There are many reasons students studying foreign language at Yale may wish to seek outside-of-class assistance. While traditionally the common model has been for a student experiencing academic difficulty to meet one-on-one with a tutor, this is not the only instance in which such help might be beneficial. For example, a student preparing to go abroad or recently returned from studying abroad might practice with a native speaker to maintain advanced-level proficiency. Or a student at the elementary or intermediate level who is not experiencing difficulty with class assignments might seek out a tutor with language experience in a particular subject area to get practice discussing a favorite topic. Likewise, students looking for conversation practice at any level might seek a conversation exchange partner (e.g. "I'll talk with you for a while in Language X, if afterward you'll talk with me in Language Y"), or even more complex practice arrangements, such as group conversation meetings.

For Students Seeking a Tutor or Conversation Partner

Deciding To Get a Tutor

If you are having trouble in your language class, or for whatever reason would like to improve your language proficiency, your first step should be to speak with your instructor. Ask your instructor if he or she thinks you might benefit from meeting with a tutor. Your instructor might suggest specific activities for you and your tutor, and he or she might even ask to meet with your tutor to discuss your goals. If you find a tutor on this website, you should take suitable measures to interview that person before deciding to ask him or her to tutor you. Research your options carefully, and do not assume that anyone offering tutoring will be right for you.

Before getting a tutor, read Making the Most of Tutoring for some important advice.

CLS Tutors

CLS Tutors are Yale students and affiliates who are screened, hired, and trained by the Center for Language Study. Any Yale undergraduate whose teacher attests that he or she is earning or is likely to earn a grade of C or lower in a language course may request a CLS Tutor. This tutoring is free to the student for up to 10 hours per semester (CLS Tutors are paid by Yale College).

Read the Guidelines for Tutees of CLS Tutors for more information.

Then, complete a Request for Tutoring to get help from a CLS tutor.

If you've already submitted a Request, you can Manage Your Requests for Tutoring.

Open Exchange Tutors

Students who do not meet the requirements for free tutoring by CLS Tutors (such as graduate students or any student who isn't getting a C or lower) might wish to seek a private tutoring arrangement, also called Open Exchange tutoring. Open Exchange tutors are not pre-screened , so you must take special care to make sure the tutor you find is right for you. You must make your own arrangements to pay an Open Exhange tutor.

To search or create postings, log in to the Open Exchange system.

Conversation Exchange Partners

A conversation partner will speak a foreign language with you in exchange for time spent speaking a language you know already. For example, if you are a native speaker of English and you are learning Chinese, you might meet regularly with someone from China who is learning English and alternate languages.

To search or create conversation partner postings, log in to the Open Exchange system.

For Tutors and Prospective Tutors

CLS Tutors

Guidelines for CLS Tutors
Submit an Offer to Tutor form
Manage Your Offers to Tutor
Submit a Progress Report (done after each tutoring session)
Submit a Timesheet (done at the end of each week of tutoring)

Open Exchange Tutors

More Information

In most cases, students seeking tutors and those offering to be tutors can find what they need on this website.

If you have questions or need more information about the Foreign Language Tutoring and Conversation Parnter program, contact Howard Barnaby, CLS Program Coordinator, at howard.barnaby@yale.edu or 432-8504. Foreign language faculty with questions are also encouraged to contact their CLS liaisons.