If your child has never had online tutoring before, “a Zoom lesson” might sound vague. What actually happens? What does the tutor do? What is the child doing? This is a straightforward guide to what a well-run online tutoring session looks like in practice.
Before the Session
In most cases, the tutor will have set some work between sessions — a practice paragraph, a reading comprehension question, a short essay plan, or some vocabulary to review. Your child brings this work to the session, either by sharing their screen or by having uploaded it in advance. Good tutors look at this work before the session begins so they know what to focus on.
At the Start of the Session
A good tutor begins with a brief check-in: what did you find easy, what was confusing, anything from school this week that’s relevant? This takes 3–5 minutes and sets the agenda for the session. It’s not wasted time — it tells the tutor what to prioritise and ensures the session responds to the student’s actual needs rather than a fixed plan.
During the Session
The tutor and student work through material together — usually through a combination of:
- Looking at the student’s recent work: The tutor shares their screen to annotate it, or the student shares their own screen. Feedback is specific and explained, not just “try to develop this more.”
- Direct teaching: Explaining a concept, demonstrating a technique, showing how something should be done — then asking the student to try it
- Practice in session: Writing a sentence, a paragraph, or a plan together; the tutor guiding, the student drafting
- Questioning: A good tutor asks more questions than they answer, pushing the student to articulate their thinking rather than simply receive information
In a small group session, there’s also the dynamic of peers — hearing how someone else phrases an idea, discussing different interpretations of a poem, or working through a comprehension question together before the tutor reveals the model answer.
Shared Documents and Shared Screens
Online tutoring often uses shared documents (Google Docs is common) so that both tutor and student can see and edit the same text simultaneously. The tutor can leave comments, highlight specific words, correct errors in context, and add model sentences alongside the student’s work. This is often more interactive than in-person tutoring, where two people are looking at one piece of paper.
At the End of the Session
A good tutor closes with a clear summary: what did we work on today, what are you taking away, and what do you need to practise before next time? The next session’s focus should be clear to the student (and to you, if you like to be kept in the loop — most tutors are happy to send a brief message after each session).
Every Thorogood English session includes feedback on recent work, direct teaching, in-session practice, and a clear plan for what comes next. Join the waiting list to reserve a place from January 2027, or try a free trial session to see it in action.
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