FSU TEFL 120 2026_1

  Melina TS Blog Post #11 = Piero Session 5 (Hour 2) Date/Time:  Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 Location: RedEye Coffee Topic/Skill: Topic: Cultural Conversation. Skill: Utilizing high-frequency vocabulary, expressing cultural nuances in English. Feedback provided to the tutee: During this segment of the lesson, Piero and I discussed the differences between Italian, Peruvian, and American culture, particularly with respect to education, legal systems, and food culture. The feedback provided was a mixture of direct correction and the recasting method, dependent on the context of the conversation (being sensitive to timing and careful not to nitpick).  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: During this portion of the lesson, I learned a lot about the educational systems of Italy and Peru; I was shocked to learn that Piero began studying law right out of what we would consider "high school" (while in the U.S., it is usually required to have a Bachelor's degree ...

Melina TS Blog Post #10 = Piero Session 5 (Hour 1) Date/Time: Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 Location: RedEye Coffee Topic/Skill: Topic: False Friends (English to Spanish). Skill: Communication/Speaking Accuracy.  Feedback provided to the tutee: This part of the lesson was involved with a discussion of "false friends" between English and Spanish, or words that sound similar between English and Spanish, but do not mean the same thing (for example, "carpet" in English vs. "carpeta" in Spanish). During this segment of the lesson, I provided Piero with mostly direct feedback, as the topic necessitated direct correction during his sample sentences.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: I was fascinated by the evolution of language during this lesson; English and Spanish have many similarities, and many of their words come from the same base. However, in the separate languages, the same root occasionally evolved into having two completely differe...

     < Emma Baker TS #12 (Yerlan) > Date/Time:  Wednesday, February 25, 2026, from 2-3 PM Location:  CIES Topic/Skill:  TOEFL Email Attempt #3 & TOEFL Vocabulary Review Feedback Provided to the Tutee:  I went through an entire email prompt for the TOEFL, narrating how I would approach the specific prompt. I think this helped him a lot; we have to conquer the time limit now. We then reviewed some of the A words on the TOEFL vocabulary list. I checked his pronunciation and understanding by having him use the word in a sentence. Lesson(s) About Tutoring and/or the Tutee You Learned:  Yerlan was very receptive to the way I taught the email section today. I utilized the approach my teachers in middle and high school would use when giving us shortcuts for how to maximize our time on exams. I think I need to start stealing teaching methods from my teachers over the years to test if they work in a language context.

     < Emma Baker TS #11 (Catalina) > Date/Time:  Wednesday, February 25, 2026, from 1-2 PM Location:  CIES Topic/Skill:  Phrasal Verbs (Review & Writing Sentences) Feedback Provided to the Tutee:  I answered Catalina's questions about the first set of phrasal verbs from my list of 80. After we reviewed the first 12, I had her write a sentence for each one, and I corrected them. Her English is good, and my corrections are minimal unless there is a particular idiom or turn of phrase she is unfamiliar with. Lesson(s) About Tutoring and/or the Tutee You Learned:  I am learning to embrace doing the work with my tutees. This way, they feel less like they are being watched and receive a model of how a native speaker may complete the same task.

    < Emma Baker TS #10 (Catalina) > Date/Time: Monday, February 23, 2026, from 1-2 PM Location:  CIES Topic/Skill:  President's Day Historical Background and Discussion (Reading, Speaking, and Listening) Feedback Provided to the Tutee:  Monday's lesson was focused on President's Day and building background knowledge on the holiday's origin. I corrected Catalina's pronunciation as she read the provided article out loud. Pausing in some places to provide definitions required some American civics education for context. Lesson(s) About Tutoring and/or the Tutee You Learned:  I learned that I need to break down the articles Catalina reads to reinforce her confidence. Having her summarize each individual paragraph, then use those summaries to create a larger summary of the article overall, might show her that she is grasping the content better than she thinks. Also, I learned that providing synonyms works very well for her when defining words that she...

   < Emma Baker TS #9 (Yerlan) > Date/Time:  Wednesday, February 18, 2026, from 3-4 PM Location:  CIES Topic/Skill:  Attempt #2 @ the TOEFL Email Section Feedback Provided to the Tutee:  After timing Yerlan, I read the prompt out loud, then read his email out loud. I then pointed out the places with errors and gave him an opportunity to correct himself. If he still didn't quite have it right, I would talk him through finding the right answer. We spent a long time on this task because I held him to the time limit, so there were a lot of corrections and things to discuss. It was an experiment and I learned from it., Lesson(s) About Tutoring and/or the Tutee You Learned:  I had a feeling that the time limit for the actual TOEFL section wouldn't be enough time for Yerlan. I think I will spend our next tutoring session breaking down the task, reviewing the structure of an email, and strategizing how to best approach the task within the time limit. I w...

  Date/Time: January 21 st      Topic/Skill: Reading skills (Strategies for reading complex texts in a short time: Finding the thesis point) Teacher Presentation:   The teacher projected the whole reading on the board. Classroom Management: The teacher timed how long the students had to read and determine what the thesis point of each individual paragraph. Materials: Article, Google Student Participation: Everyone was called upon to answer the questions posed by Dr. Ciappetta.  Students were also able to volunteer to answer what they considered the paragraph's thesis statement was. Feedback Provided: The teacher would discuss the thesis points of the paragraphs with students.  Dr. Ciappetta would often provide specific examples by Googling different animals that followed the adaptations mentioned.  Lesson(s) on teaching you learned: The way EFL teachers use time management to test the students' abilities to comprehend text...

  Date/Time: January 21st      Topic/Skill: Grammar skills (Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous) Teacher Presentation:   The teacher reviewed the textbook materials and provided example sentences first. Classroom Management: The teacher had each student provide multiple example sentences for both tenses. Materials: Student Textbook, Practice Worksheet, Whiteboard Student Participation: Everyone shared their example sentences.  Students were also tasked with determining the tenses that their classmates were using for each example.   Feedback Provided: The teacher provided detailed feedback on their sentences and the accuracy of using the tenses to describe their personal experiences. Lesson(s) on teaching you learned: The way EFL teachers provide students the chance to practice making sentences and then use group evaluation to assess comprehension. Another point I observed during this class is that Dr. Rios passed out ...

 On 2/17/2026, I met Razak in the CIES student lounge for our next session. After asking him how his week had been, I asked him if he was familiar with the concept of Friday the 13th here in America. As he didn't, I explained to him the myths and stereotypes about Friday the 13th, and the horror movie that used it as a popular trope. I then asked him about his valentines day, and he told me about his girlfriend. Discussing when she planned to visit him, I explained to him the terms "Spring Break", "Summer Break" etc., and that they were used to refer to specific school vacation. I also taught him the different meanings of the word break as well as it's tense forms, showing them how the meaning would change in context with example sentences. We then discussed his family and if/when they planned to visit him, introducing him to the phrase 'move-in' when discussing when he first came to America. We talked about how often his family called, then I asked ...

On 2/12/2026, I met with Mr. Kim for our tutoring session. We discussed his assigned writing prompt, which had the topic: Write about a time you went to a zoo/wildlife preserve. What animals did you see? Which were your favorite? If you have never been to one- is there a specific zoo/animal you want to see one day? Together, we went through his response and focused on grammar correction as the content of his work was very good! He talked about a time he went to a small zoo with his daughter, and how he loved meeting a toucan. We discussed the grammar rules behind when to use 'A' and 'An', as well as how 'big' and 'large' can be used interchangeably in informal English. We then discussed the Lion King, as he mentioned in his prompt that he had watched it as a kid, and wanted to go on a tour in the African Serengeti because of it. I then introduced him to the lion king sequels and spin offs, and then introduced him to the movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cima...

 On 2/10/2026, I met with Razak for our third session. To work on fluency and vocab, I started our session off asking about how he had been doing the past week. He responded appropriately in English, and I then went on to ask him about his family and pets. He was able to effectively communicate to me in English that he has no pets, and explained his family structure to me. He has an older half brother and younger half-sister, and told me about where they lived. We also talked about what his family does for work, introducing him to English vocabulary for different family member terms. We also talked about things he had found difficult in America so far, as well as differences between Burkina Faso and the USA. Error correction was done in-between topics, but the main focus was continuing to get him used to speaking English, as it is one of his biggest points of difficulty. 

  Melina TS Blog Post #9 = Je-ah Session 4 Date/Time: Thursday, February 12th, 2026 Location: Virtual Topic/Skill:  Topic = American and Korean culture, particularly what is considered "rude" and accents.  Skill = Speaking and Listening utilizing videos and a dictation activity.  For this lesson, Je-ah watched a video from the show Friends, did a dictation activity (fill-in-the-blank worksheet based on the video's dialogue), followed by a discussion about what is considered regional "rudeness" in both Korea and the U.S.A.. Discussion of regional standards for rudeness led to discussion of accents, at which point I shared the "Bless their hearts" video we watched in class. Finally, with our last few minutes, we began discussing minimal pairs and practicing pronunciation of the "l" and "r" sound in English (Je-ah did an excellent job). Feedback provided to the tutee: The feedback provided to Je-ah during this lesson was a mix between ...

   Melina TS Blog Post #8 = Piero Session 4 (Hour 2) Date/Time:  Monday, February 9th, 2026 Location: FSU Campus Topic/Skill: Topic = Literature Conversation, Science Fiction. Skill = Speaking, mid/low-frequency words, fluency in communicating complex ideas.  Feedback provided to the tutee: Given that this portion of the lesson was focused on fluency when discussing complex topics and consistent usage of more complicated words (discussing psychology and science fiction novels), much of the session was spent listening, encouraging, and attempting to reduce hesitation. However, when necessary (for repeated errors), I used direct correction.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Piero is clearly an extremely intelligent person; he is well read, has multiple degrees, and learns quickly. However, he expressed that it can be difficult and discouraging when he cannot find the proper words to communicate in English. This part of the lesson reinforced i...

  Melina TS Blog Post #7 = Piero Session 4 (Hour 1) Date/Time:  Monday, February 9th, 2026 Location: FSU Campus Topic/Skill:    Skill =  Speaking and Listening, o pinions, mix of mid/high frequency words, culture conversation (derived from Would You Rather game).   Topic = Would You Rather game.  Feedback provided to the tutee: Feedback during this part of the lesson was primarily given through the recasting method. During the Would You Rather gameplay, Piero was presented with two different options and forced to choose the one he preferred, including a justification for his choice. His answers included some grammatical errors, which were primarily corrected through the recasting method, but auditorily and visually (I would repeat his answer with the proper format, and write it down on our shared Google Document).  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: During this portion of the lesson, I was shocked to find that many words t...

       < Emma Baker TS #8 (Yerlan) > Date/Time: Wednesday, February 11, 2026, from 3-4 PM Location:  CIES Topic/Skill:  "Complete the Words" Task Practice + Review of "Essential TOEFL Words" (A Words Only) Feedback Provided to the Tutee:  After Yerlan did the practice, I had him correct his work as I read the answers aloud. I explained why his errors were incorrect in the context of the task. After, we reviewed the handout I gave him last week on the "Essential TOEFL Words." The words he highlighted were the ones he recognized, so I asked him to provide a definition for each one to make sure he was actually familiar with them. Next week, we will review all of the "A" words, then move on to "B" words the following week. Lesson(s) About Tutoring and/or the Tutee You Learned:  I learned today that Yerlan's strongest associations are when he can connect the English words back to Russian. In my definitions PowerPoint, I will try to...

       < Emma Baker TS #7 (Catalina) > Date/Time: Wednesday, February 11, 2026, from 1-2 PM Location:  CIES Topic/Skill:  Listening Practice (TEDTalk Student Mental Health) + Post-Video Discussion Feedback Provided to the Tutee:  After watching the TEDTalk, I had Catalina summarize the video's main idea. I noticed she struggles with words that have multiple meanings. For example, an important part of the video was the lecture speaker explaining how she was able to work toward passing a bill into law that allows mental health days for public school children in Oregon. She hadn't realized that the word "bill" was important to the context of the lecture, so she missed this important point. This was the most major issue with today. However, if we had had more time, I could have played the video again before the discussion, and I think she would have picked up on it. Lesson(s) About Tutoring and/or the Tutee You Learned:  Today, I tried to apply ...

      < Emma Baker TS #6 (Catalina) > Date/Time:  Monday, February 9, 2026, from 1-2 PM Location:  CIES Topic/Skill:  Essay Corrections, Conversation Practice, and Discussion of English Words Borrowed from Other Languages Feedback Provided to the Tutee:  Today, Catalina reviewed her essay that I marked up last week. She made corrections, and we discussed why certain things she did were wrong. I explained to her the concept of writing concisely and how to utilize this strategy when writing in English. Lesson(s) About Tutoring and/or the Tutee You Learned:  Sometimes, I feel useless while tutoring her. She asks amazing questions that I don't know the answer to. It's nice to tutor an advanced student, but I feel like I don't have the skills to adequately help her. I need to get creative with our tutoring sessions and keep discovering ways to challenge her.

  Melina TS Blog Post #6 = Piero Session 3 Date/Time: Monday, February 2nd, 2026 Location: FSU Campus Topic/Skill: This lesson centered primarily around phrasal verbs, including a brief explanation (reinforcing and clarifying what had been learned in class), discussion, and example production. The intention with this topic was multifold, as the activity covered both the grammar topic and communication/verbal skills. Additionally, we did a free-speaking and conversation activity in which Piero was tasked with explaining to me his opinions on various superhero movies (with my occasional interjections).  Feedback provided to the tutee: For feedback, I used both direct grammatical explanations and recasting. Piero is the kind of student that wants to know exactly why something is wrong, but I did not want to overwhelm him through directly correcting each mistake, thus resulting in a mix of direct correction (with explanation) and recasting.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or th...

  Melina TS Blog Post #5 = Je-ah Session 3 Date/Time: Thursday,  January 29, 2026 Location: Virtual  Topic/Skill: During this lesson, we focused on sentence production (verbal fluency and sentence production) by doing several activities, including  Two Truths and a Lie (x2), role-playing phone calls  (x2), and discussing common idiomatic expressions with examples.  Feedback provided to the tutee: During this session, I employed the  recasting method for grammatical accuracy, repeating sentences with incorrect grammar structures in the correct way, visually reinforcing the correction by typing segments of our conversation on our shared screen.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: As confident and willing as a student may be, there will often be things that overwhelm and confuse them. From this lesson, I learned that the way to cope with a student's confusion is to slow down, provide additional support, and make sure that the topi...

 On 2/6/2026, I met with Fadia at 3:30 pm in the CIES Student Lounge for an hour. We began by talking about her week and discussing the neck injury that currently has her in physical therapy. While speaking, I noted her continued struggles with tense rules and articles, but praised her ability to catch her mistakes and pause when she caught them. I plan to send her helpful images to explain tense rules and when we use tenses; for example, I explained to her what a hypothetical question was, and how when we asked them we typically used past tense. 

 On 2/5/26, I met with Mr.Kim via Zoom at 9am for our weekly session. We first discussed how his week had been, and he told me about how his daughter had been sick. This led to a short conversation about kids and parenthood, and my own experiences working in daycare handling sick kids. We then segued into discussing pets. I showed Mr.Kim my own pets and talked about a recent disease my cats had been dealing with, introducing him to new medical vocabulary, and also starting a conversation on the cultural differences in raising pets in America vs. Korea. In America, pets are very much family members to people and are common to own. In Korea, while some people similarly raise pets, it is less common to have pets due to space shortages and living in apartments/monetary reasons. The session provided a good cultural exchange and learning vocabulary for Mr.Kim. 

 On 2/3/2026, I met with Razak again at the CIES Student Lounge at 12 for our session together. I started off our session by engaging him ina conversation about the weather, discussing how he was handling the cold and the difference between Tallahassee and the temperature in Burkina Faso. We also discussed hurricanes, a common and dangerous weather event in Florida. I used the whiteboard to help draw nd illustrate examples of new vocabulary words, and showed him a short video in English explaining storm surges with closed captioning. I then asked him about his major at FSU, energy engineering, helping explain in English the terms and processes associated with it. We discussed solar panels, wind turbines, and hydroelectric dams, getting him introduced to much of the vocabulary he will see used in his classes here at FSU.

  Date/Time: January 14th with Professor Flemming      Topic/Skill: Listening skills (Listening to a commercial, finding main idea, and recalling information) Teacher Presentation:   The teacher modeled how to summarize and recall information about Strozier Library using an audio clip. Classroom Management: The teacher played the clip twice for students then asked follow-up questions concerning main idea first and then specific information about the library.  The clip was played twice, each time at a different speed, first time at 1x and the second at .75x. Materials: Recorded audio located on Canvas, Cornell Notes Listening Practice handout, Question linked through Canvas to test comprehension of the main idea Student Participation: All students used the audio clip to complete the Cornell Notes Listening Practice and answer the question involving the main idea. Feedback Provided: The teacher reviewed the answers students picked for th...

 Today there is a quiz in class. Professor Flemming always introduces the class while taking attendance and reviewing the day's agenda. Today, the students did a vocabulary quiz and a comprehension quiz. Because the class is split into two groups, there are two quizzes. We are also discussing summaries in this class, and we will make summaries based on the lecture we have been working on this week about social media. Professor Flemming always checks to make sure everyone knows the instructions with a phrase like, "Do you guys want any more information about the plan for today?" For the comprehension quiz, students were allowed to use their notes, but not to listen to the audio again. There were multiple-choice questions about the main idea and details of the lecture. There's also a transcription section where students either match the audio to the correct transcription or type it out themselves. There was also vocabulary in context in which students heard a specific w...

 First, we began the session by discussing our week and debriefing the last session. We then jumped into some integrated speaking practice, as that's what Berkay struggled with most last week. I found an old TOEFL test for reference. We discussed strategies for integrated speaking practice and reviewed the typical format of integrated speaking question prompts, so Berkay can look out for specific details or context as he reads and listens. After he read the first passage, I asked him whether there were any words or phrases he didn't understand. I then asked him to summarize the passage he had just read in his own words to check for comprehension. Then came the listening section, and I read aloud a transcript from a psychology class on a topic similar to the paragraph he had just read. Berkay actively listened and attempted to make connections with what he read as I read the lecture. I ensured that after he finished listening to the lecture, he could summarize in his own words w...

 For our third tutoring session, we first reviewed what we had done the previous week. We then began my plan for this session with TOEFL reading practice. Before she began reading, I had her first scan the reading, looking for details and using context clues to understand the meaning of unknown vocabulary. I had Sofia read through a sample passage titled "The Rise of Teotihucán", which was 6 paragraphs long. After each paragraph, I checked to make sure she understood its main premise and whether there were any words she didn't understand. I would correct her pronunciation if she had issues, noting which words have consistently been difficult for her to pronounce. After each paragraph, we would connect it to the last to make sure she understood the message so far. At the end of the paragraphs, we moved on to some multiple-choice comprehension questions. Regardless of whether she got the question right or wrong, we would go back into the passage and find the part in the pas...

 I first conducted a needs assessment diagnostic with Berkay, as this was our first session together. Berkay wanted to focus on TOEFL speaking and listening. I used an official TOEFL practice exam to practice listening first. Our first activity was a listen-and-choose response activity. In this activity, I read a sentence aloud, and Berkay had to choose the correct answer from 4 multiple-choice options. We then practiced conversations. I read aloud a conversation between a woman and a man, and then Berkay answered two questions based on it. We then did a similar exercise but with an academic announcement. I used scaffolding, starting with a more controlled, easier exercise and gradually increasing the intensity as the session went on. When he made an error on the listening exercises, I would call attention to it, give him a chance to realize his mistake on his own, and then tell him what he had done wrong. We ended the session with corrections and a review of what we had completed ...

We began class with Professor Flemming explaining the itinerary for the first class. Our first activity was: Listen to sentences from the lecture. Transcribe the sentences. Also, write whether the sentences are True or False according to the lecture they had listened to in the previous class.  (1st defined paraphrase with examples)  (make sure everyones ready)  A. People often cyberbully others through email, in text messages, and on social media like Instagram. T  B . Cyberbullying is a small problem because kids and teens understand that their words can really hurt other people. F  C . Some parents say their children learn new ways to get around their parents' rules for smartphones. T D. There are bad things about the internet, like not being connected to the whole world, and being able to find out many things. F Students were then read each sentence again, and the class chose whether each statement was true or false.  We then matched vocabulary to the co...

 Dr. Rio had students take out the sentences that they had written in the previous class.  Dr Rio went around the class, having each student share their sentences to the entire class, giving feedback when each was done.  Students are practicing triggers for using gerunds.  As students read aloud, Dr. Rio encourages them as they read, with encouraging "goods"  Dr. Rio points out a sentence a student shared to emphasize that it is possible to have a sentence with many verbs, and that some verbs require a gerund or an infinitive.   "She promised to help me look for....."  In the second half of class, Dr. Rio introduces a class discussion with a handout. He emphasizes the differences between a discussion and a debate and poses a question to the class: What is the difference between a debate and a discussion? Dr. Rio emphasizes that the goal of the class discussion is to connect everyone's opinions, even if not everyone agrees. Before a student speaks,...

     < Emma Baker TS #5 (Catalina) > Date/Time:  Monday, February 2, 2026, from 1-2 PM Location:  CIES Topic/Skill:  Phrasal Verb Review + Speaking Practice  Feedback Provided to the Tutee:  Today, we reviewed phrasal verbs at Catalina's request. We went over whether they were transitive or intransitive and if they were separable or inseparable. Then, using an online source, I went through and asked her various questions in which she needed to respond with a phrasal verb. She has a good grasp of them, despite questioning herself. Lesson(s) About Tutoring and/or the Tutee You Learned:  I am getting more comfortable with admitting I'm not sure about the answer when asked a question, then Googling it to gain some insight. I learned that it might be best to focus on more colloquial phrases, concepts, or words when introducing new vocabulary, as she is so advanced. This will be useful to her in everyday conversation and likely isn't bei...