Tatan Tutoring

Introduction: French is my first language as I grew up in Belgium until I was 22 years old. I learned English as my second language during my middle school years, where I excelled to the point of fluency. I have always felt that knowing two languages brought an all-new understanding to my world and the cultures I would soon live in. I came to the United States for the first time as a student at Cornell University. While there, I was afforded many opportunities to translate for students and faculty members. My approach was always quite simple, as you can imagine coming from a native French land. My comfort level, my understanding of each culture and my ability to communicate with such ease brought me success and respect in a country where I was still finding my way. I believe that tutoring also brought my students much self-confidence, and they found with that confidence a chance to triumph over a second language. With business people, I was able to quickly help them to organize documents, work on concepts in French and become a liaison between the business world and the individual who needed my services. Whether working in the academic world or laying the foundation to assist in the business world, I know that individuals were able to take my services and triumph over what first seemed impossible. As a father, I restudied algebra with my two sons while they were in high-school math courses. One of the things that have given me the most insight and patience into working with high-school youth and college students was learning from my sons the importance of paying attention to the students' perceptions and needs. It is my job to assist them in keeping their frustration level low, which I find to be critical to their confidence, success and ability to move forward independently.