To begin my final tutoring session with Woo-joo, I asked him how well he could write notes in class. He said that as long as it wasn't too technical (my word, not his) and written on the board, then he was fine. I inquired as to how he did when the teacher spoke without a visual aid, and I could immediately tell his response by the facial expression I received.
Without the words on the board, Woo-joo expressed some difficulty following along in class, especially in science. For native speakers, note-taking is an almost unconscious process. You hear the words, summarize them in your head, and inscribe them onto the paper. As an ESL student though, he struggled because taking notes required translating the content in real-time, followed by the previously-listed steps.
To assist him, we performed a listening activity. First, I read from the history and science textbooks at a moderate speed, during which Woo-joo had to jot down the most salient points. When I was finished, he constructed his notes into a formal summary. Next, I read snippets at a quicker pace and he was charged with writing the passages word-for-word. He was a little apprehensive at first, but the point was the focus his mind completely on note-taking. My mantra was "don't think about what you hear, just write it". Lastly, I showed him a style of note-taking, one that is facilitated by using roman numerals, letters and numbers. After outlining it, I encouraged him to use it in his classes for then on. Overall, I thought the lesson went extremely well and it was quite beneficial for Woo-joo.
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