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!