FSU TEFL 120 Spring 1 2022

  TS Blogs: #9 Date/Time : 01.31.2022 from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Location : Zoom Topic/Skill : In this lesson we worked on pronunciation and listening comprehension.   Feedback provided to tutee : The tutee worked on particular words he had a very hard time pronouncing, allowing me to provide feedback on how to correctly pronounce the words through bringing up more common words that had similar sounds. Additionally, the tutee watched a Friends clip with no subtitles on and then completed listening comprehension classes. During this activity I noted the vocabulary words the tutee had a hard time with and then guided him in using context clues to help determine the definition. In the listening comprehension questions, if the tutee could not recall the answer I would go back to clips that contained the answer and try to guide the tutee in the right direction.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned : Even if students write down their vocabulary words and...

  TS Blogs: #8   Date/Time : 01.31.2022 at 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Location : Landis Green Topic/Skill : The focus skill on this lesson was common idioms in the English language, including when and how to use them in a sentence.  Feedback provided to tutee : The tutee needed help in translating idioms and understanding when was appropriate to use them in a sentence, as many idioms have a very specific usage. After defining the idioms, the tutee came up with their own examples. In this portion, there was opportunity for a lot of feedback considering we could hone in on precise examples and usage, while encouraging the tutee to place the idioms into his long term memory.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned : Once students reach an advanced level, they face the challenge of how to continue to improve their English. This tutee is very advanced and we have to focus beyond the skills taught to my other tutees, and instead focus more on how to communicate ...

  TS Blogs #7 Date/Time: 01.28.2022 at 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Location: The Hecht House Topic/Skill: In this session we worked on reading comprehension and idioms.  Feedback provided to tutee: In this lesson the tutee and I read through a sitcom transcript as a way of practicing reading out loud, but more importantly highlighting the idioms and words that do not directly translate into the tutee’s native language. Then, I provided the tutee with the multiple definitions the words/ phrases can have based on different contexts and examples on how to use them in a sentence. In addition, the tutee and I discussed different social contexts and how to react “normally” in them, for example like ordering food at an American restaurant.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: In this lesson I learned that sometimes the most learning can come from the conversations not planned in a lesson. While I was tutoring this tutee, whenever we would have a conversation just ...

  TS Blogs #6 Date/Time: 01.24.2022 at 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Location: Strozier Library  Topic/Skill: In this session, we worked on reading comprehension and pronunciation.  Feedback provided to tutee: This tutee was very adamant about wanting to better his pronunciation skills and reading comprehension. We worked on both of these aspects by reading through a Friends transcript where I provided feedback on the pronunciation errors and provided the tutee with definitions and examples on unknown words or phrases. This exercise allowed the tutee to focus on pronunciation, while still being challenged to better their reading comprehension and piece it all together by watching the Friends clip in the end.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: I learned with this session the importance of a fun and comfortable environment on one’s learning capability. Compared to the previous session that was not as engaging as this one, the tutee was much more motivat...

  TS Blogs #5 Date/Time: 01.24.2022 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Location: The Sweet Shop Topic/Skill: In this session, we worked on composition and grammar with a focus on professional writing Feedback provided to tutee: This tutee is very well spoken in English speaking and writing, however writing in a professional manner is something that they had no previous experience with. Improving on the skills the tutee already had, I provided feedback on how to write in a professional manner when applying to jobs or emailing a supervisor. Together, we worked on creating a template based on his experiences and skills that he could send to any potential job opportunity.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: This lesson demonstrated to me how even with an extremely advanced knowledge of the English language, there are so many different lessons that are not taught within most schools, in this example, professional writing. However, within my interactions with this tute...

Date/Time:  January 30th, 2022 from 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM Location:  Zoom Topic/Skill:  writing, to vs with Feedback provided to tutee:  The tutee and I reviewed the last of a writing assignment. In so doing, I realized that the tutee struggled a lot with using "to" and "with". We went over their concepts/definitions and I had the tutee make examples modeled after my own examples. By the end of the session, while he understood better he still struggled with them so we agreed to go over them more next time, as well as work on articles in general.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned:  As discussed in class, models are an important part of the teaching process. They have been extremely useful for this tutee, for his English is still very limited. Models allowed me to better explain grammar that needs explaining, and also made it easier for the tutee to provide me with his own original sentences.

  Date/Time:  January 29th, 2022 from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM Location:  Zoom Topic/Skill:  Present tense, verb conjugation, and present continuous tense Feedback provided to tutee:  The tutee and I went over a writing assignment I had given to him the week before. The tutee seems to still be struggling primarily with verb conjugation. They default to the infinitive in most sentences, or mix tenses and verbs (ie. "I am shower" instead of "I shower" or "I am showering"). Some of their sentences, as a result, are incomprehensible. The tutee was instructed to pay close attention to these mistakes, and given a grammar lesson. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned:  A lesson I seem to still be learning every tutoring session is how to ask questions in the correct way. This particular tutee's english is very limited, so questions often have to be asked in simpler terms a second or third time. I think I also need to work on speaking slower. 

Date/Time:  January 26th, 2022 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM Location:  FSU Campus Topic/Skill:  Gerunds and Infinitives Feedback provided to tutee:  The tutee, since our last session, had become confused on when to use gerunds and when to use infinitives. Luckily, we just went over this in class ourselves. I gave them a full lesson, explaining the general rules of when to use which with examples. I then had the tutee try to write his own examples and corrected those as needed. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned:  Carrying around my own notes was extremely helpful. I had brought them to the session by complete accident, but I think that going forward I will bring them with me intentionally. Even if I know what i am talking about, the lesson is a lot more concise and clear if I can read off of my own notes that are explicitly about grammar, and not just my outline for the lesson.

Date/Time:  January 24th, 2022 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM Location:  FSU Campus Topic/Skill:  Gerunds and how to use them in a sentence Feedback provided to tutee:  The tutee required help in understanding when to use gerunds, and how they can be used as subjects or as part of adjective clauses. We reviewed the examples from his textbook, then I had the tutee try to write his own examples. Close attention to grammar was paid, because the tutee seemed to have a fine grasp of vocabulary and was simply confused about when it was best to use gerunds as opposed to saying the same message a different way. But I did notice the tutee becoming a little overly concerned with formal/academic versus casual speech, as this is the second time he has asked about it in a tutoring session even when not relevant. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned:  Students are more than understanding when you don't know the exact answer to a question, but it is also helpful to w...

Date/Time:  January 23rd, 2022 from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM Location:  Zoom Topic/Skill:  Reading comprehension and writing skills Feedback provided to tutee:  There was some technical difficulties during this tutoring session but I was able to help the tutee with reading comprehension regardless. I had the tutee read a short passage to me out loud. His accent is still very strong and he required help with pronunciation, particularly where "ed" words are concerned. But he understood the passage well. To double check for comprehension, I had him summarize the passage. We are still working on correcting the issue of extra words in sentences and the occasional mixing of tenses. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned:  Technical difficulties are more common than you might think and it is important to be flexible. I find that I am really enjoying the online set up, however, to quickly demonstrate grammar points compared to having to take up time writing ou...

  TS Blog #4 Date/Time: -01/21/2022 at 2:15 p.m. Location: Hecht House Topic/Skill: This was the first time I had met with this tutee, so the main focus was on getting to know one another better to make our tutoring environment a comfortable one where we can both speak confidently. The tutoring session included assessment and diagnosis on the tutees skills in order to move forward with effective lesson plans that pertained to the tutees goals and learning styles. This allowed for feedback regarding American culture and to provide answers to questions regarding why Americans do things a certain way and where our culture stems from.   Feedback provided to tutee: I gave lots of feedback to the tutee on better vocabulary to use in certain scenarios and what the proper grammar of a sentence should be. We also had a lot of discussion about the differences in cultures between America and the tutee’s host culture in China.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learn...

Date/Time:  January 22nd, 2022 from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM Location:  Just outside Strozier Library Topic/Skill:  Simple present tense with a focus on writing skills Feedback provided to tutee:  The tutee seems to struggle with basic conjugation and, similar to a different tutee of mine, likes to put extra but unnecessary words in his sentences. Time was spent explaining that while those extra words may make sense in his native language, especially in the order they were written, it confuses your message in English. I worked closely with the tutee, going sentence-by-sentence to try to explain that very thing to him. We also spent some time on grammar, since he seemed to be mixing up tenses when he intended to only use present tense. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned:  Encouraging a student to focus on the message of their words is important, but it seems that many will stress grammar no matter what you do and some would rather hear the correct a...

Date/Time:  January 20th, 2022 from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM Location:  Zoom Call Topic/Skill:  Beginner Vocabulary & The Alphabet Feedback provided to tutee:  The tutee expressed that he had very little skill with being able to read in English so we reviewed the English alphabet before moving on to basic vocabulary. This tutee is still very shy to speak in English, and since I speak very little of his native language the lesson was slow. All materials were provided for him over the zoom chat, so that he could look over it on his own as well since he did not seem either able or willing to ask questions or tell me to slow down. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned:  Lesson preparation is important and nothing illustrated this more thoroughly than this particular tutoring session. I only figured this out after the fact, but I learned that I definitely need to work on going slower for students who are beginners. I had somewhat grown accustomed to the...

Date/Time:  2:00 PM - 2:50 PM, January 20th, 2022 Topic/Skill:  Listening Teacher Presentation:  Felicia Ciappetta Classroom Management : There were just a few students in class. Students were sectioned off into groups of two (plus myself in one of them) for the classroom activities. Materials:  Textbook, a computer, and speakers. Student  Participation:  After listening to a prepared recording of several people speaking, students got into groups to answer questions about the audio. They would discuss their answers together, and reason with each other as to what the correct answer was. After this, the instructor would call on students at random to present their answer to the questions in the textbook. Feedback Provided:  The instructor listened to the way the students were struggling and replayed the audio multiple times for them. Feedback provided to the students was mostly based around pronunciation. Students were asked to repeat words that they said...

  TS Blogs #3 Date/Time: 01/19/2022 at 5:15 p.m. Location : Zoom Topic/Skill: This tutoring session was the first tutoring session with this tutee, so this session served as a diagnostic for the rest of the session. The main goal of this session was to get to know the tutee and create a comfortable environment where the tutee feels confident speaking in English. We set goals and planned out what we needed to work on throughout the session.   Feedback provided to tutee: The feedback provided to the tutee throughout this session mainly was surrounding his goals, considering how to make them more attainable and specific. Additionally, I provided feedback regarding syntax and grammar in sentences that the tutee struggled with.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: I learned that even with each group classification of EFL students, there will be major differences in their strengths and weaknesses. This tutee was such an incredible English speaker and li...

  TS Blogs #2 Date/Time: 01/19/2022 at 3:00 p.m. Location: Zoom Topic/Skill: This tutoring session integrated listening skills, production and vocabulary. The tutee did this by watching Friends clips, answering questions about it, defining the advanced vocabulary and idiom phrases, and then producing their own sentences with the advanced vocabulary.  Feedback provided to tutee: I provided feedback to the tutee with each answer to the comprehensive questions from the Friends clip, ensuring he truly understood the English in the show and could discuss his thoughts. Additionally, while we were reviewing the advanced vocabulary and creating our own sentences, I provided feedback on grammar and vocabulary in his examples. Finally, in our casual conversation I helped him with anything he struggled with or did not know the correct grammar.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: This session taught me how crucial positive feelings are in the process of learnin...

Date/Time:  January 19th, 2022 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM Location:  FSU Campus Subway Topic/Skill:  Using infinitives as the subject of a sentence and the adjective of a sentence. Feedback provided to tutee:  The tutee and I looked at example sentences for the topic and broke down each part of the sentence. I was trying to explain, to the best of my ability, why infinitives were being used and what similar meaning those examples might have to other English sentences. The tutee was best at using infinitives as adjectives (ie. the record to beat is 18 ft) but still left the session with a better understanding in general than at the start. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: I am getting better at explicit explanations. What has been working for me is writing out examples for the tutee, and going back over this examples in another color pen to point out each part of the sentence then follow up with a cultural explanation, if its relevant. I feel that I ...

  Date/Time:  9:00 AM - 9:50 AM, January 18th, 2022 Topic/Skill:  Writing Teacher Presentation:  Dr. Patrick Kennell Classroom Management : The class was small and sat around a group of desks centered in the middle of the classroom. Materials: Whiteboard and paper for the students. Student  Participation:  The majority of student participation was through a solo activity. Students had time to begin outlining an essay in-class, by hand on paper. Before this, students were subject to a lecture about outlining essays. Students were asked to define terms when the instructor wanted to check for comprehension. Said terms were relevant vocabulary. Feedback Provided:  The instructor helped students define words they were unfamiliar with. He also walked around the classroom as the students each worked on their outlines. He stopped to make sure everyone was on-task. He re-explained concepts/parts of the outline as needed. Some students seemed to have trouble thi...

  TS Blog #1 Date/Time : 10/12/2022 Location: Zoom Topic/Skill: This tutoring session served as an assessment and diagnostic for the rest of the session with the tutee considering it was our first session in the semester. The majority included getting to know one another, discussing what areas the tutee wanted to improve in, and setting goals for the session together.  Feedback provided to tutee: I provided feedback to Bruce after certain sentences he struggled to get his thoughts out by providing different words he could use and explaining them and corrected his grammar on sentences where he was not sure. I did this by repeating it back to him the correct way of asking a question so he would restate the sentence correctly. Additionally, I provided feedback on his goals and how to make them more precise for his learning needs based upon our conversation.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: When working with Bruce, he mentioned that Americans are oft...

  CO #3 Blog Date/Time: 01/12/2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. with Dr. Angel Rios.  Topic/Skill: This class reviewed the present perfect continuous and the future continuous verb tenses.  Teacher Presentation : Dr. Angel Rios was very animated and approachable in the classroom. He expressively displayed different examples and the impact of tone. He also told personal anecdotes which made the class feel close to him and comfortable sharing their own stories.  Classroom Management: The class was very comfortable and confident in the classroom, considering there was music playing, candy provided, and it was a very relaxing environment. The students were encouraged to participate in the classroom and engaged with the teacher and one another in the activities given.  Materials : Classroom, computer and projector, speaker, personal laptops or access to textbook,  Student Participation: The students worked in groups of two to come up with two sentences, each...

Date/Time: This class observation was on January 11, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. Topic/Skill: The skill reviewed in this class was the usage of the simple present tense to discuss daily routines.  Teacher Presentation: Considering there was only one student in the class, the teacher sat facing him and spoke directly to the one student. He spoke slowly, used lots of hand motions, and provided lots of examples. The teacher presented through a powerpoint presentation with different questions and information and explained with simple, yet effective explanations.  Classroom Management: Regardless of the class being a speaking class with only one student that could have had a lot of pressure, Mr. Fleming conducted the classroom in an encouraging manner that made students know it was ok to make mistakes, yet he would guide them through them and make them better. The classroom was a very motivating environment that still focused on helping the students learn effectively.  Materials: The ma...

Date/Time:  January 15th, 2022 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM Location:  Strozier Library Topic/Skill:  Present perfect tense and the present perfect continuous tense Feedback provided to tutee:  The tutee and I practiced writing in the present perfect tense. We did free writing then reviewed the content the tutee wrote together. He often got the present perfect tense confused with the present perfect continuous, so the difference between these was emphasized through examples and further writing. I advised that he continued to practice writing after our session. I also advised he keep an eye out for extraneous words. The tutee has a habit of adding extra words to sentences when it is not necessary. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned:  Having activities pre-planned for tutoring makes the sessions go by much smoother. Even if you don't necessarily run the activity, it is nice to have examples and sample questions ready to go at a moment's notice. I do ...

Date/Time:  January 14th, 2022 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM Location:  CIES Conference Room Topic/Skill:  Introductory but the tutee and I did practice some writing skills as well. Feedback provided to tutee:  The tutee and I discussed what he had been studying in class and what he does outside of class for English practice. The tutee has already taken charge of learning extra vocabulary on his own, which I encouraged he continue to do. As we spoke it seemed that he wanted to work especially on writing so I reviewed some of his composition activities with him. When next we meet, we agreed to write something together and go through the mistakes. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned:  An hour of tutoring sounds very short. During class observations, it does feel very short. But filling the whole time in one-on-one sessions feels slower and more difficult. I learned that I have to prepare more material, potentially, for tutoring sessions than I would in...

Date/Time:  January 13th, 2022 from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM Location:  Zoom Topic/Skill:  Introductory Feedback provided to tutee:  Speaking with the tutee was difficult. He was shy about speaking out loud, and slow to respond to written messages in the chat regardless of whether they were in English or his native language. There was an attempt to encourage the tutee to speak in English, letting them know that it is okay to make mistakes because I was there to help and not admonish him. This met with very little success. He spoke very minimally and mumbled into his microphone, making him unintelligible not because his English was poor but because hearing quality was poor. When the session ended, it was with the promise to try to practice teaching and vocabulary again the following week. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned:  Getting such a shy student was a shock. I know some people are embarrassed about their language ability. I certainly was in for...

Date/Time:  1:00 PM - 1:50 PM, January 13th, 2022 Topic/Skill:  Composition Teacher Presentation:  Dr. Angel Rios Classroom Management : The class was well-behaved. Unlike my observations before this one, students mostly spent time doing solo work and so were not split into groups. Materials:  Projector and computer, textbook, internet. Student  Participation:  Students were mostly present for a lecture. The instructor had begun to teach how to outline and put together a timed presentation. Students were given time to research topics for their presentation in-class, but this was a solo activity. All students came up with a topic that was then approved by the instructor. The rest of class was spent researching and taking notes on how to give a good presentation. Feedback Provided:  Because this was a lecture-focused class, I did not have the opportunity to see a substantial amount of feedback provided to the students on their English. There was a small ...

Date/Time: January 12th, 2022 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM Location: Strozier Library Topic/Skill:  Introductory, though we spoke a bit about the present continuous tense. Feedback provided to tutee: Feedback was mostly conversationally based. Tutee needed tense corrections. For example, he said his sister "gived" birth instead of that she "gave" birth. He admitted that specifically the present continuous tense was giving him trouble and I noted that he didn't use it in speech. It is also worth noting, however, that the present continuous tense would not have been relevant in the conversation. Nonetheless, it's a topic we decided to visit in the future. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: The way in which students seem to approach tutoring is entirely different from the way students approach a class. Of course, this was only my first time tutoring and I know that each student will be different. But it seemed to be that the tutee treated the ...

Date/Time:  10:00 AM - 10:50 AM, January 12th, 2022 Topic/Skill:  Grammar Teacher Presentation:  Felicia Ciappetta Classroom Management : Similar to my previous observation, the class did not need to be managed. Everyone was respectful. One student logged in via zoom, so there were some moments taken to organize the lesson so that the online student could participate in the activities. Materials:  Projector and computer, zoom Student  Participation:  Class-time was entirely made up of activities that required students to speak to each other. They were going over what appeared to be either homework or an activity from a previous lecture in pairs. Their goal was to correct the beautiful mistakes that were made previously. The second activity organized the students into pairs. Together, they created a fake vacation itinerary which was read aloud to the class upon completion. The itinerary was to practice the future continuous tense.  Feedback Provide...

Date/Time: 11:00 AM - 11:50 AM, January 11th, 2022 Topic/Skill: Reading Teacher Presentation: Dr. Patrick Kennell Classroom Management : The class was generally quiet and did not need much management. Students needed encouragement to speak with each other during activities, but were otherwise respectful of the classroom and the instructor. Materials: Projector and computer, textbook, FSU newspaper. Student  Participation: Students read a passage out of their textbook individually. After reading this, they were paired off with each other to discuss the passage. The instructor would regularly walk around the room, monitoring the discussions and answering questions when asked. Some students were more shy than others and needed help finding a partner but, in general, everyone was a little talkative.  Feedback Provided: The instructor spent a lot of time emphasizing the importance of reading, and encouraging students to find something they can tolerate reading even if they do...

  This class observation took place on January 10, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. with Ryan Flemming. Mr. Flemming reviewed the correct use and definition of the adverbs always, usually, sometimes,  rarely, seldom and never. Additionally, Mr. Flemming reviewed the correct usage of simple present with an interactive activity. The classroom was managed in an extremely encouraging manner that made students feel comfortable speaking in English, answering questions, and not too scared to make a mistake. Mr. Flemming spoke slowly, performative, and used lots of examples that made him easy to understand. The materials were a handout that asked students how often they did certain activities to practice their use of adverbs and a worksheet that asked students to list three people they knew well and write down four things that each of them did in a random order  in the simple present, for example “ reads every morning.” The students participated in each of the activities on their own, and then...