Gale Workman
TP#5
Sept. 4, 2014, 6:30 p.m.
Hecht House
It was the first meeting with tutees from Brazil: Andressa
Christina and Eranildo. They met each other two weeks ago at CIES. Both live at
Colony Club Apartments, where they said about 50 students from Brazil live.
However, they said they speak mostly English at the apartments.
Both had a bit of English instruction in school (writing and
grammar). They said they have worked hard on their speaking since arrival in
Tallahassee – and it shows. Both students converse easily – Andressa
Christina’s speaking skills are stronger.
Both are funded by a Brazilian government program (Science
Without Borders) to attend FSU grad school for 1.5 years to earn master’s
degrees: Andressa Christina in nutrition and Eranildo in engineering.
To get to know one another (and to assess their needs) we
enjoyed lively conversation on a wide range of topics. They are highly
motivated to achieve English fluency and graduate degrees.
To practice speaking and listening, I guided the students
through an introduction/Q&A activity. I introduced myself with a few
professional and personal details. They listened, then discussed between
themselves what they heard. Then each student was assigned to ask a question of
me to learn more about me. Each of them asked a probing question, indicating
they listened actively and critically thought about what they heard. In fact,
they each asked several follow up questions, which demonstrated they use
“conversation” skills with native speakers.
Andressa Cristina identified notetaking (Cornell Method) and
prepositions as targets for study. Eranildo agreed that prepositions are a
problem, and he wants to work on listening and speaking.
To prepare for next week, I will review the Cornell Method
of notetaking and resurrect a fun preposition game I used when I tutored
Guatemalan ESL students at the Chinese Restaurant.
I like how organized you are Gale! You have a lot of structured ways to approach these students so even the simplest of tasks can be used to benefit them in the future. I have been out of the classroom for a while and am still fixated on traditional classroom methods but am realizing that the whole CIES building is a opportunity for many of the foreign students to learn and practice their skills. I need more fun, conversational style, unconventional activities to break me of my textbook approach.
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