FSU TEFL Certificate Course Spring 2019

For my fourth tutoring session, I worked with Mohammed on a presentation about the history/etymology of English words. Mohammed was to present it in class the next day and he wanted some help putting the finishing touches on it. We reviewed the grammar and usage of the presentation and did a little more research to make sure the historical facts were correct. This was different for me as etymology is something we do not necessarily review in TEFL class. I offered what limited knowledge I had about prefixes and their languages of origin, explaining that words spelled similarly are pronounced differently because they come from different languages. We definitely had to do more research then I am used to as I am accustomed to helping my tutees review for their classes (more top-down processing) instead of creating brand new material (bottom-up processing). This was a challenge I am glad I got to take on, though, because I may encounter tutees who need more help with work that requires bo...

For my third tutoring session, I met with Renata again. This time we went over an essay she was working on in class, reviewing some grammar, spelling and word use. Renata is definitely still carrying over some of the structures used in Portuguese that do not translate exactly over to English. Her understanding seems pretty good- every once in a while she asks a question, but that is understandable- but her usage could has space for improvement, and that is ok. We reviewed as much as we could and we still had some time left, so we continued our work from last session with grammar. We reviewed pronouns a little more, which she is definitely starting to understand better than last time. We also went over all the different uses for ‘have/has’, such as its use in the perfect tense versus the standard verb. I explained how ‘have/has’ when it is used in the perfect tense can be contracted, but as a standard verb it cannot. We came up with lots of examples, such as why “I’ve never done this ...

My second tutoring session was with Mohammed, who was from Saudi Arabia. Mohammed simply wanted to review some vocabulary from his class. The parts he was struggling were understandable and common amongst language learners: pronunciation and understanding the subtle differences between words. Mohammed and I were able to come up with lots of example sentences, and I demonstrated a lot of words for him, sometimes pulling up pictures on my computer. Example sentences really helped Mohammed understand, especially when he was able to reproduce them himself. As for pronunciation, he would start by saying the word, and I would correct him if need be and talk about how the pronunciation can vary between regions. As we continued practicing, Mohammed was definitely understanding better and picking up on patterns. It was good to review the things he had learned in class and build off of that with new vocabulary and pronunciation practice.   

My very first tutoring session ever with TEFL was with Renata, a student from Brazil. Since I know Portuguese, I was able to understand why Renata was struggling with the subjects she was hoping to review: pronouns, modal auxiliaries and prepositions. Renata showed me a worksheet from her class that showed all the different pronouns in English: subject, object and possessive. Renata was struggling a little bit to understand when to use subject versus object pronouns, as the difference between these two is not quite as prevalent in Portuguese as it is in English. I struggled with teaching them to her at first since we had just started TEFL class, but we were able to work together to figure things out, using example sentences and simple explanations. For possessives, I noticed Renata had written the Portuguese translation next to the words, so I made sure she understood what they were in English. Discussing modal auxiliaries was less of a challenge because modals tend to have a regular...

For our next meeting, Sulaiman and I met at the Paper Fox café again. We talked about my graduation in less than a week and my plans to go home for a while before I went abroad. I mentioned that I really wanted to go to South America again after having gone to Brazil, and Sulaiman was really interested in learning more about my trip. We talked a lot about our dream trips abroad, especially to Brazil. He was really interested in hiking and seeing the natural sites of the region. Unfortunately, he does not really know anything about Portuguese, so that is a concern of his, but I told him that a lot of people in Brazil speak English, especially in the tourist industry. He did mention, however, that he was really interested in Spanish. Since the Moorish people ruled in Spain for a long time, a lot of Spanish vocabulary is similar to Arabic. Spanish words such as ‘azúcar’ (sugar) and ‘ Alcázar’ (any castle built in Spain during Moorish rule) were identical to their Arabic equivalents. This...

This meeting was my first opportunity to meet with a conversation partner since I had to drop the TEFL class. I got to pair up with Sulaiman again and, just like our first meeting, we met at the Paper Fox café on Pensacola. I just got a muffin, but Sulaiman was drinking a coffee, which lead us to talk about our respective tastes in coffee and we talked a little about Arabian coffee and how Sulaiman like to prepare it for himself. Sulaiman’s use and understanding of English seems to have improved. We talked about hopeful travel destinations and he was able to talk about them in detail. We especially discussed Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; a country he had always wanted to go to, and one that I had visited and to which I had/ have been hoping to go back. We talked about visiting South America and I got to teach Sulaiman a little Spanish, which he loved and said he was going to use since he roommate spoke Spanish.

For my third meeting with a conversation partner, I met with Charles, who was Brazilian. Unfortunately we only met once because I had to drop the TEFL class not long after we had our first meeting. Charles and I met at the Starbucks attached to Dirac. His brother was a chemistry major and the building was right across Legacy Way, so it was a perfect location. I believe the theme that Claire gave us was about food, so we chatted about our favorite meals typical to our respective countries. Charles had heard of most of the foods that I mentioned, but he had a lot of interesting things to say about his favorite Brazilian meals. The names were quite long and in very fast Portuguese, so it was hard to remember exactly what he mentioned, but a lot of the dishes were meat based and sounded delicious (even though I am a vegetarian).

My conversation partner, Sulaiman, and I met for a second time on January 29th, this time at CIES. We met and talked about different things that Sulaiman was learning in class and how well he felt he was doing. We discussed the most frustrating parts of Sulaiman's classed, and I offered a little advice, but kept things conversational. We also discussed the best places to visit in Florida, especially Saint Augustine, which really caught Sulaiman’s attention. I mentioned its history, views and the many shops there, especially the candy stores. I encouraged Sulaiman to go on trips when he was not in class and to travel the country during breaks, since taking trips is a great way to put English skills to practice and be exposed to many dialects.  He seemed really interested, and I hope he gets the chance to travel and practice English outside of Florida and across the country.