People who love words, teaching children to love them too.
A vocabulary tutor isn't a worksheet dispenser. They are part-translator, part-storyteller, part-detective — the grown-up who notices when a child reaches for a word and hands them a better one.
The fastest way to grow a child's vocabulary is to put them in a room with an adult who treats every word like it matters. We hire for that instinct first.
Olivia Shing— Founder, Vocabulous
Three things, in this order.
- 01
A reader's ear.
Our tutors read widely, fiction and otherwise. They notice the difference between delicate, fragile, and brittle — and can explain it to a seven-year-old in one breath. You can't teach a love of language you don't have yourself.
- 02
A teacher's patience.
Vocabulary is built one word, one context, one surprised face at a time. Our tutors are trained in the Hiebert and Biemiller traditions — explicit instruction, multiple exposures, generative use — and they never, ever sigh at a child.
- 03
A scientist's curiosity.
They read the dashboards. They notice that Aanya remembered resilient for three weeks but lost resourceful after four days, and they bring it back the next session in a new sentence. Teaching is half observation.
How a tutor reaches your child.
We screen for craft, not credentials. A degree gets you to the door; the rest is teaching.
Written application
Three short essays. One has to be funny. One has to be about a child you've taught. We read every word.
Live teach
A 25-minute lesson with one of our curriculum leads, acting as an eight-year-old who doesn't yet know the word luminous. We're watching for warmth and for repair when things go sideways.
Background & references
Identity verification, criminal record checks appropriate to jurisdiction, and two references from people who've watched them teach.
Vocabulous training
Two weeks. The curriculum, the dashboards, the research, and the small rituals that make our sessions feel like a corner of a library, not a classroom.
Your first session
Free. If it isn't right, we'll find a better fit. No awkward conversations.
Ready to meet one?
Browse tutors, find your person.
— with care, from Singapore