Who is in charge of CASE?
CASE is part of the Department of Second Language Studies (SLS) at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa.

Who are CASE’s tutors? 
Our tutors are trained graduate assistants in the Department of Second Language Studies. Each tutor has extensive language teaching training and experience. To learn more, please see our staff bios.

Who can attend CASE lessons? 
CASE welcomes all students, scholars, and instructors affiliated with the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. 

How can I contact CASE if I have questions? 
Please email us at slscase@hawaii.edu.

What will happen during my first session?

During the first lesson, your tutor will introduce themselves and briefly explain about CASE. Then, you will complete a 10-minute speaking diagnostic in order to identify areas of pronunciation that we might focus on during your lessons. You will then be able to share any specific oral communication tutoring you would be interested in receiving, such as pronunciation, presentation, and academic fluency development.

What can I learn from CASE lessons?
CASE currently offers two kinds of one-on-one tutoring:

1. English pronunciation tutoring to help students develop intelligible English speech for use in academic contexts. Lessons are customized for each student based on a speaking diagnostic completed prior to your first lesson.
2. Presentation tutoring to help students develop skills necessary to deliver presentations in an academic context in English. Lessons are customized for each student based on the student’s current presentation skills demonstrated in a presentation delivered to the tutor during the first lesson.

More information will be added as we begin to offer more services.

How long is a CASE lesson? 
Each lesson is 45 minutes.

How much does a CASE lesson cost?
Our tutoring lessons are free of charge.

What days of the week can I schedule a lesson?
CASE lessons are available between Monday and Friday. We do not offer lessons during the final week of the semester.

Are CASE lessons in person or online? 
We have both in-person and online options. For in-person lessons, we are located in Moore Hall, room #263. For online lessons, we will provide you with a Zoom link. You can choose your lesson type when you schedule your lesson.

How do I schedule a CASE lesson?
Please see our detailed instructions here.

How many lessons can I take per week? 
Currently, you can schedule two lesson per week.

Do I have to prepare anything before the lesson? 
Before your lesson, please complete our background questionnaire. You can find more information here.

If I need to cancel the lesson, what should I do?
Please cancel the appointment through the STAR Balance system. This is the same system you used to schedule your appointment. This will also notify your tutor that you cannot attend the session. You can find more information here.

Will I have to complete homework between CASE lessons?
No. However, if you wish to practice outside of our lessons, we are happy to provide you with useful materials and resources you can use.

How many lessons do I need to attend?
There is no minimum or maximum number of lessons you must attend. Come once, or come frequently! However, you may only sign up for two lessons per week, and these two lessons must be on separate days (this is to allow our tutors time to prepare each lesson for you).

What is the goal of CASE’s Pronunciation Tutoring? 
At CASE, we promote the learning of intelligible English speech through one-on-one sessions with experienced English language tutors.

What will I experience during a pronunciation tutoring lesson?
Using your diagnostic as a guide, we will begin to work on the most crucial aspects of intelligible pronunciation (e.g., word stress, sentence stress, rhythm, consonants, vowels, etc.), as highlighted in your speaking diagnostic. Usually, we work on one or two aspects of pronunciation in each 45-minute lesson. 

Our lessons include both controlled speaking practice (for example, reading aloud) and spontaneous speaking practice (for example, discussing your area of study). There is no homework, but if you wish to practice at home, we will share useful materials and resources.

After your first lesson, you can make the next appointment at your convenience. You can choose the same tutor or a different tutor as you wish. We will record the content of each lesson so you can easily continue from one lesson to the next.

Do I have to bring some specific topics or materials to work on? 
Not necessarily. Tutors will prepare lessons and materials based on your speaking diagnostic results. If you would like to focus on a specific area of speech, we are happy to work with you too.

What is the goal of CASE’s Presentation Tutoring?
At CASE, we will assist students in developing oral presentation skills providing feedback on and coaching for an upcoming or previously delivered presentation.

What will I experience during a presentation tutoring lesson?
Before your first presentation session, we ask that you prepare slides (PowerPoint, Google slides, etc.) and be ready to deliver a draft of your presentation to your tutor. You can either bring in slides from an upcoming presentation you want to practice for, slides you have previously used when giving a presentation, or create new slides.

When you meet, your tutor will introduce themselves and ask you some questions about your goals for presentation tutoring and the topic of your presentation. You will then use your slides to deliver a practice presentation. Your tutor will then provide you with feedback on your presentation, and offer coaching in areas in need of strengthening. This can include how fast you are talking, whether you a looking at the audience, quality of your slides, etc. Your tutor will then make a lesson plan based on the areas that can benefit from more practice, and you will practice together.

After your first lesson, you can make the next appointment at your convenience. You can choose the same tutor or a different tutor as you wish. We will record the content of each lesson so you can easily continue from one lesson to the next.

What can I not learn from presentation tutoring with CASE?
CASE tutors do not instruct students how to write a speech or presentation from zero. Tutors only provide guided practice on delivery of academic presentations.