On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of meeting Andre, my second CIES tutee, at the Strozier library. He hails from an area in northern Brazil, which he described as "someplace that you don't know", so we left it at that. I wish my hometown had an air of mystery. After introductions and an exchange of pleasantries, we got to work.
During our initial email correspondence, I asked Andre to bring an English book. He chose a "TIME" magazine, which I approved of. In order to gauge his language abilities, I repeated the same diagnostic test that my other tutee performed. After he chose an article highlighting a "New York Times" Bestseller, I gave him the following instructions: (1) underline words with difficult pronunciations, and (2) circle terms that he did not understand. Each type was written into his notebook for later practice at home.
Additionally, after every other paragraph, I requested that he write the main idea, a technique that I wanted to try out. It quickly became apparent that reading comprehension was an area that we would revisit in the future. I wonder if vocabulary limitations restrict his ability to fully express himself in words. I heard varied mutterings of "What's the word in English?" while he was writing.
One letter that stuck out was that of an "r". In Portuguese, it's produced as a rolled "h" (e.g. revolution became hevolution). I tasked him with being more cognizant in the future when pronouncing the sound.
It looks like you found some good diagnostic tools. I wonder whether you asked him to read the article out loud when you told him to underline words with difficult pronunciations. He might not know what words are difficult to pronounce without going through the motions of articulation and hearing himself, and sometimes getting your input on correct pronunciation. Your making him aware of his problems with 'r' and suggesting that he monitor himself on that sound seems perfect.
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