Sushila TP #16

TP: 16

Date: 10/27/14

Time: 3:30-4:30 pm

Location: Tallahassee public library

On Monday I had my last tutoring session with my child tutee Matthew. We read 2 chapters of a new book. I would give him a chocolate gold coin at the end of each chapter, if he gave his full attention to the story while we read it and was able to answer comprehension questions and summarize the main points of each chapter. He was very receptive to obtaining the chocolate coin and gave me his full and undivided attention. Then we proceeded to math word problems, which we breezed through so fast that we had an extra 15 minutes to our tutoring session. We used this time to review spelling words. We broke up the 15 minutes into 3 spelling tests, each containing 10 words. At the end of each test I would check his spelling and have him write the words he got wrong down as a pyramid scheme (starting with one letter and building each progressive letter until he completed writing the full word). At the end of all 3 tests I tested him on all the words he got wrong and told him if he correctly spelled them he would get a gold coin. I have him 30 seconds to review the words he got wrong. When I tested him on these words he correctly spelled all of them. I enjoyed this particular tutoring session, and I think Matthew did as well.

Savannah CO #3

I watched Leslie's class today.    I observed her classroom before and noted that she had a steady speech rate and clear pronunciation.  She also uses the board a lot: when saying a new word, when correcting a spoken mistake, when giving a model for an activity.  

When she was reviewing the new vocabulary they were going to use in the next activity, she asked the class how you spell "washes" and used that as an example of the rule to add -es to the end of words.     When a student said "she is studies English" Leslie wrote the sentence on the board and asked the class the correct way to say the sentence.

At one point a lot of the students began speaking Arabic.   I thought she handled the situation well before it got too distracting.   She said she was going to start taking off points if she hears Arabic.   One student continued to laugh and be distracting.   She calmly said "Do you need to leave?" He  seemed confused so she said "Do you need a minute in the hall or can you focus on class?"   It was the perfect thing to say because she laid down the parameters and took care of the situation with the minimal work to stray off the class agenda.


A student wrote a phrase on the board and asked the teacher if it was correct.   She said she would talk about it later.  After the speaking activity in pairs she said she would spend one minute on it.   I liked that she addressed the question without having it interfere with her agenda. She asked students questions that used the vocabulary and grammar that they later used in the speaking activity.  The speaking activity was in pairs.   She used the smart board to show a group of people and the students had to describe what they were wearing and what they were doing.

Leslie also informed them that they should study particular pages for their quiz.   I really liked observing her class because I could see how the students benefited from all of the linguistic support.   I also realized that the pre-acivity is very important.   The students have more material and exposure to model phrases that they will need for the activity.

Savannah TP #16

Today Igor and I went over vocabulary at my apartment.    I used a TOEFL vocabulary list.   The first word was "require." I gave enough contextual support but I wanted him to come up with sentences similar to mine so he would have to use the word. I was trying to increase his exposure in the hopes that he would be exposed to it seven times.  I did this by saying a few sentences, having him say a few sentences, and then I would move on to the next word while still using the previous word in context naturally.  The next word I explained was "assume."  This one took a while to explain to him.   I believe this was partly because of me.  I could have been more clear.  I said that it was an opinion or thought about what happened or what will happen that you base on things that you have previously witnessed and experienced.  It may or may not be correct.  When you assume you don't seek reassurance to confirm  what you assume.  I explained "vary" next.   This time we used my computer to google blogs and articles that used the word "vary." The first good result was a Harvard Business Review article about how strategies to promote women's rights should vary across cultures.   I asked Igor if he understood the title.   After explaining "across" to him he understood it.  The article's vocabulary was not level appropriate so we didn't go through it.    I asked him to explain some things that vary.  He said your mood can vary.  I said so can your finances.

Savannah TP # 15

On Thursday I did some research into the TOEFL exam.  Although Igor wanted to work on speaking I wanted to see where his reading comprehension was.  We worked on a reading comprehension passage.  I had looked over it before and taken note of difficult vocabulary, and words that acted as clues, such as "for example, "nor," "however," "since," and "interestingly."  I waited on him to read the passage and answer the comprehension questions.  While I was waiting on him to finish it occurred to me that I should have given him the same amount of time he would be allowed on that portion of the exam.  We went over the passage when he was done.  I explained to him the significance of key words and how to use them to his advantage when reading.  We spent the rest of the time reviewing and talking about the vocabulary such as "mother tongue."  I am not sure if this is the best way to approach tutoring him.   I think it is useful.

Savannah TP # 14

I tutored Cui and Libo Friday after class.  Before I got there I made sure to have an thorough understanding of "get" and its usage.  I am really glad I did so because it proved to pique my interest and facilitate a great conversation between the three of us.  It was also easier to come up with linguistic support in the form of examples when I knew how to group the different uses of the word.   I explained that it can mean "earn" or "win."  As in "We got third place in the dance tournament."  It also can refer to contracting a disease or sickness. It can also describe an affliction or uncomfortable feeling, as in "I got stung by a wasp" or "I get terrible headaches before it rains."     Cui asked the difference between "I had the flu" and "I got the flu."  I explained to him that when you use the verb "get" what is emphasized in the sentence is that you were healthy and then suffered from the flu.  You could say "I got sick after we ate at that restaurant."   That example seemed to help them both.  

I explained that it can by synonymous with "fetch"  an object, or explain an expected and experience or phenomena.  For example, "We get a lot of rain in Florida in the summers."  The problem was that when Libo would ask if he could use "get" in a sentence he came up with it did not work and once again I couldn't explain why.  I find that slightly frustrating but I guess it can serve to provide more insight into linguistic usage.  I really enjoyed this session regardless and I was happy to help them as much as I could. 

Savannah TP #13

I tutored Igor at his apartment Wednesday night.  He was studying for the TOEFL when I came over. Since it was my first time tutoring Igor I spent a while asking him what he wanted out of tutoring.  He said that he really wanted to do well on the TOEFL and he needed the most help in speaking, listening, and writing.  I asked him how studying was going and he told me was trying to study a lot but it is difficult.  I told him that for today we can talk and work on listening skills and conversation skills.   I took note of grammar errors such as putting indirect and direct objects in the wrong place, redundancy ("I tell it to you"), and using the incorrect preposition in verb phrases.  I decided that we could focus on vocabulary expansion and correct prepositional and verbal usage.

Savannah TP #12

When I tutored Cui and Libo I used a worksheet I had from teaching English in Peru.  We worked with the immigration office and I found the worksheet very useful.  It was a list of the 25 most common verbs in English.   It proved very useful.   First I wrote all of the verbs on the board and asked them which ones they recognized.  I found that although they could recognize the words they didn't necessarily know how to use it correctly in a complete sentence.  This was especially true for Cui.   They both knew what auxilary verbs were (be, have, and do).   I had a difficult time explaining "get."  I never really think about it.  I told them it indicates completing and obtaining something in the future.  I'm not sure I completely covered it and I'm not sure if I handled the situation in the best way.   I tried to use lots of examples but the examples left me more unsure of myself.  I settled on telling them I would look it up.  Libo had a bit of a hard time with the difference between "do" and
"make."  I explained that making is more of the process of doing if you are creating something.  For example you make a cake, but you do laundry.  The laundry is not being created into something new.