Wednesday, October 8th
I met with Koo and Seforah after class today at the Hecht house for our weekly tutoring session. As usual, I asked them if they needed help with any homework from the previous week. This time, they did not have any problems with their homework, but Koo did ask me about the difference between the n-word and "Negro." I told her that both were horrible terms for black people in America and that she should avoid saying them, ever. Seforah thought it was interesting because negro is used in Brazil to refer to black people, since that is the Portuguese word for black. I told her that it was best not to use it in the states since it could be considered offensive.
After clearing that up, we worked on some multiple choice grammar questions from a TOEFL preparation work book that Seforah had. She had already answered several of them but she had questions about the ones she missed. I attempted to explain the correct answers as best as I could, which was difficult at times because my explicit knowledge of English grammar isn't that great. But with the help of the internet I was able to clarify most of her questions.
Wow, I've often wondered how something like this might go, explaining something to someone that has a different 'culture" or background with a word/phrase/idea and their social norms are different. Good information.
ReplyDeleteI too, in tutoring sessions, have had to pull out my phone to consort the all-knowing internet, it's better than giving them incorrect information.
I'm super impressed with how you handled that. When that happens to me I'm definitely going to take your lead.
ReplyDelete