Erin - TP 6

Today I went to Maria's house from 6-8 and ate dinner with her and her family. The family member of hers who speaks both English and Spanish fluently left early on, so there was not really a problem of someone translating for her, although her young kids were there and were trying to help her study, but this did not get in the way too much. At this point, she still mainly wanted to review the concepts and words she had learned previously in English class, which makes sense so that she can solidify what she has heard in order to have a stronger foundation. The worksheets and lessons that she has in her notebook of previous lessons is mainly full of nouns (household items, body parts, etc.) and exercises about opposites or past versus present tense. It definitely seemed as though there were certain words or certain exercises that she understood a lot better than others and others which she seemed to skim over.
Also, when I tried to pause over something she passed quickly, she didn't seem to feel comfortable answering my question or didn't understand the question. So I taught her several questions, such as, "What does this mean?" or "Do you understand this?" I have also realized that actually making a structured worksheet for her might be the best way to get her to stop and focus on a concept for several moments. She had made flashcards of words as well, mostly words which were not in her notebook; many of them were sight words and other essential words to English communication, such as "of", "from", and "for", etc. I quizzed her on these, and she knew most of them, but knowledge of Spanish came in handy because a couple of the Spanish definitions she had weren't correct, so I was able to give her a correct definition.
When we meet again on Monday, we will be studying for her practicum, which is part of an examination she has to complete in order to use her nursing license here in America. Today, I spoke in English whenever I could, though it is not possible to speak 100% in English because almost all of it is over her head, so she needs a base first; I greeted her, asked about her day, and even spoke with her kids in English so that she can hear conversations. On Monday, I will continue to speak English as much as possible.