Harrison TP#2

On Wednesday, September 8 I met with two of my CIES students for the first time. Their names were Seforah and Koo. Seforah is from Brazil and is studying chemical engineering while Koo is from South Korea and is studying computer security. Upon learning this, I immediately told them that they were most definitely smarter than me so they should have no qualms about mastering English. Seforah is hoping to improve her English so that she can enroll at Florida State. She said she just moved to America about two months ago. Koo on the other hand has been here a bit longer with her husband.

Since this was our first meeting, I used the time to find out what aspects of English they needed the most help with and to have a little bit of cultural exchange. Both Seforah and Koo agreed they need help with speech and pronunciation the most. I would have to agree with them as they both understood everything I said but were a little more hesitant to speak themselves. I learned that Koo and her husband both worked in computer security for the South Korean government before coming to the states. While I had wild visions of them locked in intense battle with evil hackers, she assured me that her job was much more mundane. She also surprised me when she asked if I had studied at Auburn (she recognized the logo on my shirt). I told her yes and she said she had visited the campus because she had a friend who also studied there. So that was nice. Next time we meet I hope to have some material prepared for them to help with their speech and pronunciation.

Harrison