Redwood ESL

Free ESL Tutoring For Immigrants

When you work with your own ESL tutor, you will soon feel confident speaking and writing English. Your tutor will help you learn vocabulary and basic grammar. You will be surprised by how quickly your English conversations improve.

What happens during a Redwood ESL tutoring session?

During your tutoring sessions, your tutor will encourage you to talk about topics that interest you. This will help you expand your vocabulary and become more confident speaking English. We tutor at a comfortable pace.

You start each session with a casual conversation. Then you will review what you learned in the last session and what you have been practicing. This reinforces and clarifies what you have been learning. It is conversational, so you expand your vocabulary and improve your pronunciation.

Following that review, your tutor will introduce a new ESL subject, such as nouns or punctuation. For this part of the meeting, you and your tutor will often view online video lessons on your PC via Zoom. Sometimes, you will write sentences or correct sentences that you have already written. You will learn new words and new ways to express yourself.

At the end of the tutoring session, the tutor will suggest additional ways to improve your English and will give you an assignment to complete for the following session. Your tutor will work at your pace, and you will soon become more comfortable with English conversation.

People frequently ask these questions about our service:

• Will I have to buy books or pay fees? No. There are no expenses, books, or fees. This service is 100% free.

• Who qualifies for this free service? We offer it primarily to immigrants who are working, supporting a family, or taking an ESL class. Candidates must be familiar with a laptop and agree to practice on their own between sessions. Here are some examples of students we have tutored.

• What if something comes up and I can't participate in a meeting? You can always cancel or reschedule a meeting if you give your tutor notice.

• Can Redwood ESL tutor my child? Sorry, the service is for persons at least 18 years of age.

• Can I qualify for this program if I am not an immigrant? This service is only for immigrants.

• Will I always have the same tutor? You may continue with the same tutor as long as you are making progress. 

• What can you tell me about my tutor? Your tutor will be an experienced volunteer focusing on each student's needs. Some of our tutors are retired, and all have mastered English through teaching or other work. All of them are lifelong American speakers.

• Can I meet my tutor before I start the program? Yes. If you contact us, you and your tutor will have an introductory Zoom interview. The interview will help you determine whether this is a good program and a good tutor for you, and will help us determine if you are a good fit for the program.

• When can I start? You can usually start without delay but sometimes we have a waiting list.

• What if I am already in an ESL class? Your tutor will support your classroom professor, explain unclear teachings, and help you with homework and projects.

• Will my tutor help me with real-life tasks and projects that require me to speak in English? Yes. Working on real-life situations is one of the best ways to master conversational English. Here are some success stories.

• Will my tutor speak my native language? Possibly. Although your tutor may not be fluent in your language, our tutors are skilled at tutoring people with limited English skills.

• What cities does Redwood ESL work in? Some lessons are better understood in person, so we only tutor people who live in San Carlos, Redwood City, East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Menlo Park. If you do not live in one of these cities, we may be unable to tutor you.

• Are meetings online or in person? Both are possible. Online meetings work well for most people. Even if you have little online experience, you will soon become comfortable working with your tutor. If you are unsure about online meetings, we would like you to try them. If online meetings don't work for you, we might be able to tutor you in person.

• Where do we meet? For in-person meetings, you and your tutor will meet at a school, a library, or some other public place in one of the cities mentioned above.

• What equipment do I need? You need a laptop with a working camera, microphone, and a reliable Wi-Fi signal. Our tutoring approach requires a laptop; a phone will not work.

• What computer skills will I need? You will need to be familiar with Zoom and Google Docs. We also use a few other free, user-friendly ESL sites.

• Does Redwood ESL provide technical training? We will help you with some technical issues, but we expect you to be able to use your laptop.

• Why is this program free? Redwood ESL is a private non-profit organization supported by individuals who have lived with and worked with immigrants throughout their lives. Tutors are unpaid volunteers, so our expenses are low enough that we can offer free ESL tutoring.

• How do I apply for this service? Tap the Contact Us button. Your tutor will respond within 48 hours. Act now. You can improve your English, and we can help.