Wrestling with My Own Language
I had my first experience tutoring an ESL student today. I am happy to say that it was a delightful session and that I learned a lot. I found the student to be patient and understanding. I think this helped to make my experience a good one.
I did run into the problem of trying to explain the particulars of our sometimes unexplainable language to her. She had written, "I was so tired to drive." Of course, I advised her to say she was "too tired to drive." However, just three sentences later, she wrote, "I was so tired." She immediately pointed out that we should change it to say, "I was too tired." I reassured her that the way she had written it was correct, but she pointed out that we had previously changed the same phrase. It was then that I found myself fumbling through a limited vocabulary for the right words to explain why both ways were correct in different places. I am sure that everything I said confused her. Yet, she smiled, nodded, and gracefully accepted my explanation. I was relieved to find that she trusted me and took my advice despite my inability to articulate the reasons well.
During the session, I found myself appreciating Giana's presentation, which helped me to realize the already-rich educational background of many ESL students. The student I met today was older and obviously accomplished. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience, but this may have been because of the student's attitude. She complimented and thanked me profusely. Who doesn't like a little praise? The one part of the session that surprised me was the length. It took 45 minutes. After I was done, Claire mentioned that this is normal for such sessions. She also advised me to take a 5-minute break following the session. This was wise advice becuase I did find myself slightly exhausted after wrestling so hard with my own language.
I did run into the problem of trying to explain the particulars of our sometimes unexplainable language to her. She had written, "I was so tired to drive." Of course, I advised her to say she was "too tired to drive." However, just three sentences later, she wrote, "I was so tired." She immediately pointed out that we should change it to say, "I was too tired." I reassured her that the way she had written it was correct, but she pointed out that we had previously changed the same phrase. It was then that I found myself fumbling through a limited vocabulary for the right words to explain why both ways were correct in different places. I am sure that everything I said confused her. Yet, she smiled, nodded, and gracefully accepted my explanation. I was relieved to find that she trusted me and took my advice despite my inability to articulate the reasons well.
During the session, I found myself appreciating Giana's presentation, which helped me to realize the already-rich educational background of many ESL students. The student I met today was older and obviously accomplished. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience, but this may have been because of the student's attitude. She complimented and thanked me profusely. Who doesn't like a little praise? The one part of the session that surprised me was the length. It took 45 minutes. After I was done, Claire mentioned that this is normal for such sessions. She also advised me to take a 5-minute break following the session. This was wise advice becuase I did find myself slightly exhausted after wrestling so hard with my own language.
posted by Emily Petersen at 8:05 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home