FSU TEFL 120 2026_1

 On 2/20/2026, I met Fadia for a tutoring session from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. During our session, we discussed transportation here in the U.S and how it differed from her home in Kuwait. We then transitioned to talking about cultural differences she has encountered in her time here, since coming to the states, not just including transportation and learning to drive, as well as the different types of expressions and biases she has faced. 

       < 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. 

  Melina TS Blog Post #18 = Piero Session 9 (Hour 1) Date/Time:  Thursday, March 5th, 2026 Location: Midtown Reader Topic/Skill: Topic: Soccer, Friendships / Skill: Reinforcing usage of the past tense Feedback provided to the tutee: During our previous lesson, Piero and I had begun a conversation regarding his previous soccer career, as a method of practicing the past tense, which can be difficult for beginners to the English language, especially when considering irregular verbs (for example, get/got, or take/took, etc.). The function of this portion of the lesson was to continue the previous conversation, as a means of reinforcing the concepts and verb tenses we had discussed previously. As such, the error correction was a mix of the direct and recasting methods. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: This lesson showed me how rewarding it can be for both the student and tutor alike when, after lots of practice, previous mistakes begin to disappear.

Melina TS Blog Post #19 = Piero Session 9 (Hour 2) Date/Time:  Thursday, March 5th, 2026 Location: Midtown Reader Topic/Skill: Topic: Relationships (Friends and Family) / Skill: Using correct pronouns.  Feedback provided to the tutee: During this portion of the lesson, Piero and I reviewed the different pronouns in English, and when to use each one, as he often confused he and she, his and her, etc.. Afterward, I produced examples of different celebrities for him to briefly practice using the correct pronouns before allowing him to speak freely. I monitored his speech, and used mostly direct correction of his errors, for the purpose of reinforcing his interior monitoring.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: This portion of the lesson reminded me that though a student might grasp a concept theoretically, it is easy for them to get tripped up during true practice. For example, during the celebrity identification portion of this lesson, Piero crushed...

Melina TS Blog Post #12 = Piero Session 6 (Hour 1) Date/Time: Thursday, February 26th, 2026 Location: FSU Campus Topic/Skill: Topic: Phrasal Verbs (addition and review) / Skill: Speaking Fluency Feedback provided to the tutee: During this portion of the lesson, the focus was less on grammatical accuracy, and more about Piero's understanding of common phrasal verbs (which are integral to English conversation). As such, I primarily used the recasting method for error correction.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: This portion of the lesson was a great reminder of how important context is for beginning students. As we were reviewing the phrasal verbs I taught in a previous lesson, we found that though Piero had difficulty remembering them individually, when placed in context he was able to deduce the meaning and remember my previous explanation. 

  Melina TS Blog Post #13 = Piero Session 6 (Hour 2) Date/Time: Thursday, February 26th, 2026 Location: FSU Campus Topic/Skill: Topic: Timed, Specific Debate Questions / Skill: Grammatical Accuracy while speaking Feedback provided to the tutee: Though Piero is a beginning student, his English has improved tremendously during his time working with the fabulous faculty at CIES. As such, during this portion of the session, I relied mostly on directly correcting his grammatical mistakes, explaining in detail why his mistakes were incorrect (to the best of my ability, and being careful not to nitpick, but just focus on patterns).  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: During this portion of the session, I felt that I got to understand Piero a little better; hearing his answers to the debate questions I posed and both his personal and cultural bases for his arguments was a great activity to foster student-tutor understanding! I will certainly do this activity a...

Melina TS Blog Post #14 = Je-ah Session 5 Date/Time: Thursday, February 26th, 2026 Location: Virtual Topic/Skill:  Topic = Popular Korean music /  Skill = Translation and Minimal Pairs During this lesson, Je-ah would pick a song written and sung in Korean, and we practiced translating these songs, using both top-down and bottom-up methods (meaning of the whole song vs. meaning of individual lines). The songs she chose were 디오 "Rose" and Red Velvet's "Cosmic". As she translated, I typed her words, using multiple methods of feedback to help her construct a grammatically correct version of the lyrics. Afterward, we practiced identifying and repeating minimal pairs that are difficult for Korean speakers, including the difference between short and long vowels in English, and sh vs. s sounds.  Feedback provided to the tutee: The feedback provided to Je-ah during this lesson was a mix between the recasting and direct methods of correction. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/...

 On 2/20/2026, I met Dojun Kim for our weekly meeting. This session focused mainly on cultural exchange, as he discussed his Lunar New Year experience in English, as well as the typical traditions families follow. We talked about how in Korea, most people get cremated and placed in what he called a Chan-ol house, similar to a grave but for ashes. I explained the meaning of the word urn in English, as he wasn't sure what word to use to describe the jar holding family member's ashes was called in English. I also helped him with the word 'memorialize', as he mixed it up with the word 'memorize' while explaining the practice of visiting family members' ashes for the New Year. He mentioned South Korea has a holiday called Chuseok, and he likened it to American Thanksgiving. We talked about his train ride to Busan to bring his family to visit his mother, then transitioned to what driving is like in America. We discussed American driving culture versus Korean drivi...