TP #12 Mark G

Yesterday I had my last tutoring session with Gilles. Since he took the TOEFL today, we concentrated all our efforts towards getting him prepared for the test. Like the previous time, we focused primarily on listening and speaking. First we worked on listening. Like I did before, we went over general strategies that will be helpful to know when taking the test. These came directly from his test prep book. Afterwards ,we did some practice questions that were going to be similar to ones on the test. It consisted of reading aloud certain passages and answering questions based on the context of the passage, as well as specific pieces of information about the passage. What posed the biggest problem for Gilles was the specific details concerning each problem. He would always ask what a specific word meant, and that would pose some difficulty as to how he would answer. For example, the example about space and astroids had him asking about what is an "astroid" vs. an "meteor" etc.  However for the most part, his understanding was good, and I think he did well on about 80% (or so) on the questions. That is considering he is only in "group 2", according to CIES standards...We then practiced speaking, which I think is his biggest need. However, Gilles was able to go through the exercises well enough. I think we were able to practice what he needed to review for his test and I have faith that he succeeded well enough to get into TCC. Which, after all, is his primary goal in taking the TOEFL...In conclusion to my tutoring sessions, I feel that I need not only listen to what the client (student) needs from me, but what I think will benefit them in the end. I think that when tutoring adults it is important to see what is most necessary to helping them succeed from the perspective of a language teacher. And that isn't always what the student thinks is necessary!..In any case, I hope Gilles passes the TOEFL with flying colors. And I hope I was able to make an impact on his learning.