On Monday, January 21, Dojun and I had a tutoring session
over Skype and we talked about many different topics. We started out the session by talking about
weather patterns in South Korea and the United States. He told me that South Korea sometimes had bad
air quality because of the air pollution in China. We then talked about some common languages
spoken in the United States and South Korea and he said that South Korea does
not have a second language and that there is not a lot of cultural diversity
like in some areas of the United States.
We then talked about some American history, specifically relating to
Native Americans. He seemed curious to
learn more about it so I told him about some of the issues that many Native
Americans in this country have faced throughout the years. Afterwards, I asked him about what school in
South Korea is like, specifically the experiences of many young students. He shared with me that many high school
students must deal with a lot of expectations and pressure from their parents
to get into a good university. At first,
I was under the impression that there were only a few universities in South Korea
and that it would be difficult to find a job if someone was unable to get in
those schools. Dojun explained to me
that it is true that there are only a few really good universities there, but
that it is not impossible for someone to find a good job if they are not able
to get into these schools. He told me
that many conservative parents place the emphasis of going to a good school on
their children and that many young people in high school and college are
starting to break away from this mentality.
I then talked to him about options for higher education in the United
States and told him the differences between Ivy League universities, state
universities, community colleges, and trade schools. I got a much better idea
of what the experience of high school and getting into college in South Korea is
like through this session, which I think is good to know since I wish to teach
there one day. Like our other tutoring sessions, I would correct Dojun whenever
he would pronounce something incorrectly and I would ask him to clarify
something if I did not fully understand what he was trying to say.
My next tutoring session was with Turki. We met at the Starbucks on Tennessee Street, the usual spot, and started the session with a causal conversation about life and his short term English goals. Turki decided he didn't want to continue with the second session of CIES classes, and that he wanted to rather focus solely on passing the IELTS exam. He said he found the CIES classes to be helpful, but also distracting. He said he thinks he's gotten the most out of his classes and that it would be more productive for him to study on his own. Where I don't completely agree with his logic, it is his life and I trust his decision making. For this session he brought his own material that he wanted to focus on. This time it was a reading passage that I even found to be quite difficult, and I was once again impressed by his far reach in practice and ability. The reading passage was accompanied by a set of numerous comprehension questions that we reviewed and answered together. The qu...
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