Camille-CP2

This past Thursday I met with Abdullah in the CIES lounge for conversation. He is very shy and it is hard to get him to talk for more than a few minutes. I continue to ask him questions about his home life and his culture in Kuwait. Then I asked him what are some things he would like to do in Tallahassee. He informed me he really likes live music and plays the guitar. I told him I sing and then he told me I must sing for him sometime. Then we made plans for all of his friends to make an Arabic dinner for my friends and I. We arranged for the dinner to be on Saturday at 7 at his apartment. He then taught me a few Arabic phrases and he corrected me on my pronunciation. I did this mostly so then I can help his realize that it is okay to make mistakes while trying to learn another language. Also, then he can feel less submissive and show me things he knows as opposed to feeling inferior in Florida as a foreigner. I also did an exercise with him where I told him a story and then I made him repeat the story back to me. I found this extremely rewarding because it is a useful strategy in understanding the language. Because not only can he listen and understand a story, he must process the information and say it back to me. I am working on other little strategies to get Abdullah to become less shy when trying to speak English.