I had prepared a little "ice breaker" where I tore pieces of paper, wrote introductory type questions on them, and then put them in a big pile to draw from. They contained pretty basic questions, so when my TPs were responding with gusto, I increased the level of difficulty by asking 'wh' type questions for elaboration. The ice breakers led to more questions, and that took us through the hour.
Both of my TPs wanted to work on speaking, which is good because one of them definitely needs improvement in the flow of things. Comprehension overall seems to be satisfactory and not a severe hinderence. In fact, both of my tuttees knew each other and playfully joked around the whole time, which I found to be highly entertaining.
I actually taught them a stupid joke about a pig putting "oinkment" on their rashes. At first they didn't get it, so I did a little mini-culture lesson on the onomonopoeias that Americans associate with various animals and after that I got a laugh. I told them to tell a friend the joke, and explain why it's funny LOL.
Next time I will prepare some formal speaking exercises for preparation in the work place, because that is a concern for both of my tuttees.
-Jenna
Love the pig "ointment" joke -- I'll be sharing that one! Did you draw a question from the pile to answer? Your tutees sound like they'd get a kick out of your participation in the game, and they'll learn by listening to you.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see that you were able to find out what they want help with. Make sure you keep your ears open for areas that they need to focus on in terms of pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and cultural awareness of interaction (pragmatics).
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