Tom - Jason, TP # 2, Sunday, September 1

Tom TP # 2

This blog entry is very little about teaching English.  It is an introduction to the tutee and three others associated with him.  I hope to use what I learned in the future in order to maintain interest in language learning.  The time spent was divided among the three children, and I did not identify any great weaknesses in the skills of any of them.  I did not get a good chance to focus on the tutee himself in the time available.

I met with my second tutee, Jason, on Sunday morning at an ice cream parlor, together with his father, his sister, and his cousin.  I have the impression that I will be tutoring the three children, which is interesting, since I did not get the impression that any of the children were challenged with their English conversational skills.  Jason’s father, on the other hand, an FSU researcher, has considerable difficulty expressing himself clearly.

I first got to know something about the children.  Jason is nine years old and in the 3^rd grade.  He likes kimchi, and his favorite colors are blue, red, white, and black.  He is particularly passionate about South Korean soccer.  He was born in Jeonju.  He misses school in South Korea.  His most prominent memories of Korea are of his friends, his teacher, the flag, and the currency.  Jason wants to improve his ability to read English.

Jason’s sister Sally is 11, and was born in Jeonju like her brother.  Her favorite color is light blue.  She misses the food, her friends, and her family from South Korea.  She emails her friends to stay in touch.  She likes sewing, croche, and other hand crafts. She also likes a food called Bi Bim Bob, made with vegetables, rice, seaweed, eggs, and a spicy sauce.  She wants to work on her English vocabulary.

Jason and Sally’s cousin Rayna was also born in Jeonju.  She misses her friends, family, and school from her native country.  One difference between her American school and her school in South Korea is that the school in Korea had a rest time between every pair of classes.   Her favorite colors are sky blue, and light purple.  Rayna likes music in general, and singing and dancing in particular.  She has some skill in each of piano, guitar, and violin.  She would like help with grammar.

All three children were very excited about a South Korean island called Jeju that they had visited various times.

The next blog entry will be focused on language learning.  I will try to use the tastes and interests of the students to motivate them to invest themselves in whatever exercises are identified as utilitarian.