Session Three with RF

17 November: Today was only RF. I have to admit, this is much easier to deal with than two people to tutor. At any rate, today we accomplished getting his diagnostic passage recorded in the Global Learning Lab. I think work is really draining his energy, as well as his assistance in navigating life with the other five guys. He doesn't seem to be doing much, as he was supposed to be working with a workbook he had which I thought was quite good, on his past tense constructions. We were going to go over them and talk about any patterns that were evident or find out what misunderstandings were becoming clearer to him. I will find a way to work with all of this, although my schedule is positively grueling right now. It won't be long before I am able to do more tutoring - I hope. Again, I saved the recording as an audio file and will burn it to a CD later. I do like the sound quality so much better. We did spend quite a bit of time talking, as he seems to want that interaction with a native speaker, as his goal is to sound as much like me as he can. I can see he is determined, but I don't know how much of himself he is giving to this when he is doing so much for the other guys. He always wants me to correct him with his verb tense issues, and he seems okay with that. Again, he and the others are concerned that I am getting nothing out of this and I assure them that the experience in tutoring for me is as valuable to me as my time tutoring is for them. I think he was unsure at first, but I think he is okay with it now.

Happy Gram!

5 November: PR e-mailed me to thank me for my time and to let me know his pronunciation work is going well. What he wrote really moved me: "I wanted to thank you very much for your efforts to improve my spoken english. I can't explain how greatful I am to meet you during my initial days in the USA. Whenever I think of my history or initial days in the USA, you will be a part of it." I was blown away - I never really thought about that aspect of tutoring. I wonder how long the tutoring will actually last, if he will eventually go back to Nepal and if we will keep in touch. I had never thought about these things before. This was the highlight of my day!

Session Two with RF

3 November: Today was another surprise. I didn't have WS today, but A showed up instead. He is more capable than WS, but less capable than RF. However, RF seems to dominate, so this will have to be dealt with for future sessions. Again, a really nice guy. However, RF told me the WS had a brilliant idea of changing their work visas to student visas. I don't know what that will entail, but I was surprised and pleased that this was WS's idea! Since A has not seen the campus before, RF, Jaida and I toured him around. I didn't think there was a coffee shop open on campus on Saturdays but found out that there was! This was very agreeable to RF - as coffee is his thing. We talked more about what specifically will be worked on. RF has a significant concern about his sense of past tense. A wants to work on vocabulary, pronunciation and intonation and RF is also concerned about verb tenses in general, vocabulary and grammar. He has a degree in engineering in Chile and I think the sense of academic language that he has experienced in his native language is what he misses being able to convey in his second language. He is very excited that I know some Spanish - although less than the English he knows - but between the both of us, we will navigate this. I am feeling a little overwhelmed, as I wasn't expecting not seeing WS and meeting A. If they want help, I will help them. Fortunately, even though I graduate in December, I am still taking TESL courses to complete my minor, so we will be able to work together over an extended period of time. Whether I teach ESL in the public schools, I can always help ELLs in other ways. My major is Communication Arts and Literature, so that is where my first tendency is. I also let them know that next weekend is pretty much out for me. This situation seems to be going very slow, due to the different participants - but we will find a way to manage.

Session Four with PR

3 November: Today was my fourth session with PR. He is working hard on his English, but admits when he is speaking casually, that he does not take time to speak as properly as he could. Last time we met, he admitted that he doesn't really interact with native speakers that much. After much thought about this, I think it is primarily because he is not confident with his speaking. His pronunciation and intonation are his concerns, more so than grammar and sentence structure. We discussed a plan that we are going to try. He is going to use movies to become more accustomed to hearing English spoken. As he is doing this, it is my hope that he will begin to emulate it more and that he will be more conscious of where his pronunciation and intonation differ, so that the pronunciation issues we work with will have more significance for him. I also used the Global Learning Lab today to record him and it turned out much better. I have it saved as an audio file and I will transfer it to CD when I get time. This is a much clearer quality recording that will allow me to be much more accurate in my diagnostic analysis. We won't be able to meet next week, as there is a birthday in the family up in the cities on Saturday and I try to always be with my family on Sunday, even if I am mainly doing homework, at least we get to eat meals together. With student teaching and two classes, I try to maintain my Sundays at home whenever possible. I will just be glad when I can really be home on Sundays and not always at my computer or with a textbook in my hand. Graduation is on the horizon!

Session One with RF

27 October: Today was my first meeting with RF and - yes, I said and - WS. I was not completely surprised to see two - but I am not sure how I am going to navigate this. But I also can't turn down anyone who needs help. I stopped at their house and they followed me to the university. We went to the ERC from there. Jaida was with and she and I showed them around campus a bit, as they had not seen it before and they were quite impressed. It was a gorgeous day - almost too nice to work - but we have work to do. I am always a little worried when Jaida has to come with, but everyone seems to fall in love with her and are amazed at how well she entertains herself. RF is the most capable - although there are issues of grammar on occasion, and pronunciation will need some work and intonation will need some as well. He is gregarious, very outgoing and very pleasant - just a sweetheart. WS is not as capable as RF, but is very shy - but a sweetheart as well. We spent two hours together just getting to know each other a little better, but I think if they are both going to continue with tutoring, that there will have to be some separation, as WS will allow RF to translate and talk for him. At times, this might be fine, but he needs to do it on his own if he is going to learn to speak on his own. I really enjoyed today!

Session Three with PR

27 October: Today was my third session with PR. Today, Jaida wasn't with me and he asked about her - he missed her! I thought that was hilarious! Anyway, today we talked about how things were going and he feels better now that he knows he has a native speaker of English to help him. The tape I made isn't as clear as I would like, so I am trying to find another way to record him that is clearer, as I will want to archive this. One issue that is clear is that problem he has with /s/ and /sh/ (I am not going to worry about symbols right now and we all know what I am talking about). I had created a list of minimal contrast pairs for him to work with and we went through those. This is what he will work on for the moment, and as he gets time, as he is a student. We talked about how much interaction he has with native speakers, and by that I am talking about how much interacting he does with native speakers and not just how much he is around them but not interacting with them. He admitted he was a bit shy and this is his first semester in this country, so it is somewhat understandable. However, he is missing out on opportunities to improve his pronunciation and intonation, so I am going to devise a plan for this. I don't know what it will be yet, but I will. He feels as though he is improving and I am afraid to confirm this, as I get to spend so little time with him, but I only told him that I hear a bit of improvement and that this is not a quick process, but with the level of dedication he is showing, it will go well and he will be the primary reason he improves.

Curiosity!

26 October: I have another tutee - at least. Apparently, there are six guys that are working together and living together who are originally from Chile. I am not quite clear on how many are showing up and I don't want to discourage them, so I am curious as to how many show up. I will stop by their house, which is near the college, and they will follow me to the college. I have decided to base my operations in the ERC, as it works well for me since I will likely have Jaida with me more often than not. I think it will all work out, but I am curious as to exactly how it will work out.