FSU TEFL 120 2026_1

       < Emma Baker TS #15 (Catalina) > Date/Time:  Wednesday, March 11, 2026, from 1-2 PM Location:  CIES Topic/Skill:  Phrasal Verbs (Review & Writing Sentences) (Part 3) Feedback Provided to the Tutee:  We continued with the third page of phrasal verbs. We spent more time on these because some of these phrasal verbs sound so similar to a non-native speaker. Catalina is picking up the patterns of phrasal verbs and is becoming more confident in her ability to use them in a sentence. Lesson(s) About Tutoring and/or the Tutee You Learned:  Since this is the third tutoring session where we have focused on phrasal verbs, I have learned the benefits of consistency with a subject. Essentially, because we are spending so much time on phrasal verbs, the concept is getting easier than briefly mentioning what phrasal verbs are, then moving on. Although she is advanced, this strategy is still helpful due to its repetitive nature.

      < Emma Baker TS #13/14 (Catalina) > Date/Time:  Wednesday, March 4, 2026, from 1-3 PM Location:  CIES Topic/Skill:  Phrasal Verbs (Review & Writing Sentences) & Listening  Feedback Provided to the Tutee:  We continued with the second page of phrasal verbs, following the sentence writing structure established in a previous lesson. After spending the first hour discussing the second page and answering Catalina's questions, we spent the second hour watching a YouTube video titled "Urban Designer Answers City Planning Questions From Twitter." Following each question or topic posed in the video, I paused the video and asked Catalina related questions. Lesson(s) About Tutoring and/or the Tutee You Learned:  With an advanced learned like Catalina, it is good to incorporate several types of English learning into one lesson in order to best simulate what it is like to be a native speaker. Native speakers are constantly listeni...

Melina TS Blog Post #15 = Piero Session 7 (Hour 1) Date/Time: Friday, February 27th, 2026 Location: Venebites Topic/Skill: Topic: Food Culture / Skill: Mid-Frequency Words Feedback provided to the tutee: This portion of the session involved comparing the food cultures across the U.S., Peru, and Italy. We discussed recipes for popular dishes, including norcina (an Italian pasta dish), using this as an opportunity to practice translating less frequently used verbs from Piero's native languages into English (for example, cooking methods and ingredients).  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: I was startled to discover how much more food-centered other cultures are! When I asked Piero if he cooks often, he responded in the affirmative, with great enthusiasm, and was equally shocked when I told him many people his age in the U.S. struggle with cooking consistently. 

  Melina TS Blog Post #16 = Piero Session 7 (Hour 2) Date/Time:  Friday, February 27th, 2026 Location: Venebites Topic/Skill: Topic: Popular Culture (Anime, Books, Movies, Shows) / Skill: Subject Verb Agreement Feedback provided to the tutee: During this session, Piero and I discussed popular culture, including shows and books we enjoy. We used plot summaries as a method of reviewing subject verb agreement, and plurals in general, as Piero often struggles with these topics (for example, saying "mens" or "childrens" instead of "men" and "children"). Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: This lesson taught me how much of popular culture has become globalized! Though Piero and I were born in different generations, and in vastly different countries, we still enjoyed a lot of the same media while growing up. 

  Melina TS Blog Post #20 = Piero Session 9 Date/Time: Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026 Location: Midtown Reader Topic/Skill: Topic = Religion and Holidays / Skill = Using the past and present tenses Feedback provided to the tutee: Due to the nature of our conversation, I would allow Piero to talk largely uninterrupted for a short time before pausing him to directly note some consistent errors he was making when conjugating verbs into the present or past tenses. We also discussed pronunciation, specifically regarding the pronunciation of the letter "t" (when it sounds like "t" or when it sounds like "d") Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: This lesson reminded me how much we really take for granted regarding cultural consistencies. During our discussion of religion and holidays, I discovered how different the practices surrounding holidays such as Christmas are in other countries. 

Melina TS Blog Post #17 = Piero Session 8 Date/Time: Monday, March 2nd, 2026 Location: Black Dog Coffee Topic/Skill: Topic = Soccer Games / Skill = Using the past tense Feedback provided to the tutee: During this lesson, Piero and I discussed some common irregular verbs in the past tense. He applied these to a conversation with regard to his former career as a soccer player, during which I listened for patterns and made direct corrections of his most significant grammatical mistakes, but in terms of verb tenses and sentence construction in the past tense.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: This lesson taught me about the importance of properly timing a correction, particularly during personal conversations. Though Piero made mistakes while speaking and I did at times use the recasting method for correction, I also made a point to allow him the chance to finish speaking before correcting, as soccer was and is an important part of his personal life.