into reading as well as writing. I also understand that there are plenty of us out there who often struggle with finding the beauty within both activities. As a tutor, I don’t expect English to be your strong point or even your preference! Instead, I hope we can work together to find the value often hidden in English Language Arts.
The number one best part of working with students is collaboration. The creativity, passion and sheer brilliance of students never ceases to amaze me! It is an honor to work alongside developing storytellers, writers, thinkers and readers.
The reading and writing parts are pretty great too!
Highlights
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
The most important part of beginning work with a new student is getting to know them a little as a person. Students are important first and foremost as people and then as academics. Becaues of this, I want to know what they love, what they hate, what they know and what they're still learning--inside and outside of English Language Arts.
Since I work online, this often looks like a comfortable but professional email or Google meet call.
After getting to know the student a little bit, what I want to know is their concerns in their subject. What are they worried about? What would they like to get better at? What progress has been made so far.
After that, we'll come up with a plan for touching on the most important areas. I want students to feel in control of what they're learning. We will assess the most important areas together and then determine what should be done!
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Past and current job experience:
Wheaton College Writing Center | Wheaton College
August 2018 - Present
The Wheaton College Writing Center serves as a resource for college students seeking to revise, restructure or perfect their written works. The Writing Center receives texts from every discipline and discourse community. This resource is used especially by English language learners (ELLs) on the Wheaton College Campus who require help with translation or correction on word use, punctuation, grammar, etc. Writing consultants are trained to give friendly, professional feedback to native English speakers, ELLs and Graduate students.
Professor's Teacher Assistant | Wheaton College English Department
August 2019 - Present
Teacher's Assistants (TAs) within the English Department at Wheaton College are given tasks ranging from research to essay correction. The written pieces corrected range from six to ten pages apiece, written by a spectrum of native English speakers and English language learners. TAs are expected to give accurate, constructive feedback on written works and present relevant, current and specific research.
English Teacher's Aide | Franklin Middle School
January 2019 - May 2019
Teacher's Aides (TAs) at Franklin Middle school interact with students kindly and professionally as they assist their cooperating teacher in instruction, classroom management and the creation as well as grading of written assignments. TAs with second language abilities assist English language learners (ELLs) in small groups or individually in order to assist them in comprehension of English readings or the completion of written assignments.
Secondary Language Tutor | Franklin Middle School
September 2017 - September 2018
Tutors at Franklin Middle school interact with students in a friendly yet professional fashion as they assist tutees with schoolwork from any discipline taught in the English language. While there are occasional native English speakers with learning disabilities who come to tutoring, the students present are primarily English Language Learners (ELLs). These students are mostly native Spanish speakers, often having come recently to the United States from Mexico, Honduras, Colombia or Venezuela.
Tutors offer translation for instructions within assignments, read aloud with students to increase their English skills and offer support as students grapple with the emotional effects of physical displacement. Tutors fluent in Spanish also offer translation to students with a lower level of English comprehension.
I am currently in my last year of study at Wheaton College, IL. I am majoring in English Literature with an accredidation in Secondary Education.
How did you get started teaching?
I've grown up teaching my whole life. I'm a Costa-Rican-born, English speaking daughter of teachers. Because of this uncommon upbringing, my academic life has been full of teaching myself, my sisters and my peers how to read, interpret and analyze academic as well as creative writing. This experience and passion has led me to seek a degree in teaching English, especially to English language learners.
What types of students have you worked with?
While my instruction has ranged from teaching five-year-old kindergarteners to sixty-five-year-old retirees, my professional training has focused primarily on a spectrum between middle school and college.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
One of my most recent writing workshops was with a talented College Student with high aspirations in the English writing field. This young man's interpretation and analysis of the text he was using in his essay were spot on! However, his professor required standard academic English in the paper. Over the space of an hour, we worked, thought and laughed together to perfect the grammar, punctuation and word choice of an already phenomenal essay. It was delightful to see him catching on to the rules surrounding commas and semicolons, his enthusiasm building with every page we read through!
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
What am I excited about?
What am I unsure about?
Which areas am I proud and confident about?
Which areas do I know I need help in?