Melina TS # 13 = Je-ah Session 5

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/or the tutee you learned: During our previous practice of minimal pairs, Je-ah absolutely excelled; she was able to differentiate the words quite easily, and her pronunciation was clear. However, during this lesson, she struggled much more than before. It was an important reminder that even if a student seems proficient at a certain topic, they may have weaknesses that you do not anticipate.


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