Rachael TS #1

My initial tutoring session on Friday, 1/20 with Da-som went very well! We met in the basement of the CIES building, and warmed up with some hot tea as we got to know each other. She said that the skills she wants to improve on most are speaking and listening. I had her give a 5 minute writing sample, just asking for something she did this past weekend. She wrote a few sentences about going to Lake Ella with some friends. I didn't want to harp too much on the grammar initially, my focus was to get her to produce more speech. I asked some guiding questions to help her fill in the details that were missing/could have been elaborated on in her response. She was nervous at first, but when she actually started producing more speech than she thought she could, she seemed pleased with herself. The next activity I made up on the spot: I read a portion of the classic children's tale, "The Gingerbread Man," aloud to test her listening skills. I had her write down words she did not recognize, and then I would give her the meaning. This often included me "skipping" around the basement, or otherwise using movement to teach meaning. Afterwards, I asked her to come up with some sentences using those new words she just learned. We finished that exercise with her summarizing the story. I noticed that she had some trouble with the "Q" sound, so we pronounced some words like "squirrel, squabble, squid, etc." We ended with her summarizing a classic South Korean children's tale, and while at first she didn't think she could, she managed to get through and was proud of it.

For the next meeting, some exercise/ideas I have planned include:

• Having her watch a clip from a sit-com, take notes, and then discuss what happened.
• Ask what is going to happen next!
• Bring an error sheet so when I correct her, she can write down the mistake, and the correction.
• Present vocabulary worksheet on science subjects (she is interested in science!)
• Ask questions such as "In which areas do you wish scientists would spend more time and money?, Which big scientific developments do you hope to see in your lifetime?, What dangers could arise from scientific developments?" 
• Make a suggestion for a weekly science podcast.

I'm looking forward to the next session where I will hopefully be both more organized and more effective.