Date/Time: June 2, 6-9pm
Location: Railroad Square
Topics: kind of everything, First Friday, art, school etc
Today I took Claudia to First Friday at Railroad Square with a few other CIES and TEFL students, and my other friend. We went in the art galleries, listened to some music, and ate at the food trucks. Claudia also convinced me to go into a shop where they had Tarot Card readings, and we saw a psychic which was actually way cooler than I thought it would be. She was scared she wouldn't be able to understand him, but she did well. Even though this was my last conversation partner meeting with her we are going to have dinner next week, and we are going to help each other with classes next year when she is enrolled in TCC and I am in my Spanish classes at FSU.
Saturday, June 3, 2017
Friday, June 2, 2017
Colleen CP#4
Date/Time: June 2, 6:30-8:00
Location: Railroad Square
Topics: School, Ramadan, Music
Topics: School, Ramadan, Music
This evening Saad and I went to First Friday at Railroad Square. We talked about school systems and the differences between Saudi Arabia and the United States. There was a drum circle and this brought up a conversation of percussion instruments. We were able to talk about the stores we walked into and about art. We also talked about sports we like to play, volleyball and table tennis.
Raleigh CP #3
Date/Time: 6/2/17 (3pm)
Location: FSU SLC
Topic discussed: video games
Cultural and/or linguistic topics you and your partner learned: We played a game that we both shared in our cultures as kids.
Today, I took Tingwei to the SLC again so that we could play some games together. We played Mario Kart, and it was actually really great because he got to meet some new people too. Someone just walked up and wanted to play with us, so we got to meet someone new. It was a lot of fun trying to remember how to play the game, and Tingwei said he really enjoyed it too. We were both laughing about how bad we were at the game and the faces that we make while playing. It was hilarious. We both just had the most vacant looks on our faces while we were playing. I think he had played before too, but it's been a long time for both of us. I'm really glad that we could play and just laugh about everything instead of being super competitive about it. He also asked me about my trip to New York, so I told him about it. He didn't even know that they had Chinatown there, and he was surprised to hear that they don't all speak English. We also decided that we're going to keep going to the SLC to play games together on Fridays until the session ends. All in all, it was a great time, and he seemed to really enjoy himself today.
Location: FSU SLC
Topic discussed: video games
Cultural and/or linguistic topics you and your partner learned: We played a game that we both shared in our cultures as kids.
Today, I took Tingwei to the SLC again so that we could play some games together. We played Mario Kart, and it was actually really great because he got to meet some new people too. Someone just walked up and wanted to play with us, so we got to meet someone new. It was a lot of fun trying to remember how to play the game, and Tingwei said he really enjoyed it too. We were both laughing about how bad we were at the game and the faces that we make while playing. It was hilarious. We both just had the most vacant looks on our faces while we were playing. I think he had played before too, but it's been a long time for both of us. I'm really glad that we could play and just laugh about everything instead of being super competitive about it. He also asked me about my trip to New York, so I told him about it. He didn't even know that they had Chinatown there, and he was surprised to hear that they don't all speak English. We also decided that we're going to keep going to the SLC to play games together on Fridays until the session ends. All in all, it was a great time, and he seemed to really enjoy himself today.
Alexa TS #4
Today (6/1/17, 12:00-1:00) was the second day getting to meet up with my tutee, Ana. I got to help Ana prepare for the TOEFL by helping her practice doing the speaking portion. I provided her with the layout that we were provided in class when we were talking about speaking. I also printed out 40 different TOEFL speaking practice questions. We did four different questions: 1. Talk about an important national holiday in your home country. Describe it and explain why it is important. 2. What was your favorite subject in school? Describe it and explain why this subject was your favorite one. 3. Think of a place that makes you feel relaxed and peaceful. Describe it and explain why it is relaxing and peaceful for you. 4. What is your favorite way of getting around? Describe it ad explain why it is your favorite means of transportation. For each question, I made sure to time it so she would have 15 seconds to plan and 45 seconds to speak. I also recorded her so that we could listen back to what she said. Right away I could tell her fluency was really good, but she had some grammatical errors that we focused on. It was our first time practicing these questions, and considering how hard it is to get your point across in 45 seconds, i think she did a great job, and I'm excited to see her improve as I continue to tutor her.
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Jillian TS #11
Date/Time: May 31, 2017; 9:00-10:00 A.M.
Location: Home via Skype (Tallahassee/Seoul)
Topic: American versus Korean High School
Feedback: Article correction and word choice. Instead of saying "a summer course" she pluralized it, and it did not fit in the context of the sentence. She self-corrected after I asked how many classes she will actually take next month. We also had to clear up the difference between "small amount" and "little amount." It was just word choice usage here.
Soyoung told me she was curious about American high schools since she watched Glee. I must say, her stereotypes were all over the place but generally pretty accurate. She asked if all American teenagers smoke in high school. I told her no, but it is common. I mentioned how vaping has become a little more popular than smoking, but traditional smoking is still pretty common. She told me that many Korean high schoolers smoke, most likely due to stress. Soyoung told me that high school is hard and sometimes students can feel overwhelmed. Drinking is very common, too, for many Korean teenagers. It is common in America as well, but I do not think for the same reasons.
Class sizes was a huge difference, too. American high school classes are roughly 20 to 25 students, sometimes more, depending on the size of the school. In Korea, however, classes can range from 30 to 40 students, an overwhelming amount from an American perspective. I told her American classes would be chaos if they were that large. Many American students do not focus the same way as Korean students. She told me that Korean students are very serious and classes generally always remain orderly.
We also briefly talked about school lunches, but it was not much of a discussion. I showed her pictures of American school lunches and how underwhelming some of them are. I told her I always brought my lunch and ate in a teacher's classroom. Lunches sound a lot healthier over in Korea, but she did not say they were perfect either.
Location: Home via Skype (Tallahassee/Seoul)
Topic: American versus Korean High School
Feedback: Article correction and word choice. Instead of saying "a summer course" she pluralized it, and it did not fit in the context of the sentence. She self-corrected after I asked how many classes she will actually take next month. We also had to clear up the difference between "small amount" and "little amount." It was just word choice usage here.
Soyoung told me she was curious about American high schools since she watched Glee. I must say, her stereotypes were all over the place but generally pretty accurate. She asked if all American teenagers smoke in high school. I told her no, but it is common. I mentioned how vaping has become a little more popular than smoking, but traditional smoking is still pretty common. She told me that many Korean high schoolers smoke, most likely due to stress. Soyoung told me that high school is hard and sometimes students can feel overwhelmed. Drinking is very common, too, for many Korean teenagers. It is common in America as well, but I do not think for the same reasons.
Class sizes was a huge difference, too. American high school classes are roughly 20 to 25 students, sometimes more, depending on the size of the school. In Korea, however, classes can range from 30 to 40 students, an overwhelming amount from an American perspective. I told her American classes would be chaos if they were that large. Many American students do not focus the same way as Korean students. She told me that Korean students are very serious and classes generally always remain orderly.
We also briefly talked about school lunches, but it was not much of a discussion. I showed her pictures of American school lunches and how underwhelming some of them are. I told her I always brought my lunch and ate in a teacher's classroom. Lunches sound a lot healthier over in Korea, but she did not say they were perfect either.
Jillian TS #10
Date/Time: May 29, 2017; 9:00-10:00 A.M.
Location: Home via Skype (Jacksonville/Seoul)
Topic: Food in Asia
Feedback: Just a little tense correction. She got "grown up" and "grew up" confused. Her article usage was pretty good this time.
Soyoung and I both enjoy food, so we decided to talk about the different kinds of food you can eat in each country. She asked me what the most common kinds of meat are in America. I mentioned the standard fair: chicken, beef, pork, and fish. I know meat can be a little more expensive in Korea, but a lot of the restaurants offer meat, so vegetarian dishes are a little harder to find if that is what you prefer. Duck seemed to be a favorite of Soyoung's, and she seemed surprised that it is not more popular in America. It might be and I just do not know it, but I have never tried duck in my life. She told me it is definitely something I should try one day. She also asked me if I knew about the misconception that Koreans eat dog. I told her I did, and she rapidly cleared up the stereotype (even though I never truly believed it). She told me it is an older practice and modern Koreans do not continue it.
I asked if she there are any American candies available in Korea. They have the standard options over there: M&Ms, Skittles, and even Haribo gummies. Haribo, I am quickly finding out, is a very popular sweet over in Asia. I guess I should not be surprised, considering how open world all the countries are becoming.
Location: Home via Skype (Jacksonville/Seoul)
Topic: Food in Asia
Feedback: Just a little tense correction. She got "grown up" and "grew up" confused. Her article usage was pretty good this time.
Soyoung and I both enjoy food, so we decided to talk about the different kinds of food you can eat in each country. She asked me what the most common kinds of meat are in America. I mentioned the standard fair: chicken, beef, pork, and fish. I know meat can be a little more expensive in Korea, but a lot of the restaurants offer meat, so vegetarian dishes are a little harder to find if that is what you prefer. Duck seemed to be a favorite of Soyoung's, and she seemed surprised that it is not more popular in America. It might be and I just do not know it, but I have never tried duck in my life. She told me it is definitely something I should try one day. She also asked me if I knew about the misconception that Koreans eat dog. I told her I did, and she rapidly cleared up the stereotype (even though I never truly believed it). She told me it is an older practice and modern Koreans do not continue it.
I asked if she there are any American candies available in Korea. They have the standard options over there: M&Ms, Skittles, and even Haribo gummies. Haribo, I am quickly finding out, is a very popular sweet over in Asia. I guess I should not be surprised, considering how open world all the countries are becoming.
Jillian TS #9
Date/Time: May 26, 2017; 9:00-10:00 A.M.
Location: Home via Skype (Jacksonville/Seoul)
Topic: Cats and Waterfalls/Listening, speaking, and reading
Feedback: Article correction. Soyoung has a tendency to forget to use articles, but generally she self-corrects. I usually just repeat the correct form. She generally repeats the correct form.
We read two articles for this tutoring session. The first article we talked about was the waterfalls in Yosemite National Park. The article--again--was not quite what we were expecting. It mostly talked about how the heavy snows were affecting the waterfalls, and hikers were being warned to steer clear of any of the falls. Soyoung and I agreed that the park looked beautiful, and I got the chance to show her how beautiful America can be. America is not just New York and California, we have beautiful stretches of land that you cannot find anywhere else. We both agreed it would be fun to visit the park but neither of us enjoy hiking. So, maybe it is not a realistic adventure for either of us.
The second article was supposed to be about why cats purr, but I do not think the article ever addressed the topic. Both of us read it, but not much was said throughout the whole thing. We ended up just talking about cats, since two of mine were fighting for attention while we talked. I mentioned that America has a lot of feral cats (a term Soyoung had not heard before), and that cats are more likely to be wild than dogs. She told me that feral cats are a problem in South Korea and that they are very destructive. The cats will tear about trash and spread it everywhere. She likes cats, but maybe the destruction problem is why she prefers dogs.
Location: Home via Skype (Jacksonville/Seoul)
Topic: Cats and Waterfalls/Listening, speaking, and reading
Feedback: Article correction. Soyoung has a tendency to forget to use articles, but generally she self-corrects. I usually just repeat the correct form. She generally repeats the correct form.
We read two articles for this tutoring session. The first article we talked about was the waterfalls in Yosemite National Park. The article--again--was not quite what we were expecting. It mostly talked about how the heavy snows were affecting the waterfalls, and hikers were being warned to steer clear of any of the falls. Soyoung and I agreed that the park looked beautiful, and I got the chance to show her how beautiful America can be. America is not just New York and California, we have beautiful stretches of land that you cannot find anywhere else. We both agreed it would be fun to visit the park but neither of us enjoy hiking. So, maybe it is not a realistic adventure for either of us.
The second article was supposed to be about why cats purr, but I do not think the article ever addressed the topic. Both of us read it, but not much was said throughout the whole thing. We ended up just talking about cats, since two of mine were fighting for attention while we talked. I mentioned that America has a lot of feral cats (a term Soyoung had not heard before), and that cats are more likely to be wild than dogs. She told me that feral cats are a problem in South Korea and that they are very destructive. The cats will tear about trash and spread it everywhere. She likes cats, but maybe the destruction problem is why she prefers dogs.
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