Ben Rickard

Hola!

My name is Benjamin and I am twenty-nine years-old, from East Anglia, UK. 

I have extensive experience au-pairing, English and Music tutoring, and educative care - I am a practical thinker and I hold keen interests in technology, history, science and mathematics. I am an avid musician, playing the piano and guitar, singing - and composing and producing my own music. I recently attained an upper second-class honours BSC in Music Technology (with Audio Production) from the University of Kent. The following outlines my tutoring experience: I am a native, fluent, proficient speaker of English, and confident teacher, having prepared many lessons for formal qualifications, as well as achieving my best high school grades in English Language and Literature - as well as the TEFL Academy 120-hour teaching qualification more recently.

I am a strong player of football, badminton, tennis and cricket, and an experienced swimmer. I am a capable musician with experience teaching - so piano, guitar and singing are more skills I could devise activities for too. 

Experience: Live-in Tutor 

I lived in Spain as a resident tutor throughout the Summer of 2016. Duties included setting and delivering morning TEFL lessons to the five children, marking work, reviewing progress, reporting daily to their parents, and developing Schemes of Work. They were aged between eight and sixteen years old. Tasks included: seven hours of planned lessons and reading per day, preparing for private English qualifications (they all passed with merit or above). Lessons ran six days per week, and the adjoining houses where the tutoring took place were in a remote suburb of Herencia, so provision was intensive. Other activities included sports, escorting them to the town as well as on vacation, and helping with housework. 

Private tutoring: 

I found work myself through advertising, and taught the guitar and piano to pupils around Norwich. They were aged between five and fifteen, at widely-differing levels of musical proficiency and talent.. My role in each lesson was to encourage the confidence and technical skill of each young person, to devise and deliver relevant, engaging lessons, tailoring to the needs of the individual. I have also privately taught English to friends, working through reading and writing exercises and examples, often to help out with their CV or in one case, in return for Spanish lessons. 

Other education-related activities - 2009 to 2019 

Between school and university I developed skills in sound recording, and recorded professionally for the Norfolk County Youth Orchestra and Triorca (international youth Orchestra) concerts, over several seasons, including in major venues, at home and abroad. I also provided logistical support for the orchestra, moving equipment, running errands, helping with the transportation of equipment, supporting individuals and young musicians (often in highly-pressured rehearsals and performance conditions). This required interaction with up to 80 young people at a time, aged between ten and nineteen, in intensive rehearsal conditions, as well as professional musicians, music teachers, administrators and technicians. As well as the obvious sound recording skills, this taught me a great deal about diplomacy, humour, flexibility - and maintaining empathy. I look forward to your response. 

References available upon request. 

Best wishes - gracias,

Benjamin Rickard

Soundcloud.com/benrickard

Live-in Tutor 

I lived in Spain as a resident tutor throughout the Summer of 2016. Duties included setting and delivering morning TEFL lessons to five children, marking work, reviewing progress, reporting daily to their parents, and developing Schemes of Work. They were aged between eight and sixteen years old. Tasks included: seven hours of planned lessons and reading per day, preparing for private English qualifications (they all passed with Merit or Distinction). Lessons ran six days per week, and the adjoining houses where the tutoring took place were in a remote suburb of Herencia, so provision was intensive. Other activities included sports, escorting them to the town as well as on vacation, and helping with housework. 

Private Tutoring - Music / TEFL

I found work myself through advertising, and taught the guitar and piano to pupils around Norwich. They were aged between five and fifteen, at widely-differing levels of musical proficiency and talent.. My role in each lesson was to encourage the confidence and technical skill of each young person, to devise and deliver relevant, engaging lessons, tailoring to the needs of the individual. I have also privately taught English to friends, working through reading and writing exercises and examples, often to help out with their CV or in one case, in return for Spanish lessons. 

Other education-related activities - 2009 to 2019 

Between school and university I developed skills in sound recording, and recorded professionally for the Norfolk County Youth Orchestra and Triorca (international youth Orchestra) concerts, over several seasons, including in major venues, at home and abroad. I also provided logistical support for the orchestra, moving equipment, running errands, helping with the transportation of equipment, supporting individuals and young musicians (often in highly-pressured rehearsals and performance conditions). This required interaction with up to 80 young people at a time, aged between ten and nineteen, in intensive rehearsal conditions, as well as professional musicians, music teachers, administrators and technicians. As well as the obvious sound recording skills, this taught me a great deal about diplomacy, humour, flexibility - and maintaining empathy.

During the 120 - hour TEFL course I learned about the following:

• A history of TEFL and how people learn
• Lesson planning
• Teaching online
• Reflective practice for teaching and learning
• Understanding and teaching English grammar
• Teaching vocabulary and pronunciation
• Teaching receptive skills - listening and reading
• Teaching productive skills - speaking and writing

The experience I gained from this qualification was invaluable when approaching lesson planning abroad, as it taught me more structured,  effective methods to engage a class - and complete my intended learning outcomes.

For my GCSE results (High School level), I achieved an A* in English Literature and an A in English Language. Certificates available upon request.