Developing good rapport between student and tutor is important. Students will be more motivated and encouraged to pursue their studies with vigour. Lessons will also be more interesting and cheerful for the student.

• Learn to look at each student individually, and value the student for what he/she is.
• As a tutor, your first aim is to help the student see himself/herself as one who CAN learn and WANTS to learn.
• Set your sights high for the student and he/she will respond. Have confidence that the student can learn.
• Explore ways to set up the kind of rapport that is needed to spark learning. The personal interest that you show in the student may be the catalyst that makes him/her recognize his/her own worth and his/her ability to achieve.
• One way to show interest is to listen to what the student has to say - ask for his/her opinion.
• When you talk, talk naturally. Think of working WITH the student rather than talking at the student.
• Let your student know that it is all right to make mistakes, that everybody makes mistakes, and that is one way to learn.
• Help the student know that it is all right not to know something and that there are some things that you do not know.

• Before you start the lesson, it would be good to review through the previous lesson. Ask a few questions from the previous lesson.
• For each lesson, set a purpose. Explain briefly the contents / topics / layout of the day’s lesson and what the student will be learning.
• Pace your lessons reasonably. Do not rush through or make it too slow and boring. It also has to be relevant to the learning needs of the student.
• Start of with activities / exercises at a level where the student can work with some success. Then move to the next level of difficulty but be ready to provide some support.
• Make sure the student knows what he/she is to do, as well as why he/she is doing it. Provide clear directions.
• Review frequently
• Give immediate feedback. Give lots of positive praise when the student makes progress. Correct errors when they are made and discuss them with the student at the time. It is just as important to acknowledge a right answer. The student should leave the session with the right idea.
• Understand the student’s thinking. Pose questions to determine what the learning problem is (e.g. Identifying the problem, knowing how to start, etc.). Once a student’s thinking is understood, provide no more information than is necessary to move forward. Ensure that the focus of tutoring is to help the student move their understanding forward, not to hear how smart the tutor is.
• Be positive. Even when the student gives an incorrect answer, accentuate the positive about the lesson.
• Be enthusiastic about your lessons.
• Explain the objective to be learned. Use "keys" - the essential points of the content that will form a memory structure for the future reference. Statistics show that children remember 20 percent of what they hear.
• Show them. Actually demonstrate the objective. Emphasize the main points and answer questions. This builds credibility for you, the process and the total system. Children remember 50 percent of what they see.
• Have the student repeat the process and actually teach it back to you. This provides assurance that they understand the "what" and "why" of the objective. We learn best by teaching. As the student teaches you, it further locks the learning into his or her mind. Seventy to 90 percent of children retain what they experience by doing.
• Teach them how to evaluate themselves. Show the student what results are expected and evaluated. Encourage the student to do his/her own evaluation and be accountable for his/her own learning.