Literature of the Hart

by Jenny Hartland As EAL tutors, we are often asked to help people to expand their English vocabulary. A strong and wide vocabulary increases both your confidence in the second language, and your ability to communicate more precisely what you want to say. At Hartland Educational Consultancy Services we usually like to start by looking at adjectives. Frequently, learners stick with the common adjectives - such as ‘ nice ’, ‘ good ’ and ‘ great ’ - because they are seen as reliable and safe to use in multiple contexts. But adjectives can be powerful and can totally transform a piece of writing - and the English language contains a wealth of them. So let your EAL tutor take you on a journey of discovery as you explore the huge range of alternatives to those overused words. Find out more about our tuition services here .

by Michael Hartland Our ethos at Hartland Educational Consultancy Services is to inspire and nurture excellence .   One of the ways we do this is to help students access top grades by understanding and writing about an author’s style and language - and for the text Jekyll and Hyde , this means looking at how Stevenson uses animal imagery. As an experienced English tutor and teacher, I know that students quickly understand this aspect once it’s pointed out to them.  For example, reference is made to the “ ape-like fury ” when Hyde commits a murder, and later in the text Dr. Jekyll mentions the "ape-like spite" of Mr. Hyde. Having identified this pattern of language used by Stevenson, we then go on to explore its significance by interpreting and understanding the concepts of the novel. Book a free consultation with us here  if you would like to know more about our tuition services.

By Michael Hartland As an experienced English tutor, I always introduce the the text Jekyll and Hyde by getting students to read an extract from the gothic novel Frankenstein (the extract I use is here ). Students need to understand that what they call “ horror ” has its roots in English literature in the Gothic novel of the late eighteenth century. Being able to write about this enables students to access top grades in English literature . For example, Stevenson uses typical Gothic elements in his settings: impenetrable fog; dark and deserted streets; shocking events that take place in the small hours of the morning. Past exam questions have focused on setting and atmosphere in the novel, so the Gothic background to this text is a really important aspect to grasp. Our  About  page tells you more about our tuition services Book a  FREE introductory session here

by Michael Hartland The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is one of the most popular GCSE literature texts for pre-twentieth century literature across all the exam boards.  As an English tutor, I am usually helping a number of students who are either reading it early in Year 9, in the middle of studying it in Years 10-11 or revising it in Year 11. Its appeal is obvious: it’s dramatic, intriguing and it’s fairly short, making it accessible for a wide range of abilities. This is what one of my tutees, Aarav, had to say about the book after reading Chapter 1: Today I want to talk about whether The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a good book, based  on the first chapter. Now, I know some people think it’s boring. After all, most first chapters of other books don’t jump straight into action. But I actually think the first chapter is powerful and sets up a lot of interesting ideas and potential plots. First, let’s look at what actually happe...

by Jenny Hartland We find that many of our EAL students at Hartland Educational Consultancy Services have difficulty with pairs of English words like these. It’s a good example of the kind of detail we can focus on in our one-to-one EAL lessons. It is very important to understand the difference. Otherwise it can lead to some embarrassing (not “embarrassed”) situations. You would not want to call yourself “boring” when you are actually bored! Of course, it is sometimes possible to describe yourself using both words in these pairs - we discover that all of our students who are “interested” in EAL lessons are also very “interesting”! You can book a free introductory session to meet us and find out more via this link

Frankie has just joined our team of tutors at Hartland Educational Consultancy Services.  We’ll let her introduce herself in her own words… I am a friendly, positive, and experienced French tutor and German tutor with a passion for modern languages, studying an Integrated Masters in French, German, and Linguistics at the University of Southampton. I offer individualised tutoring in French and German to students from a range of different backgrounds. My specialisms in linguistics ( phonetics, sociolinguistics, and language acquisition ) and my deep understanding of grammar mean that I can offer an in-depth and enriching experience for my tutees. I offer tuition for A Level, GCSE or below, while sharing my enthusiasm for languages.  Having studied languages myself for 15 years, most recently gaining academic awards at university,  I am very familiar with the most effective techniques for making quick progress in the target languages. As a tutor, I am known for being bo...

by Michael Hartland A GROUP of children find themselves on a desert island with no adults around.  What could be a better start for an adventure story?  Or a disaster story, which is what Lord of the Flies turns out to be… As an English tutor, I love to use classic English literature to extend students’ experience of written English.  Our ethos at Hartland Educational Consultancy Services is to inspire and nurture excellence , and Lord of the Flies certainly challenges students with its concepts of the fragility of civilisation and “the beast”. Some schools choose Lord of the Flies as their modern text at GCSE, though the majority choose the play An Inspector Calls.    But Lord of the Flies would be an excellent summer read. It’s poetically written, dramatic, thoughtful and definitely a text to expand the mind. Our About page tells you more about our tutors Book a FREE introductory session here