Aileen TS#10

  Yesterday evening I took over someone else's tutee (dear Justin who has now left us to work in Germany) whom I had coincidentally already met before at the same Starbucks we decided to meet. The goal that was set for that day was to prepare for the Speaking section of the IELT test he was going to be taking this Saturday. I was curious to see as to why my tutee was taking the IELT instead of the TOEFL considering the TOEFL format is what CIES' material focuses on. But then my tutee informed me that this was the test he was administered back in 2009 the first time he took it and that this was the test he needed to pass in order to continue receiving his scholarship/contract to work back in Saudi Arabia with his company. Thus I prepared beforehand by looking up how the Speaking section is broken down. The total speaking section would take 11 - 14 minutes and would consist of an introduction, some questions about family/home/work and finishing up by going into detail about a specific topic. Throughout our session I asked him about family background, his work, and his hobbies. I followed up with asking him about what he did on his last vacation. Overall, he was able to provide a lot of insight and detail into his answers and I genuinely feel he is prepared to take on this exam.