Marissa_TP#15

Marissa M.
Tutoring Blog #15
10/19/14

Today I went to Atomic Café to observe a tutoring session that Anna was having with a group of Brazilian students.  Several of the students I have had sessions with as well.  Andressa, Nina, Gabriela, and a student named Igor (who I had not yet met) were all present.  In addition, Taylor came to observe the session.  This worked out well because Taylor was at one end of the table between students and myself and Anna were both located where we could see and help the other students.  So if any had questions, we were easily accessible. 

The students are preparing to take their TOEFL exam on Friday.  To do so, they have been studying quite a bit and wanted to focus on topics and examples that they may see on the exam.  The students were given TOEFL exam workbooks by CIES and two of the students had theirs with them.  Anna started by having the students partner up so that each could see a workbook.  An ideal situation would have been to have a third workbook, but Anna did a great job improvising by taking pictures of the pages on her phone so that she could follow along with the students and read them questions when appropriate and/or help with answers. 

Both pairs of students seemed to be around the same level, based on their response times to the questions.  I could be wrong though - I have not worked as much with two of them.  They all seemed to be able to work together well and help each other out - which was nice - but also answer the questions on their own to make sure they were getting appropriate practice for themselves.

Anna had the students practice different exercises, allowing each approximately the time they would be allowed for each question on the TOEFL exam.  Exercises covered listening, grammar, and vocabulary.  During the listening section, I helped her read dialogues to the students.  After each section, the group reviewed questions the students had and any answers that were incorrect.  Anna did a great job with reviewing and checking for comprehension in students.  She made sure to do this after each section and not move on until all students were confident in their knowledge of the topic.

A few times during the session myself and Taylor jumped in to help the students.  One group explanation exercise was when the students asked why a sentence would read herself instead of her.  This was then compared to my and myself. 

I was surprised at how difficult a few of the questions were and how advanced some of the vocabulary is.  I hate to admit it, but I don't know that students in the US - who supposedly were raised learning this information - could pass the exam.

This was a great session to sit in on.  I enjoyed working with the students and watching Anna teach.  She did a great job!  She easily related to the students, was able to answer their questions, and provided great explanations of topics that were clear and easy to understand.