Learning Centre

The FHIS Learning Centre is a free service available for students of all levels and languages of the FHIS curriculum (French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish).

We offer student-centered conversation practice, tutoring (i.e. grammar and vocabulary questions), and help with the continued development of core skills (i.e. speaking, listening, reading, and writing) in order to become proficient in the languages that we teach.

Location: Buchanan Tower, Room 813


Tutoring

Book a tutoring session:

  1. Self-enroll in the FHIS Student Resources site: canvas.ubc.ca/enroll/8RWFX4
  2. Click on "View Course Calendar" (on the right side)
  3. Click on "Find Appointment" (on the right side)
  4. Click on your desired appointment time and then click "Reserve" (on the bottom)
  5. Take note of the meeting location provided in the meeting details. For online sessions, you will be using this link to access your appointment when the time comes.

  1. If online, at the time of your appointment, click on the Zoom Meeting Link that was provided in the meeting details on Canvas.
  2. If in-person, you can meet your tutor at BUTO 813 at your designated time.

Complete the Student Experience Survey, which the tutor will send you. All responses will remain anonymous.


Online Group Conversation Sessions

These sessions are an opportunity for you to practice your conversational skills in a relaxed learning environment and are open to all levels.

Book an online group conversation session:

  1. Self-enroll in the FHIS Student Resources site: canvas.ubc.ca/enroll/8RWFX4
  2. Click on "View Course Calendar" (on the right side)
  3. Click on "Find Appointment" (on the right side)
  4. Click on your desired session and then click "Reserve" (on the bottom)
  5. Take note of the Zoom Meeting Link provided in the meeting details. You will be using this link to access your appointment when the time comes.

  1. At the time of your appointment, click on the Meeting Link that was provided in the meeting details on Canvas.


Meet the Team

Iris Escuer-Riera, Director of the FHIS Learning Centre

Iris is the Director of the FHIS Learning Centre. As Director, Iris manages the creative and curricular direction and mandate of the Centre and develops and provides training and professional development to tutors, alongside the FHIS Student Programs Coordinator, and the Learning Centre Assistants.

The core mission of the Centre is to build a student-centred learning community that focuses on nurturing learners’ confidence, and competencies through guided and independent learning strategies in a safe and encouraging learning environment.

Min Ji Kang, FHIS Student Programs Coordinator

Min Ji is the FHIS Student Programs Coordinator and she recruits, trains, and mentors the Learning Centre Assistants to manage daily operations and logistics of the FHIS Learning Centre. She is also involved with the recruitment and training of the new tutors. If you have any questions or if you are interested in becoming a tutor with us, please contact at fhis.undergrad@ubc.ca or visit her to BUTO 716.

Gianluca Liessi & Maria Darwich, FHIS Learning Centre Assistants

Gianluca and Maria are FHIS Learning Centre Assistants, and they draw upon their perspectives as students and tutors to support the needs of the community of language learners. As part of their shared responsibility to maintain the Canvas website, they coordinate the schedule and create resources for tutors. They assist in the design of communications activities that promote the Centre and gather student feedback related to services offered. Please feel free to drop by the Learning Centre during their office hours on and join their French and Spanish tutoring sessions throughout the week.

Office Hours

  • Gianluca Liessi: Mondays  2:30-3:30pm
  • Maria Darwich: Wednesdays  11:00am - 12:00pm

Anne Alemany (All levels)

  • Specialization: Economics (intended major); 2nd year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? Being able to share my language and culture with other people.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? The diversity of our expressions.

Nick Bartlett (All levels)

  • Specialization: PhD in French Studies
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? I love to meet our students and finding different ways to help them with their concerns.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? I love French because not only is it one of Canada's official languages, but it is also spoken in many other parts of the world, making it a gateway to other cultures and interpersonal experiences.

Ishaan Boparai (All levels)

  • Specialization: Kinesiology Major; 4th Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? The people I get to tutor.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? It is a useful language to know and can open up job opportunities in Canada

Aidan Callister (100-300 levels)

  • Specialization: International Relations Major; 2nd Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? I love being able to use and share a language that I love.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? I enjoy speaking and thinking in a different mindset!

Rachel Chen (100-300 levels)

  • Specialization: French & Psychology Double-Major; 4th Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? Connecting with the students I tutor and watching them improve throughout the semester.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? Of the languages, I speak, French is the only one I've learned "from scratch". The French language will always be special to me because of its beauty and how I associate it with my personal growth within my own language-learning journey.

Chloe Diehl (All levels)

  • Specialization: International Relations Major; 4th Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? Learning a language is extremely difficult but so rewarding in several ways, so I love being able to help in any way possible!
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? I grew up in French-Canadian community spaces and love the culture, diversity, and literature I had a chance to learn.

Fannie Fan (All levels)

  • Specialization: Unclassified
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? Helping students in need.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? It's a passion.

Annelise Knapp (100-200 levels)

  • Specialization: International Relations Major & Spanish Minor; 2nd Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? I enjoy helping other students feel confident in their language abilities.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? I love French and Spanish because they allow me to communicate with many more people around the world.

Phoebe Lee (100-200 levels)

  • Specialization: Higher education; MA
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? I enjoy helping out students and getting to know them.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? I think French is a great language and I love to explore it in a teaching capacity.

Yichi Lin (All levels)

  • Specialization: International Relations Major & French Language Minor; 4th Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? Drawing from my own experience learning the language to better support fellow students.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? The diverse and rich cultural heritage.

Laura Marr (All levels)

  • Specialization: MA in French Studies
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? Connecting with people is by far my favourite aspect of tutoring at the Learning Centre. It gives endless possibilities to meet people with various interests from different departments that you never would have had the change to meet otherwise!

Inbar Av-Shalom (100-200 levels)

  • Specialization: Anthropology Major & Spanish Minor; Alumni
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? Collaborating with students to problem solve together.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? I love that Spanish is such an expressive language full of imagery.

AJ Frumovitz (100-200 levels)

  • Specialization: Spanish Major & Creative Writing Minor; 2nd Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? I like offering students unique tricks that help them understand the subject matter in a way they maybe hadn't considered.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? While I enjoy reading and writing, I most enjoy conversing in Spanish.

Keonhwi (David) Kim (100-200 levels)

  • Specialization: Asian Studies Major; 3rd Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? Ability to meet and interact with so many different students.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? I think Spanish is one of the most beautiful languages in this world, because you can say phrases that are not not 100% possible in other languages. Also, since many people speak Spanish, knowing the language definitely enables you to able to meet so many new people.

Annelise Knapp (100-300 levels)

  • Specialization: International Relations Major & Spanish Minor; 2nd Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? I enjoy helping other students feel confident in their language abilities.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? I love French and Spanish because they allow me to communicate with many more people around the world.

Anshul Kulkarni (All levels)

  • Specialization: Psychology Major & Spanish Minor; 4th Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? The "eureka!" moments students have upon finally figuring something out.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? Learning Spanish opens up a whole new world, one with rich culture and history.

María Loo Córdoba (100-200 levels)

  • Specialization: Commerce Major with Marketing Specialization; 3rd Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? I enjoy connecting with students, and helping them learn and enjoy Spanish!
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? Spanish is a very wonderful and rich language, and I enjoy exploring the many regional variations of it in terms of vocabulary and sometimes grammar.

Christian Martinez (100-200 levels)

  • Specialization: Psychology Major; 2nd Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? I find tutoring very rewarding for both tutor and student in terms of learning the nuances of language.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? Spanish is a beautiful language that is spoken around the world and is extremely enjoyable in both learning and speaking.

Katerina Popke (100-200 levels)

  • Specialization: Integrated Sciences Major; 2nd Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? I enjoy connecting with people over language and seeing how I can help them learn.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? I love the diversity in the Spanish language as well as the rich culture that it embodies.

Grethell Rebolloso Campos (All levels)

  • Specialization: Economics Major; 1st Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? One of my parts about teaching my native language is that I get to meet new people, share a little bit about my culture and represent my people in another country.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? Spanish is a huge part of who I am. It is a language that allows me to be part of a beautiful community at UBC and has led me to meet some of my favourite people.

Anna Vukota (100-200 levels)

  • Specialization: Linguistics Major & Spanish Minor; 4th Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? Being able to use my language skills to give back and support the UBC community.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? Because Spanish is so widely spoken across the world, it opens up a great, welcoming community.

Beatrice Francione (All levels)

  • Specialization: International Relations Major; 4th Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? Helping other students learn a language, which is very dear to me, and learning something new myself as well.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? The richness of its vocabulary and expressions.

Gianluca Liessi (100-300 levels)

  • Specialization: International Relations Major & History Minor; 3rd Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? I enjoy building a rapport with students who I tutor multiple times throughout the term and seeing their progress throughout the course of the term.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? I love Italian because it is a very expressive language, and speaking it reminds me of hearing my grandparents speaking Italian to me as a child.

Laura Marr (100-200 levels)

  • Specialization: MA in French Studies
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? Connecting with people is by far my favourite aspect of tutoring at the Learning Centre. It gives endless possibilities to meet people with various interests from different departments that you never would have had the change to meet otherwise!

Mehek Mathur (All levels)

  • Specialization: Geophysics Major; 4th Year
  • What do you enjoy about tutoring? Being able to help students with their Italian pronunciation and language skills.
  • What do you like about the language(s) you tutor? It reminds me of my childhood growing up in Italy!


Preparing for Tutoring Sessions

Depending on the skill you want to develop, there are different ways to prepare for your tutoring session so that you can make the most out of it:

Students use listening and speaking skills to communicate with the tutor and others attending any given conversation-based session. For such exchanges, grammatical accuracy is not the focus, though tutors will make suggestions if communication is hindered due to grammatical errors. Conversation topics are chosen by the student(s) present and pertain to topics covered in FHIS language and conversation classes.

For questions related to grammar, vocabulary, and language usage, students are asked to have their textbooks, specific questions, and/or previously graded assignments at hand. Tutors will then provide students with brief explanations and strategies to problem solve and arrive at their own answers.

For help with reading and writing strategies, students are asked to have their textbook, assignment instructions, 2 copies of the writing piece in progress, and a list of their specific goals for the session at hand. It is good practice to consider 1-2 points per session and some students may choose to visit the centre more than once for each particular assignment.


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