Private English lessons in secondary school
From year 1 to year 6, an English coach who goes back over tenses and grammar, gets your teenager writing and speaking, and prepares the CE1D or exams, at home anywhere in Belgium or online.
Why can a teenager who is at ease in English still get poor marks?
Because the English of series and games is not the English of school. Your teenager understands a lot, but loses marks on tenses, word order, prepositions and the structure of a written text.
And because language skills build up. A tense misunderstood in year 2 comes back in every essay of the following years.
In a private lesson, the coach first identifies what is blocking (grammar, vocabulary, writing or speaking), then works on the year’s material from there. Your teenager writes, gets corrected and tries again.
If dyslexia has been diagnosed, we choose a coach used to that profile.
See also our private English lessons at every level and all our private lessons in secondary school.
What your teenager works on in English, stage by stage
English does not ask the same of a year 1 pupil as of a final year student. The coach is chosen according to the stage and the programme: first or second modern language, languages option or immersion.
First stage: years 1 and 2
Vocabulary for everyday situations, the present, the past simple, sentence building. If English is the first modern language, the four skills are assessed in the CE1D at the end of year 2.
Second stage: years 3 and 4
Longer texts, the present perfect, irregular verbs, oral presentations. Year 3 is also when many pupils start English as their second modern language.
Third stage: years 5 and 6
Understanding articles and videos, arguing a point in writing and orally. A solid base matters for higher education, where part of the courses and reading is in English.
CE1D, exams, resits: preparing for English
- The modern languages CE1D, at the end of year 2 of secondary school, covers the language studied in the first stage. In English, it assesses four skills: listening (30 points), reading (20), writing (20) and speaking (30). The coach practises with your teenager on past papers published by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.
- The December and June exams cover all the vocabulary and grammar seen since September. The coach helps plan the revision period and reviews topic by topic, in writing and orally.
- Resits are prepared from the material announced by the school and the mistakes in the June paper. We target what caused the fail, in a few weeks.
For full details of the exam, read our article CE1D English: how it works, answer keys and preparation.
How does it work?
Analysis of the situation and goals
A My Sherpa educational advisor gets in touch and analyses the pupil's needs.
Designing the coaching programme
Your educational advisor proposes a suitable programme.
Coach selection
Your educational advisor selects the coach who suits your needs and your schedule.
Coaching follow-up
Throughout the programme of lessons, your educational advisor follows up and remains available.
English at other levels
Other subjects in secondary school
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satisfaction
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Success rate
Students who reach the goals set with their educational advisor.
A private English tutor, chosen for your teenager
Private tutor, home English teacher, coach: at My Sherpa, you do not search alone. Your educational advisor assesses your teenager’s level in the four skills, sets the programme, then selects the coach who matches it. They remain your contact throughout.
Lessons take place at home anywhere in Belgium, or online, any day of the week, weekends included.
Does your teenager mainly want to speak more fluently, outside the curriculum? Discover our English lessons, one to one or in a small group.
English lessons in secondary school: your questions
By working on the four skills of the exam, starting with listening and speaking, which count for 60 points out of 100. The coach gets your teenager speaking in every session, then moves on to past papers, so the format holds no surprises on the day. No dictionary is allowed during the exam.
Yes, and it is common. English picked up from series and games gives real ease when speaking, but school also assesses tenses, structured writing and the vocabulary of the course topics. The coach works on exactly those points.
Lessons start at €35/h in secondary school. At this level, we recommend 2h sessions every week: with a language, regular practice brings more progress than a block of sessions just before the exam. The first three sessions are a trial period: if things do not click with the coach, you continue with another one, at no extra cost.
Yes, with a targeted approach. The work starts from the material announced by the school and the mistakes in the June paper: a tense, a vocabulary field, written expression. It is best to start as soon as the results are known: with a language, a few weeks of regular practice count more than the final stretch.
Yes. In immersion, English is also the language of other subjects, such as science or geography. The coach then works on the material in the language it is taught in, with the vocabulary that goes with it.
