FSU TEFL 120 2026_1

Date/Time: 3/31/2026 Location: CIES Student Lounge Topic/Skill: Fluency, English recall and speaking Feedback provided to the tutee: The meaning of "ate out" in English, and how to convey that you didn't eat, how to pronounce 'dolphin' and 'spectacle' in English,  what 'turning down' means in English, and the past tense of take being 'took'.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Prompting Razak to speak with minor questions for elaboration worked well, as we spent the session discussing his day so far today, as well as yesterday, challenging him to use English vocabulary to speak and convey his meaning. Words shared between French and English tend to trip him up as he uses their French pronunciation when trying to speak in English, so getting him to speak more will help me in more accurately targeting pronunciation issues for correction as well. 

Date/Time: 3/26/26, 4PM Location: Zoom Topic/Skill: Needs assessment, professional speaking Feedback provided to the tutee: For speaking professionally in English: Typically, in English, when speaking professionally: Starting conversation:  Writing: Dear, Greetings, Good day/evening Mr. Smith Speaking: Excuse me, Mr./Doctors/etc. - Avoid slang; shortened versions of words: can not instead can't - Tone - Speak slowly and clearly, keep a light tone, use words like please, thank you, pardon me For professors: Hi professor/Doc - Ask about the last lesson -> bring up something you found interesting from the lesson or something you had a question about. - Then segway question - I'd like to ask you about the class project, I'm having some issues with it. Do you have time to discuss it, or should I email you/come to in during office hours? Doctor My biggest tip: I think about and prepare what I want to say before I approach. How am I going to convey this issue?  Speaking Profess...

Date/Time: 3/24/2026, 12PM Location: CIES Student Lounge Topic/Skill: Movies/TV  Feedback provided to the tutee: Vocabulary and organization in English Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: I prompted Razak to tell me about a show he'd been watching, and while he tried to describe the relationships between characters and what was happening, I created a graphic organizer on the board to help organize and illustrate what he was talking about. It's been a struggle to get Razak to speak and use English, so I coached him on projecting his voice in English and got feedback from Dr. Kennel to use next session to get him to speak more in sessions. 

Date/Time: 3/2/2026, 12PM Location: CIES Student Lounge Topic/Skill: Vocab and fluency  Feedback provided to the tutee: Explained what a vacation is, discussed the concept of ear crackling/popping in English, feedback loops and stress in English, ended the session talking about words that can show up in energy engineering.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Started off session with icebreaker question on what superpower he would like to have, learning that he would want teleportation! I then asked him about the places he wants to visit in the future, as well as asking him about his first time on a plane and first vacation. 

Date/Time: 3/26/2026, 10 AM Location: Zoom Topic/Skill: Directions in English Feedback provided to the tutee: Used this image to demonstrate directions in English as I taught.  Where did we start/where are you: In-between the police station and the bank Where do we want to go: Hospital Directions: 1. Walk straight onto Maple Drive. 2. Once you see the primary school, go right to the alley between the school and the museum. 3. Once you come out of the alley, you'll be on High Street. Go left on High Street until you see the hospital.   Instead of: 1. Straight : North 2. Go right: Go East 3. Go left : Go West Go (direction) on (street name/path) until (street name/path/ location) and then you will reach (location). ^ Notes taken during our discussion as I used the map to describe the process of giving directions.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Taught my tutee about 'pointing' while giving directions, explaining how people tend to give direction...

Date/Time: 3/5/2026, 9 AM Location: Zoom Topic/Skill: Cultural discussion, needs analysis, small talk  Feedback provided to the tutee: Gave examples of small talk questions, i.e. What do you do for work?  How are you? etc. The gave him the structure for ending small talk convos: 1. I'm so sorry, I need to go. 2. It was lovely to see/meet you 3. Let's get coffee sometime! Breaking it down into these steps, I then explained the cultural meaning behind them and how it conveys politeness despite typically containing a false promise to meet up later. We then discussed words for describing the weather, differentiating between verb forms, noun forms, and adjective forms for words like rain, clear, cloud, etc. And how it changes depending on the context of the sentence.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Re-did needs assessment with Mr. Kim, taking the time to reorient to help Mr. Kim get the most use out of lessons. He expressed that he wants to focus on lea...

Date/Time: 2/26/2026, 9am Location: Zoom Topic/Skill:  Cultural Discussion Feedback provided to the tutee: Word use, vocabulary in practice and context. Talked about how we use the phrase 'scratched car/banged up car' for damage done to a car from minor to moderate, gave him the word for tow truck in American English (initially called a towing car), interchangeable use of bathroom/toilet in American English and context dependency.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Mr. Kim told me about how his lunar new year went, telling me about damage to his car that led to them taking the train to see his family. He also talked about what he typically does on weekends; taking his wife and daughter to the mall, where his daughter can play in a kids area with other kids. We then talked about the Superbowl, and I showed him some popular Superbowl ads.