Jung - TP9

After reading chapter two, we took about 15 minutes break. We got some drinks from Starbucks; I got my favorite drink, caramel macchiato and she got a green tea frappuccino.

After the break, we went back to tutoring session and read the following chapter. I was worried that she’d get bored and lose focus since we already did almost an hour of tutoring with reading the same book. However, I thought it would be a good practice for her toefl exam which she will be taking it for several hours. This chapter was about a boys and girls, how the main character is hoping to have a best friend on her own someday. We did the same routine with this tutor session, worked on her pronunciation and make sure she comprehends the story. She knew most of vocabulary words from this chapter except couple, like an “anchor”. We again had to go back to the sentence and read them over again since it was a little difficult for her to understand. I advised her to draw pictures in her head while she is reading that way it can help her understand a little easier. For example, “the boys in their universe and we in ours”: draw the boys in different place, then draw the girls in other separate place.

I think we are going to do something other than reading a book next meeting… something more interesting and fun.

Jaime CO2

On July 8^th I observed Michele’s reading class. The class was reading “See Spot Run” by Ellen Tashie Frisina. The story is Ellen’s recount of teaching her elderly (Greek immigrant) grandmother how to read in English.
Michele’s class was free and honest. The students felt comfortable asking her personal questions leading to a class discussion. She answered these questions but also made sure to keep the class on track with the exercise. Michele gave copies of the reading material to the students and also had a copy on the overhead. A worksheet with comprehension and critical thinking questions was also given to students. She reviewed new words such as stealthily by acting them out if students couldn’t guess the meaning. Michele read aloud during the reading, slowly, clearly, and with emotion- and this seemed to hold the class’s attention.
After the reading Michele divided the class into two groups and had them discuss and come up with answers to the worksheet. I liked that the subject matter was relatable to the students. Michele made sure to follow the schedule she had written on the board, but also allowed time for her students to take a break from the reading and ask a couple of culture questions. When students would start to stray and get caught up in talking, Michele would guide them back to the assignment. Michele also made sure to give feedback on the questions; such as one that asked why the granddaughter and not the daughters were teaching the grandmother English. Before answering Michele asked students, “ Why is this question being asked? Why is this information significant?”

Overall it was a very enjoyable reading class. I was impressed with how much respect the students hold for Michele, but also how comfortable they are with approaching her about questions that are a bit more personal. One of the things I can take from this class is how Michele carefully planned her handout for questions that went beyond simple comprehension and really demanded that students analyze the material they were given. By combining this handout with group-work Michele was able to have the students practice their speaking skills.

Jaime CO1

On July 7^th I observed Ryan Flemming’s upper level speaking class. The class had around 12 people and Ryan started with a warm welcome and a roll call which was evident that he tried to pronounce his students’ names as closely as possible to their native language. (At least for the ones who didn’t have English names.)
Ryan went over a review (by asking the class) of what had been done yesterday. He then presented a schedule of the day’s activities. (The schedule listed presentation, feedback, and discussions.)
One of the students, Ahmed, gave a presentation on Earth’s Atmosphere, during which the class was engaged and cheerful. I thought it was good that Ryan sat with the students during the presentation, giving full attention to the presenter as well as being close to moderate any chatter. It was apparent that students were learning their presentation style from Ryan. Ahmed began with a schedule and incorporated some student interaction. (I learned quite a bit from his presentation.)

During the feedback part of the class, Ryan made sure to explain his rubric before giving out small sheets that contained students’ errors. Ryan also provided all the students with a calendar and alerted them about changes to the schedule. He made sure that all students wrote down their error quiz that would be on the following Monday. Ryan had eight sentences or phrases on his feedback sheets that students had made ‘beautiful mistakes’ on during their presentations. “Ask classmates for help and then consult me.” Students paired off naturally, and reviewed each other’s mistakes. I liked that Ryan had students get into pairs with someone with a different native language than their own to review each other’s grammar and pronunciation mistakes. (five minutes for each)

As a teacher Ryan is confident, friendly, and encouraging. He maintains a natural and efficient flow in class that seems to make his students feel comfortable as well as productive.

The last part of class was dedicated to impending student lead discussions. Students had to get in pairs, and pick a controversial topic where one student would be pro and one would be con. Together they would lead a class discussion. Ryan showed students useful websites, presented them with a list of topic ideas, and walked around to supervise group feedback as well as provide any guidance students might need. Overall the students seem thoroughly engaged.

Jaime CP7

After our trip to Mike’s Seafood, Yasuko invited Katie and me over to her place for lunch. She cooked a regular Japanese meal- it was BEAUTIFUL. I think the best thing about meeting all of the CIES students is all the food exposure. I have eaten well these past seven weeks, and I have been introduced to some fabulous new Tallahassee restaurants.

I am not familiar with the names of the dishes (refer to Katie for that) but there were rice balls, and sesame spread, a beautiful stir fry with asparagus (straight to my heart), and cooled green Japanese tea. Yasuko told me that I was always welcome to Japan; I warned her that I would take her seriously- she simply laughed. We talked about Yasuko’s life, how she met her husband, what he did, how she raised her children, and what they are doing now. Yasuko’s husband is an avid climber, and Yasuko wants the chance to learn and study again- since she gave up that chance years ago to raise her children. She told us how she didn’t want jewelry, she wanted education, and the chance to go off and study. She was grateful that her husband understood this and supported her. Needless to say a woman that chooses foreign study over rings is a woman I admire.

Yasuko was especially interested in talking to Katie, and seeing how well-prepared Katie would be to transition into a life in Japan. She was surprised, and at first a little doubtful, to hear that Katie wanted to spend most of her life in either Japan or Korea. Yasuko started throwing out lifestyle tidbits of the two countries, and Katie listened before saying that she already knew and was prepared to deal with that. I didn’t realize that many families in Japan still revolve around the Confucian structure with a hierarchy that goes Father- Son- 2^nd son- Mother- any daughters and I think the wives of the sons ranked dead last, but I can’t remember. However, in the end Katie convinced Yasuko she was prepared for a Japanese lifestyle, that she would even like to marry a Japanese or Korean man.

Yasuko grinned and then turned to me- I should’ve known this was coming. “And what about you Jaime?”
“If he is big enough Yasuko, but this is doubtful,” I joked. And she laughed.

We kept talking past our allotted two hours, and ended up meeting Yasuko’s daughter, Yuko, Yuko’s husband, and their son Kai.

Jaime CP6

I met with Ann and Jee for a quick lunch at Chili’s between their classes. Both were very excited to try the restaurant on campus. Ann was a little nervous to order off the menu at first but she underestimated herself. (I noticed this is a trend when practicing foreign languages.) Both Jee and Ann were not sure about what to eat, and were not prepared to tackle the Chili-sized lunch. I suggested they order the triple dipper appetizer from the menu, that way they could pick three different things, not pay as much, split the dish, and still get a large amount of food. They were sold, and really excited to pick from the different dishes. (They ended up with artichoke dip, chicken crispers, and southwestern eggrolls.) Nic and I had to explain the concept of chicken crispers, Katie recommended dips, and while we all waited we snacked on chips and salsa.

Ann described Taiwan to Nic, and Jee told us of her dancing career. We talked about Nic’s family’s dairy farm (which they both wanted to go to) and how Katie was preparing to go to Japan. The timing of the dishes was a bit off, and the girls had to grab a to-go box and hurry back to class. Talking with Ann or with Jee has always been really easy, and sometimes they need to give their English a little more credit.

Jaime TP6

My last formal meeting with Jee was over pronunciation. Jee mentioned that she had some words to review, and I quickly skimmed through my linguistics book’s phonetics chapter. I think pronunciation is one of my favorite things to work on, because I become so much more aware of my own articulation as well as the tutee’s.

Jee was having a problem with pronouncing p, b, v, l, and r. I was happy to introduce her to aspirated and unaspirated consonants. I had her hold her hand in front of her mouth to feel the difference when she says b compared to when she says p. Within a couple of minutes Jee was able to pick up the imitation perfectly. V was not too much of a stretch either. L and R are a bit more on the tricky side. I drew a guide reference, and then illustrated the motions with my hands. I had Jee exaggerate her L’s by telling her to start with the tongue tipped against the alveolar ridge and slapping it down into place in the ‘well’ of the mouth. This worked. After some intensive practice time Jee was able to produce distinguishable l and r sounds. She’s done this before. And I reminded her that when I made Jee close her eyes to practice. Perhaps I watched too much Star Wars as a child (see: Luke’s training to use the force) but I think sometimes it helps with learning to do something with your eyes close. You pay attention to the kinesthetics of an action.

When we went to words I realized Jee’s problem wasn’t in the individual letters but in stringing everything together in one go. Take the word ballerina.

Say it. BALLERINA. Say it slowly. Now pay attention to your tongue and the way your mouth moves. Seeing Jee overwhelmed reminded me of how overwhelmed I get when trying to spit something out in Arabic or construe something in Chinese- your mouth just isn’t used to the rhythm of the sounds. We talked about this, and I suggested that Jee focus on saying her sentences slow and clearly and then going faster. We practiced this a bit, and she showed real improvement.

As the lesson came to an end, Jee and I went on an hour long tangent of families and raising children. We talked about her childhood, her son, my childhood, and growing up. The whole conversation was incredibly intriguing, and it was interesting to see Jee’s perspective on everything. I think my favorite part was that children in Korea are expected to be reading and writing by the time they are four, and that Jee was having a hard time finding a preschool that she could send Eric to that would emphasize these values. I told her I was reading before kindergarten, but that my mom worked with me. We talked about phonics and how it would be good for both Jee and Eric if she would start teaching him how to read.