IB tutoring · Milan

IB maths tutoring for ICS Milan students.

Independent one-to-one tutoring in IB Mathematics and Physics for students at ICS Milan, delivered online. ICS Milan takes students into the Diploma Programme through a bilingual English–Italian programme with the MYP and the Diploma Programme, and that route shapes which parts of IB maths feel hard — which is where this starts.

How the ICS route shapes IB maths

The route into the DP: ICS runs a bilingual English–Italian programme through the MYP and into the Diploma. Students are typically comfortable in both languages, which sounds like a neutral fact and is not.
Why bilingual maths is its own problem: Mathematical vocabulary is learned in one language and examined in another. A student can understand a concept perfectly in Italian and lose marks because the English command term in the question meant something more specific than they assumed. "Hence", "show that" and "justify" all have precise mark-scheme meanings that no general English fluency teaches you.

Course choice and what to watch

How I handle it: I teach in Italian, English or a mix, which is the practical advantage here. In practice the useful pattern is to work the concept through in whichever language it lands best, then deliberately rebuild the answer in the language of the exam paper — including the command terms.
The Italian-family dimension: Bilingual schools tend to have more Italian families, and with them more interest in Italian universities and the Bocconi admissions test. That test is 24 maths questions out of 50, on a syllabus that overlaps substantially with AA.

Where we usually start

A command-term audit in the first sessions: Early on we go through past-paper questions purely for language: what "show that" obliges you to write, how "hence" ties one part to the next, when "justify" needs a sentence rather than a calculation. Students are usually surprised how many marks were sitting in the wording.
Building a working bilingual vocabulary: We keep a running list of the terms that differ between the Italian and English mathematical vocabulary, and the ones that look similar but are not. Once that list stops growing, the bilingual disadvantage largely disappears and the student is simply doing maths.

FAQ

Common questions

Do you tutor students from ICS Milan?

Yes. Lessons are online, so I work with students at ICS Milan and other international schools across Europe. I am not affiliated with the school — this is independent one-to-one tutoring arranged directly with families.

Which maths courses do you cover?

IB Mathematics Analysis & Approaches and Applications & Interpretation, at Standard and Higher Level, plus IB Physics, the Internal Assessment in both subjects, SAT Math and Bocconi admissions preparation.

Can lessons be in Italian?

Yes. I am fluent in English, Italian and Croatian, and a lesson can run in any of the three or move between them. For students examined in English but more comfortable reasoning in Italian, that flexibility is usually the fastest route to understanding.

Lessons are in English but my child thinks in Italian — is that a problem?

It is a manageable one, and it is the specific reason I teach in both. The mathematics is rarely the issue; the loss is in command terms and in phrasing extended answers. We work the concept in whichever language is faster, then rebuild the answer in the language of the exam paper. Most of the recovered marks come from that second step.

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