This Monday I also met with Bao at Black Dog and Lake Ella for two hours. With her sister, we walked around the lake and I explained to them the shops that surrounded the lake, the types of events they have, like Foodtruck Thursday and Farmers Market, and what people usually do when they come to this lake and why. Also while we walked around the lake, I pointed out various animals we encountered as told them the various names we call them. It gave them both a good look at American culture and what a typical afternoon looks like in Tallahassee. Once we were finished walking around the lake, we stopped by the coffee shop, Black Dog, where we ordered some coffee. She got to practice her ordering conversational skills and then we all talked some more. I asked her and her sister, separately, if they were having issues with any particular lesson/topic or assignment, and Bao said the biggest thing she needs help on is listening, pronunciation and conversational skills. I told her before next session, what she should work on, like her sister, is watching movies in English with the subtitles so she can both read and listen to what they are saying, to get a better idea of what words sound like. I also told her to listen to English songs and podcasts, and to only talk with her sister in English as much as possible! Next session we will have individually, and I will record myself saying a few phrases that she will have to write out. Then I will show her a clip from a movie and ask her to write out what happened and what was said.
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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