I had another interesting conversation with Young. I talked with him about his military life in Korea. He seemed to specialize in driving trucks and making maps. Sounds like a useful skill since I can barely read maps, but I digress. Talked a little bit about military politics. He said a lot of people in Korea don't think they need America's help, but he thinks it is needed. Since there is no real damage being done now, the average citizen in Korea doesn't think about the dangers with their neighbors in North Korea. Young said America's help gives them the strength to keep his country safe. Hearing this makes me proud of my country and what it does for the rest of the world. I am happy to hear that from him. I felt moved. It's hard to believe he is only in group two class since he can convey such complex feelings.
He also said he will get a driver's permit soon. Once he gets that, he wants to take the drivers test to get his license. I didn't know foreigners could get a license here in the states so fast! I need to ask him if he has a car yet. I don't know why I didn't ask him those details but I will for next time.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Conversation partner week 4 Rita Schwab
I invited Eric out to a party tonight and he had an absolutely beautiful time. He was just shining.
It was a potluck and house warming party. He learned what potluck is about, which he had no concept of. He also was impressed with the housewarming idea - people bringing presents for the new house (my friend planted a tree) and bringing well wishes. He thought it all very beautiful.
There were many people of all ages and Eric got to speak with older couples as well as college students. Even some grand babies arrived and add the dogs, there was a mixture of everything including skin color. I had a blast. And everyone seemed to enjoy Eric. He sure did not get a quiet moment because everyone had plenty of questions for him. He share eating habits at a party in his country and the simplicity of eating on the floor as some of the party guests just made themselves comfortable on the floor in the living room. That was very familiar to Eric and he pointed it out.
He also got familiar with root beer, a non-alcoholic root beverage that looked like beer but did not taste like it at all. And he liked it.
At the end of the party while saying good-bye, Eric got a lot of handshakes and a lot of hugs and we brought him back home to his apartment. He was so happy and appreciative as he never leaves his compound to go anywhere else but grocery shopping and the college, of course.
As homework I assigned Eric to watch President Obama's 'State of the Union' speech, which he did not know anything about.
It was a lovely evening.
It was a potluck and house warming party. He learned what potluck is about, which he had no concept of. He also was impressed with the housewarming idea - people bringing presents for the new house (my friend planted a tree) and bringing well wishes. He thought it all very beautiful.
There were many people of all ages and Eric got to speak with older couples as well as college students. Even some grand babies arrived and add the dogs, there was a mixture of everything including skin color. I had a blast. And everyone seemed to enjoy Eric. He sure did not get a quiet moment because everyone had plenty of questions for him. He share eating habits at a party in his country and the simplicity of eating on the floor as some of the party guests just made themselves comfortable on the floor in the living room. That was very familiar to Eric and he pointed it out.
He also got familiar with root beer, a non-alcoholic root beverage that looked like beer but did not taste like it at all. And he liked it.
At the end of the party while saying good-bye, Eric got a lot of handshakes and a lot of hugs and we brought him back home to his apartment. He was so happy and appreciative as he never leaves his compound to go anywhere else but grocery shopping and the college, of course.
As homework I assigned Eric to watch President Obama's 'State of the Union' speech, which he did not know anything about.
It was a lovely evening.
Elizabeth-tutoring-Week 3
A few weeks I met a girl named Jen Chu through penpalworld. We usually send e-mails to each other or we chat through web-cam. She is from Jiangxi province in China. She attends Harbin University at the provincial capital of Heilongjiang. She is learning English right now. Her writing skills are great, but her speaking abilities are somewhat lacking. She was really happy when I told her about TEFL and the different things we were learning in it. Jen was fascinated by the different learning methods that we covered and asked me if I could help her by using some of those techniques as well. We talked about intensive and extensive reading and she told me that her professor at the university told her that the most important was extensive reading. She asked whether her professor was correct or not. I told her that the great outcome of extensive reading is that by doing so, later on she would unconsciously start reading intensively. Right now she is reading a lot in class, and is having a better time learning too.
Last Thursday she asked me what it meant when people say, "It is so sick! I love it."? How can people be sick and like it. I told her that in America we have certain expressions which can mean the opposite of what the actual word means. I asked her whether she could gues what "sick" meant by the context. She told me that it seems like the person was saying that it was really good. I explained to her that sometimes if she does not understand something to try to guess by the context. We worked on a few more saying such as "Just hanging" or "Out of the blue". I told her to look out for expressions like those that we talk about and guess again what they are trying to say. Jen says that sometimes it is hard to understand because even though she is capable of reading English, these expressions come out and she doesn't have anyone who can explain why they are written a certain way or why it seems to be the opposite of what they are saying. It was really nice meeting her and so far tutoring went great because I can apply all the new techniques that we are leaning in TEFL. My tutoring times vary with Jen because of time differences but it is great. I am always making tutoring times with international students so it is great to have a feel at what different students need or want. Next time she wants to talk about
Last Thursday she asked me what it meant when people say, "It is so sick! I love it."? How can people be sick and like it. I told her that in America we have certain expressions which can mean the opposite of what the actual word means. I asked her whether she could gues what "sick" meant by the context. She told me that it seems like the person was saying that it was really good. I explained to her that sometimes if she does not understand something to try to guess by the context. We worked on a few more saying such as "Just hanging" or "Out of the blue". I told her to look out for expressions like those that we talk about and guess again what they are trying to say. Jen says that sometimes it is hard to understand because even though she is capable of reading English, these expressions come out and she doesn't have anyone who can explain why they are written a certain way or why it seems to be the opposite of what they are saying. It was really nice meeting her and so far tutoring went great because I can apply all the new techniques that we are leaning in TEFL. My tutoring times vary with Jen because of time differences but it is great. I am always making tutoring times with international students so it is great to have a feel at what different students need or want. Next time she wants to talk about
Katherine Tutoring 2
Katherine was 15 minutes late and seemed to really be in a rush to leave as soon as she arrived. She was like this in our first meeting, she kept her jacket and purse on, like she was ready to run at any second. She is a busy woman with a full-time job, two children to look after, and now a part-time student pursuing her Master's degree. This is the hardest obstacle for us both. I want to help her with her English, but she has to be ready to take a few steps back to take the time to learn. I am not yet convinced that she is willing to do that. She's now faced with having to write lengthy papers for her Master's degree in Information Technologies and I guess is realizing she needs to really improve her English. But after living in the US for over twenty years, and already comfortable in her own skin, does she really want to improve her English?
I am concerned Katherine is looking for an easy fix to her homework. She has again asked me if she can email me her paper for her class and have me edit it then email her back. I told her she can email me the paper, I'll make the corrections and bring it to our next meeting so we can go over it together. But she wants me to email her because she can't meet before next Wed and needs revisions before then. I told her I didn't want to email her, but would like to explain it in person. Her reply was, "Ok, but dis time u exception. Next time we meet, OK?"
In our brief meeting, she showed me a first draft of an outline she had to write for her class. The writing was at a level 2. In our time together, I had the chance to help her with 2 of the sentences in her outline. Then she had to go.
I hope in our next meeting she's able to spend more time with me. Katherine needs a lot of help in both writing and conversation. I hope she is willing to take the time to learn.
Elizabeth-CP-Week 2
Every week is turning out not so well, when it comes to meeting my conversation partner. This past Wednesday I called Rama to tell her that I was going to be a bit late to tea time. She told me that she was on her way to her home. I asked her to please stay there for a little while so I could talk to her. As I am rushing to the 4th floor, I noticed that there were a lot of people missing. I looked for Rama until I found her sitting by the giant map. She told me that the reason she was trying to leave early was because she needed to go buy a laptop. She owns a desktop, but she really wishes to own a laptop so she can take it to campus and work from there. I told her about my nomination to the Peace Corps and that they want me to go to Sub Sahara Africa. I explained all the details to her and she was so amazed about the program and wished me lots of luck. Rama says that hopefully the PC sends me to her hometown so I can hang out with her. It was really nice to see how friendly she is, which makes me feel really positive about going to Sub Sahara Africa. Even though I still don't know my final destination, I feel better about it. We talked about her cousin, Moussa, who is studying English in Algeria. Rama says, that most of her family, like sisters, brothers and even cousins are learning English. It is essential for most people to do so, since many jobs would like for their workers to be bilingual.
After a few minutes she had to go so we said goodbye until next tea time. I called her this weekend to see if she wanted to go out or something but she did not pick up the phone. Even though three weeks have passed I still don't know much about her, but maybe things will get better. ^_^
After a few minutes she had to go so we said goodbye until next tea time. I called her this weekend to see if she wanted to go out or something but she did not pick up the phone. Even though three weeks have passed I still don't know much about her, but maybe things will get better. ^_^
Dwinetta CP 2
Hello again,
Aside from helping Venus with prepositions, we decided to feed our addiction to starbucks again! We met up again at Starbucks to chat it up a little more. Over orange blossom tea, capuccino, and chicken paninis, we discussed ourselves a little more. I found out that where she lives, she is not really forced to speak english at all because she lives with her sister and other people who speak spanish. Then when she hangs out with the other CIES students, its not native english. So she said we have to hang out more often. I told her that I am going to take her out of her comfort zone so she will be forced to use her english. When we were at Starbucks she ordered with ease, but I want to take her to the grocery store and the movies where she doesn't have her sister to translate or speak for her. I told her I wanted to see the princess and the frog and she got really excited and said she wanted to see it too. She told me before that it is easy for her to watch cartoons in english so it works out for the both of us! We instant message each other throughout the week through blackberry and she communicates well through it, I just have to correct spelling and sentence structure. So far Venus and I are having a good time and I can see her english improving if she hangs out with me and more english speakers more often. Thats it for now. Netta Out!
Dwinetta
Aside from helping Venus with prepositions, we decided to feed our addiction to starbucks again! We met up again at Starbucks to chat it up a little more. Over orange blossom tea, capuccino, and chicken paninis, we discussed ourselves a little more. I found out that where she lives, she is not really forced to speak english at all because she lives with her sister and other people who speak spanish. Then when she hangs out with the other CIES students, its not native english. So she said we have to hang out more often. I told her that I am going to take her out of her comfort zone so she will be forced to use her english. When we were at Starbucks she ordered with ease, but I want to take her to the grocery store and the movies where she doesn't have her sister to translate or speak for her. I told her I wanted to see the princess and the frog and she got really excited and said she wanted to see it too. She told me before that it is easy for her to watch cartoons in english so it works out for the both of us! We instant message each other throughout the week through blackberry and she communicates well through it, I just have to correct spelling and sentence structure. So far Venus and I are having a good time and I can see her english improving if she hangs out with me and more english speakers more often. Thats it for now. Netta Out!
Dwinetta
Dwinetta Tutor Session 1
So I know I am a little behind on my tutoring, due to unforseen circumstances, but I am coming in full force so be ready! I am scheduled to be a tutor with the English conversation club, but I asked my conversation partner if I could help her with her homework as well. So Venus is having trouble with prepositions, especially (in,at,on) in regards to time and location. So I told her I would help her out! I told her to give me some examples of where she was getting confused, so I wouldn't ramble on and on about random examples of preposition usage. She didn't know when she should use in or at when she is referring to her location "Should I say I am in CIES or I am at CIES?" I told her that in and at could be interchangeable in certain circumstances such as the one above. But to make a long story short we went over different examples of using those certain prepositions. And I told her we could work on them again. I am supposed to meet up again with her to help her with an assignment she has for Felicia's class. She is a fast learner though! That's all for now!
Dwinetta
Dwinetta
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Keith CP #2
It's been awhile since I've updated y'all on the Faisal situation. Well, good news! I've met with him twice since our earlier communication mishaps! Last weekend I got a hold of him and we arranged to meet at Starbucks on a Friday afternoon. It looks like Richard has also had an experience with the difficulties of having phone conversations with our CP's, and I'm here to say it was no different with me. This is not hard to understand though, since even with native speakers the occasions of awkwardness are raised exponentially when there is that conversational middleman. It probably has something to do with the eyes and the hands. What percentage, do they say, of communication is non-verbal?
Anyhow, a few minutes before we were supposed to meet last Friday Faisal texted me saying he wasn't going to make it. I was touched by the way he opened the message with "My friend." We rescheduled to Saturday night at nine, but then I realized that it would be difficult for me to get back into town from the cabin I was staying in with my visiting family. In other words, I had to reschedule too!
After all this it was a relief to see Faisal again on Sunday afternoon.
He brought his friend Abdullah along, also a CIES student, and he helped Faisal along, or answered for him if the vocabulary was out of his range. First off, Abdullah helped clear up a mis-communication: Faisal doesn't work at Shisha, he's been accepted into the Phd. program in Psychology! He has a year to learn English and get a 1000 on the GRE. I realized what a tough order that was-- I've been learning English for 22 years and I still only got a 1070 when I took it in December. (Granted, I didn't study after I decided not to go straight to Grad School, but still...)
Faisal and Abdullah are both from the capitol of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, were they knew each other from the Psychology department there. They both miss a regional dish: Kabsa, made with rice, chicken and vegetables, but the spices are key to its taste-- Black Pepper, Cloves, Cardamom, Saffron, Cinnamon, Black lime, Bay Leaves and Nutmeg. (wiki copy and paste :)
Faisal told me he'd been married for six years (His wife will join him in the states in six months) and the longest time he'd ever been apart from his wife was 1 day. I asked Faisal how they met and Abdullah explained to me that in Saudi Arabia the mothers look for suitable wives for their sons and then the sons meet the choices to confirm their mothers' taste. Abdullah told me that this may seem strange to Westerners, but the fact of the matter is he trusts his mother to know what's good for him. I'm kinda on the fence about this, but I think part of it is wise in the sense that women might be more suited in their judgment...
It was a great meeting and I felt like a learned a lot about Faisal and Abdullah, but I was a little disappointed because I felt like I ended up talking to Abdullah more-- I would ask Faisal a question and he wouldn't understand... I'd ask Faisal what kind of music he liked and somehow wound up talking to Abdullah about how you can watch live Opera broadcasts at the Governor's Square Regal... Anyhow I was resolved to keep focused on Faisal the next meeting.
Anyhow, a few minutes before we were supposed to meet last Friday Faisal texted me saying he wasn't going to make it. I was touched by the way he opened the message with "My friend." We rescheduled to Saturday night at nine, but then I realized that it would be difficult for me to get back into town from the cabin I was staying in with my visiting family. In other words, I had to reschedule too!
After all this it was a relief to see Faisal again on Sunday afternoon.
He brought his friend Abdullah along, also a CIES student, and he helped Faisal along, or answered for him if the vocabulary was out of his range. First off, Abdullah helped clear up a mis-communication: Faisal doesn't work at Shisha, he's been accepted into the Phd. program in Psychology! He has a year to learn English and get a 1000 on the GRE. I realized what a tough order that was-- I've been learning English for 22 years and I still only got a 1070 when I took it in December. (Granted, I didn't study after I decided not to go straight to Grad School, but still...)
Faisal and Abdullah are both from the capitol of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, were they knew each other from the Psychology department there. They both miss a regional dish: Kabsa, made with rice, chicken and vegetables, but the spices are key to its taste-- Black Pepper, Cloves, Cardamom, Saffron, Cinnamon, Black lime, Bay Leaves and Nutmeg. (wiki copy and paste :)
Faisal told me he'd been married for six years (His wife will join him in the states in six months) and the longest time he'd ever been apart from his wife was 1 day. I asked Faisal how they met and Abdullah explained to me that in Saudi Arabia the mothers look for suitable wives for their sons and then the sons meet the choices to confirm their mothers' taste. Abdullah told me that this may seem strange to Westerners, but the fact of the matter is he trusts his mother to know what's good for him. I'm kinda on the fence about this, but I think part of it is wise in the sense that women might be more suited in their judgment...
It was a great meeting and I felt like a learned a lot about Faisal and Abdullah, but I was a little disappointed because I felt like I ended up talking to Abdullah more-- I would ask Faisal a question and he wouldn't understand... I'd ask Faisal what kind of music he liked and somehow wound up talking to Abdullah about how you can watch live Opera broadcasts at the Governor's Square Regal... Anyhow I was resolved to keep focused on Faisal the next meeting.
Sabrina - Tutoring (attempt#2) Week 2- "Where is everyone?"
Tutoring was a total wash again this week. No show. Ugh!
I am moving on to the public Library.
I am a bit frustrated and feel like I am losing some ground. I find myself hearing "foreign accents" and having to refrain from compulsively tutoring. Well, that is not entirely true but I do hear accents and wonder if they might be in need of a tutor and if it would be rude to ask them. Dang, that is not completely true either. The truth is that for the time being, I hear a foreign accent in my home everyday but tutoring is out of the question (trust me on this one).
I have an appointment with Karen at the library on Monday. I have my fingers crossed for a quick and productive match!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Conversation partner week 3 Rita Schwab
I have actually not seen Eric this week due to a bad cold I have been carrying around. I did make it to all of my classes, but after class each time the cold set me back and hit me hard.
I did not want to expose Eric and when I called him up with my raspy voice, he was so compassionate. He is a really sweet and intelligent guy.
He called me back a couple of days later and wished me speedy recovery. His vocabulary was excellent, just his pronunciation and his intonation a bit off.
I have been a bit concerned about him however, as he called me last Saturday night in a bit of an emotional state. He seemed quite lonely and homesick. It was a Saturday night and he was home alone. He talked about how he needed a car. Also he talked about how expensive his apartment was and how expensive to cost of living is here. He seemed a bit discouraged.
I listened with patience and reached out to him. I said that it was normal to experience this culture shock - I very well understood. I also assured him that things will get better and that we would talk about his situation when we meet again.
I thought to hook Eric up with a student housing agency, that could get Eric a room on or close to campus, so that he is not dependant on having to take the bus every day. It also would be nice for him to live with a family. My experience as an exchange student was always with families. I felt taken care of and had company and amusement. This is something the exchange program could/should provide for their foreign students.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to help Eric?
I did not want to expose Eric and when I called him up with my raspy voice, he was so compassionate. He is a really sweet and intelligent guy.
He called me back a couple of days later and wished me speedy recovery. His vocabulary was excellent, just his pronunciation and his intonation a bit off.
I have been a bit concerned about him however, as he called me last Saturday night in a bit of an emotional state. He seemed quite lonely and homesick. It was a Saturday night and he was home alone. He talked about how he needed a car. Also he talked about how expensive his apartment was and how expensive to cost of living is here. He seemed a bit discouraged.
I listened with patience and reached out to him. I said that it was normal to experience this culture shock - I very well understood. I also assured him that things will get better and that we would talk about his situation when we meet again.
I thought to hook Eric up with a student housing agency, that could get Eric a room on or close to campus, so that he is not dependant on having to take the bus every day. It also would be nice for him to live with a family. My experience as an exchange student was always with families. I felt taken care of and had company and amusement. This is something the exchange program could/should provide for their foreign students.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to help Eric?
"Jose" - tutoring session 2
I met my second tutoree the other night. I will probably work with him as I feel there is a work ethic that I appreciate. Not that I am personally some badass ninja but I could see how he was kind of open and willing to do repetitions to try to find the pattern or "el modelo" as it is called. He's quite a beginner and I find myself trying to recall more and more Spanish to communicate basic points. We were working through some simple present tense uses of "do" and "does" and he was starting to get it. I could feel the "flow" coming through. Then he blew me away by asking me to show him the past forms and the future forms and then he proceeded to write them all out. Since I know a little handwriting analysis I could tell that he was gaining confidence by the changing slant in his middle zone. That made me happy.
The resistance in myself I encountered was the inability to communicate and wanting to just place my brain in his brain. But when I saw that he didn't understand simple things I was saying and got very frustrated and self judging, I slowed down a little. At this point, I realized that he was started to write out repetitions of the the simple assignment and even though I was losing patience with myself he was actively learning. So I had to essentially get out of the way and let him take some time writing the repetitions. Transforming in this way was useful.
The resistance in myself I encountered was the inability to communicate and wanting to just place my brain in his brain. But when I saw that he didn't understand simple things I was saying and got very frustrated and self judging, I slowed down a little. At this point, I realized that he was started to write out repetitions of the the simple assignment and even though I was losing patience with myself he was actively learning. So I had to essentially get out of the way and let him take some time writing the repetitions. Transforming in this way was useful.
Tutoring week 1 Rita Schwab
I finally got a student to tutor through the library coordinator Karen
Gotti. She has been so very helpful.
Anyway, Yongheon Park and I met for the very first time at the library last night. He is a student from Korea. He has been in this country for 6 months and is working on his Master's degree in Public Administration. He comes from Seoul, South Korea, the capital which houses 11 million people. Seoul is about 600 km from the Chinese border. Yongheon works for the Seoul Metropolitan Government, who sent him to this country to receive his Master's degree. His studies are all paid for by his government. Upon his return, he is guaranteed his job back.
He is taking 3 courses this semester: Health Care and Finance
Budget Management which includes
Accounting, Contracting and Management of Assets
and Human Resource Management, which includes
Recruiting, Training, Promoting and Job positioning.
This information was the first part of our conversation. Yongheon is entirely familiar with the terminologies of his subject, which was of great relief to me as I know nothing about his field.
His vocabulary is excellent, his grammar is quite good - he has issues with conjugation - but his pronunciation is rather choppy and he does not pronounce certain consonants correctly, in specific the letter f. As it turns out there is no letter f in the Korean alphabet and saying "f" is difficult for Yongheon. Which brought us to practising "f" and a list of f-words. And here the conversation turned funny, as the meaning of the f-word was not familiar with Yongheon and I decided to educate him about it. We also decided to make a list of f-words for the next meeting so he can practise the words to himself in privacy.
Earlier in our conversation I asked him how I could help him, in which way my tutoring could be most beneficial to him. And he know his weaknesses, which were primarily in conversation English and pronunciation. He wants help with everyday lingo, jargon, idioms and casual language. Like he asked me what the word 'freak' meant and the word 'punk' and the expression 'that beats me'.
Then I asked him if he gets around in the 'real' world outside of the college and he just laughed. He says that he has a difficult time ordering food and does not understand the menus. Especially the Mexican menus. Again we laughed because I said I don't
understand the Mexican menus either. So I suggested to bring in several to-go menus, which was a hard for him to believe that you could as a menu to go. Next time we will go over the menus and see how I can help him understand food and ordering and talking to a waiter easier. And we will be practising f- words. I will have a list for him.
We met until 8:30 pm. His character is rather formal and stiff, but I think I livened things up a bit and we parted comfortably.
Gotti. She has been so very helpful.
Anyway, Yongheon Park and I met for the very first time at the library last night. He is a student from Korea. He has been in this country for 6 months and is working on his Master's degree in Public Administration. He comes from Seoul, South Korea, the capital which houses 11 million people. Seoul is about 600 km from the Chinese border. Yongheon works for the Seoul Metropolitan Government, who sent him to this country to receive his Master's degree. His studies are all paid for by his government. Upon his return, he is guaranteed his job back.
He is taking 3 courses this semester: Health Care and Finance
Budget Management which includes
Accounting, Contracting and Management of Assets
and Human Resource Management, which includes
Recruiting, Training, Promoting and Job positioning.
This information was the first part of our conversation. Yongheon is entirely familiar with the terminologies of his subject, which was of great relief to me as I know nothing about his field.
His vocabulary is excellent, his grammar is quite good - he has issues with conjugation - but his pronunciation is rather choppy and he does not pronounce certain consonants correctly, in specific the letter f. As it turns out there is no letter f in the Korean alphabet and saying "f" is difficult for Yongheon. Which brought us to practising "f" and a list of f-words. And here the conversation turned funny, as the meaning of the f-word was not familiar with Yongheon and I decided to educate him about it. We also decided to make a list of f-words for the next meeting so he can practise the words to himself in privacy.
Earlier in our conversation I asked him how I could help him, in which way my tutoring could be most beneficial to him. And he know his weaknesses, which were primarily in conversation English and pronunciation. He wants help with everyday lingo, jargon, idioms and casual language. Like he asked me what the word 'freak' meant and the word 'punk' and the expression 'that beats me'.
Then I asked him if he gets around in the 'real' world outside of the college and he just laughed. He says that he has a difficult time ordering food and does not understand the menus. Especially the Mexican menus. Again we laughed because I said I don't
understand the Mexican menus either. So I suggested to bring in several to-go menus, which was a hard for him to believe that you could as a menu to go. Next time we will go over the menus and see how I can help him understand food and ordering and talking to a waiter easier. And we will be practising f- words. I will have a list for him.
We met until 8:30 pm. His character is rather formal and stiff, but I think I livened things up a bit and we parted comfortably.
"Strawberry Hamburgers" - cp session 3
For real. That's what my CP says he likes on his hamburgers. His English is very beginner and sometimes he's says things that contradict things he said earlier. It turns out it was just the um, "beginner-language" talking. Like he said he never eats pork. I'm cool with that. I had another Korean friend who never ate it etiher. Plus I know Christianity is big in Korea and I thought maybe it was an early Christian "pork is dirty" thing. You know like in Islam and Judaism. But a few minutes later he's talking about sausage and ribs and I'm like, "Wait. You do know that's pork right?" He's like, "Duh. Of course I know that." It turns out what he was trying to say earlier was that he doesn't eat with a fork.
But what this means to me is that he is not to be trusted. No really. It means I have to be very, very clear and ask similar questions and elicit slightly different responses. All in the interest of having a conversation. I almost didn't believe him when he said he puts strawberry jam on his hamburgers seeing as how we just finished the pork/fork conversation. I said, "strawberry" and proceeded to act out strawberry. He was firm. That's what he said. That's what he meant. I laughed very loud. Not really at him but at the interestingness of this notion. I may have to try it.
But what this means to me is that he is not to be trusted. No really. It means I have to be very, very clear and ask similar questions and elicit slightly different responses. All in the interest of having a conversation. I almost didn't believe him when he said he puts strawberry jam on his hamburgers seeing as how we just finished the pork/fork conversation. I said, "strawberry" and proceeded to act out strawberry. He was firm. That's what he said. That's what he meant. I laughed very loud. Not really at him but at the interestingness of this notion. I may have to try it.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Heather - Cp - Week 3
So, this week's CP meeting was not as eventful as the others, which isn't a bad thing. Xin was already there when I arrived, but she was not alone. I got to meet her friend, Rocky, who was her last CP. Turns out Xin really wants to go to Japan to study, but her parents weren't big on the idea. However, Rocky is teaching her Japanese and she's very passionate about it. I got to learn a little to. Equating it out to Spanish helped, but still the language daunts me. Xin proudly stated she had also learned how to say something in Spanish. Hola. Como esta? She had a lot of trouble with esta, but once I said it a couple of times she got it right. (Yes, I know the a is missing its accent. I apologize.) We spent our time hanging out at CIES talking about odds and ends. A friend of hers was in the same room with us and we ended up talking with her too. Her friend asked if painting was my major and I said no, its my hobby. Thus we ended up in a discussion about hobbies. Xin's hobby is travel. An expensive hobby, but then again painting and jewelry making aren't necessarily cheap either. She told me a little about her weekend and I had to apologize for not calling her like I said I would. I had texted her, but luck would have it she had just canceled her messaging service so I was left looking like a cad. Oh well, it happens. We had technical difficulties with getting on the internet, which she wanted to do so she could add me on Facebook and check out a website Rocky told her about. It also turned out she needed to e-mail an assignment to a teacher. Since her friend was going to the library and the time on my parking meter was winding down we decided to go our separate ways for the time being. We have decided to get together on Friday too. We're supposed to work details over the phone tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to it because I enjoy spending time with her. We'll see what works out.
Heather - Tutoring - Week 3
Unfortunately, Chomy and I were unable to meet for a tutoring session because she was in a car accident today. She's not seriously hurt, but she does need to go get checked out by a doctor. We're going to try and get together next week. All of our communicating took place over the phone and I noticed that it was much harder to understand her than it was in person. I wondered how that works. Reading Sebastian's blog about tutoring his wife and the exercise with synonyms got my thought processes going and I think I'm going to change things up on Chomy once our sessions resume. She's really keen on reading and summarizing and though she needs work with writing, there are other areas she needs to work on too. I'm wondering if maybe her setting affects her English too. I know her husband isn't really keen on practicing English with her, so maybe her accent thickens when she's home. I don't know. I know that up until the last few years, when I was upset my Spanish accent would flair up even though I was speaking English. So maybe her being harder to understand was also a byproduct of the emotional and physical stress she's under from her car accident. I told her to call me if she needs help getting around or with anything at all. She thanked me and I hope she'll call on me if she really needs help with anything. Well, we'll see what next week brings.
Richard's 30 Seconds (Literally) with Ruiting Han -- Week 3
I walked into Tea Time at 3:09. Ruiting wasn't there, so I called him. I've provided a transcript of our conversation:
Ruiting Han: Hello.
Richard Beahm: Hey, Ruiting. How are you?
RH: I'm fine.
RB: Are you coming today?
RH: ...
RB: Ruiting?
RH: I forgot.
RB: Oh, okay.
Here's where it gets interesting
RH: I have a bad headache (this verses forgetting).
RB: Oh, no. I hope you feel better.
RH: I am so so so sorry. I'm coming right now.
RB: Oh, you don't have to. Feel better.
RH: I'm so sorry.
RB: It's okay. Feel better. We'll talk another time.
RH: Okay
RB: Bye, now.
Yeah, I know this doesn't count. I just had to share it.
Ruiting Han: Hello.
Richard Beahm: Hey, Ruiting. How are you?
RH: I'm fine.
RB: Are you coming today?
RH: ...
RB: Ruiting?
RH: I forgot.
RB: Oh, okay.
Here's where it gets interesting
RH: I have a bad headache (this verses forgetting).
RB: Oh, no. I hope you feel better.
RH: I am so so so sorry. I'm coming right now.
RB: Oh, you don't have to. Feel better.
RH: I'm so sorry.
RB: It's okay. Feel better. We'll talk another time.
RH: Okay
RB: Bye, now.
Yeah, I know this doesn't count. I just had to share it.
Rawan-CP-Week 3
My CP and I met at tea-time, and as soon as she walked into the lounge I said, “I’m hungry, I need to have lunch. Let’s go!” We immediately left the building into that awesome January sunshine. We went to Sunberry for my dessert (ahead of the sandwich I would have later), and we sat inside near the window so we could talk. She expressed her interest in getting help with pronunciation when she’s talking or reading aloud. She volunteered to read some passages from her CEIS notebook. Her “world” sounded like “word,” so we briefly practiced saying world vs. word. She had difficulties saying “v” as in “very.” When she said “every” it sounds like “ewery.” It was a good exercise for her to read to me out loud, and point out her weaknesses in pronunciation. In addition, we talked about when she would visit her home-county. She said, “next time, next time, next time,” and I had no idea what she meant. She said, “two years later.” I clarified her meaning by saying “You will visit Turkey in two years?”
Walking back from Tennessee Street, she pointed to a fire hydrant, bench, and ground-cover, for vocabulary. We sat in the Ruby Diamond area. I explained that "that's a fountain and it's like mountain, but with an f."
I think she will ALWAYS remember the things I told her today. Our interaction was overall positive and unplanned. It worked!
Tutoring Katherine 1
I had my first tutoring session with Katherine today at the LeRoy library. She's a US Citizen over the age of 50 and has lived in the United States for over twenty years. Her and her husband are originally from Taiwan and have three children. Two live at home and the oldest is studying Economics at NYU. Katherine works for the Department of Finance here in Tallahassee and is now pursuing her Masters degree in Information Technologies. As we talk, I notice her English is really broken and she has a strong accent. She tells me that at home her and her family only speak in Mandarin. Perhaps this is why her English has not progressed after so many years?
Katherine wants my help mostly with writing and describing things in detail. She says at her work, when she needs to communicate, she is as brief as possible in her emails and communication. Now that she is in pursuit of her Masters degree, the program requires many long papers, which is why she is seeking my help. She wants to email me papers and would like my assistance with proofing her papers and then wants to go over the papers in person. I am concerned with how I can help her. I don't know anything about Information Technologies. My brother is a computer engineer, but he won't care to get involved. I am also concerned if I proof the papers, will she then just turn in what I wrote, sort of using me as her translator? I am going to wait to see what she emails me, and then will talk with Karen Gotti if I'm not comfortable with the situation.
"Francisco" - tutoring session 1
I met my tutoree yesterday. He works at the Goodwill with many other women from Latin America. The whole day was a little confusing because I wasn't sure where to be, or how to act, or what to do, or how to communicate. And I was running late. And I was dressed in hip American, distressed fashion which though looks cool in the East Village could be viewed as rags by folks from Latin America. At least that's what I remember Senora Olivella telling me in High School. She didn't have a problem with the mullet I was sporting.
So the the day started abruptly. I had some grand notion that I was a "Presence Ambassador" of some sort and that by simply sitting with my tutoree I would induce better English in him (or her). Not true. It was incredibly challenging. He was a low, low beginner. In fact, he doesn't really know any English. I found myself actually learning and needing to learn more Spanish to communicate. I ran head on into his frustration with learning a foreign language and had a "Tong-lin" moment of really feeling his frustration and relating with it because of my own. Of really being able to radiate compassion for all those who can't communicate and so desperately want to.
However, I still feel that relaxation is the key. At least for Francisco. I want to know who he is and what his story is and what I have to offer is the space for him. I must be a stainless steel blade. I must be disciplined in my own practices so that I can come at him authentically. I may have to work on numbers and the alphabet and would like to bring in the Oxford Picture Dictionary. First and formost I desire for him to be calm and soft in the uncertainty he experiences. How will I do this? How indeed will I do this?
So the the day started abruptly. I had some grand notion that I was a "Presence Ambassador" of some sort and that by simply sitting with my tutoree I would induce better English in him (or her). Not true. It was incredibly challenging. He was a low, low beginner. In fact, he doesn't really know any English. I found myself actually learning and needing to learn more Spanish to communicate. I ran head on into his frustration with learning a foreign language and had a "Tong-lin" moment of really feeling his frustration and relating with it because of my own. Of really being able to radiate compassion for all those who can't communicate and so desperately want to.
However, I still feel that relaxation is the key. At least for Francisco. I want to know who he is and what his story is and what I have to offer is the space for him. I must be a stainless steel blade. I must be disciplined in my own practices so that I can come at him authentically. I may have to work on numbers and the alphabet and would like to bring in the Oxford Picture Dictionary. First and formost I desire for him to be calm and soft in the uncertainty he experiences. How will I do this? How indeed will I do this?
Maria Tutor 1
Reading this blog is fascinating and very instructive! Case in point, looking at Stephen's latest entry I found out that my tutor student's name is spelled Seong Bong (I actually had it as San Bon) and that he is Catherine's famous CP. I had written my tutoring comment ahead of reading the blog, so I'll leave it as I had it, because my experience with this student is a third version of how things can go (or be seen). You be the judge, although mine is definitely the more boring one :)
"I am tutoring at the English Conversation Club run by the International Student Center. I had my first tutor session on Monday. I was nervous on my way there as I was not sure what to expect. I had planned to bring a picture book from my old language-school teaching days, just to have as a prop if need be -- but couldn't find it (of course). So, off I went, empty handed and hoping for the best. In the event, only a student showed up and we ended up having a nice conversation. His name is Seong Bong and he is a law student from South Korea. This is his first time abroad. He is taking classes at CIES but has very little opportunity to practice his English outside of class, so he has been participating quite actively in the Conversation Club. I would place his level at (low?) intermediate. He is definitely keen on improving his spoken English, especially his fluency. His pronunciation is good for his level and so is his grammar. When he speaks it is obvious that he is constructing his sentences paying attention to grammatical correctness (for instance, he corrects himself mid-sentence if his verb tense is wrong). All in all he wanted to talk, which made the tutoring very easy. For next time I will prepare some possible conversation topics and make a list of relevant vocabulary for each".
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