I met with Daree and Marcos on
Monday, October 21st for tutoring. They happened to be in the foundation grammar class that I
observed that morning. Xiao Wei, the third tutee, had to be out for the day.
These two young men seemed
to be very eager to learn more in their new language. I was very surprised to find that they were not of college
age, but were only 16 and 17 years old.
Since it was our first meeting, I tried to find out as much as I could about
them, although I had learned a little about them in during my class
observation. I noticed that Daree had written in his notebook starting from the
right side, the way he would if writing in Arabic. I then explained to him that westerners’ reading and writing
is the opposite of how it is done in the east. I told him that Chinese is similar to his way of reading and
writing because it, too, starts from the right side. I encouraged him to write
in English in the western way.
Marcos understood a bit more
than Daree in conversation. They
both tried very hard to converse with me, but very often their words were not
in complete sentences. They shared
with me about their countries, families, and food. They shared with me about the length of time they have been
in America and about their current living arrangements. We looked up the statistics in the
little FSU booklet and found that the statistics of 2012 did not have any
student who was from Kuwait. Daree
was glad that next year there would be a number that would represent him and
his friends’ presence on this campus.
Both were limited in their
vocabulary for expressing themselves.
They were looking for words as they described their thoughts. I tried to find out how long they would
stay in America to learn English, but I couldn’t get through to them, even
after a couple of times. They need
help with their listening comprehension.
We went over some new
vocabulary that they had learned during the hour. I encouraged them not to always speak in their native tongue
to friends who were from their country, and to make new friends to have
opportunities for English practice.
I made my own analysis as to
how they might need to improve their skills. They also shared with me what they needed in order to make
progress. We agreed on what we
would work on in the next several tutoring sessions.
I felt for them as they shared
with me what they ate for their meals and how they prepared the food for
themselves. I was a bit surprised that
they do not share any meals or responsibilities in the kitchen with their
housemates. The “mom” in me was
sad for them because they are so far away from home and would have to miss
their mothers’ cooking everyday.
They are just 16 and 17 years old, so I must have put my children in
their shoes as my thoughts went that way.
I was very proud of both of
them and their courage to leave home to pursue what they wanted. In time, with lots of hard work, these
two young men will speak English very well.
It seems to me that it would make sense that Marcos understands a little more in conversation than Daree (assuming that they are at about the same level because they are in the same class together). The reason I say this is because Marcos' first language is Spanish, which grammatically, as I'm sure you (Jodie) already know, has so many similarities and cognates to the English language.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been so strange to watch Daree write from right to left in English! I probably would have done the exact same thing as far as the explanation and the suggestion of writing from left to right in English.
Lastly, I definitely agree that they should try to make new English speaking friends so that they can utilize English as much as they can. However, I definitely do understand the difficulty of forcing yourself to speak in your second language with your friends who have the same native language as you. When I studied in Spain, I was constantly surrounded by Americans. Even though I wanted to practice Spanish as much as possible, the struggles in the conversation would eventually lead up to us talking in English to each other. But hey, practice makes perfect!!
When we studied French in our language school in France, I had a hard time speaking French with English speaking students. It was almost like a game that I hated to play. With the native speakers, my French flowed out more smoothly. I ended up making a lot of French friends in our neighborhood and at the French church that we attended.
DeleteJodie (I don't have my own account)
Jodie, since you learned English as a second language just like them, I'm sure you can empathize with them easily. You can design your lesson plan based on your learning experience.
ReplyDeleteI certainly can. I learned English around their age and it was my 4th language or dialect. I remembered that it was very frustrating not being able to express myself. I will design my lesson plan accordingly.
DeleteJodie (I don't have my own account)
When you do lessons and need examples or topics for writing or conversation, include topics that cause them to interact with and express their emotions, fears, and frustrations of living here alone. That way their practice will be meaningful, and the mother in you will not only address their English needs, but also their practical needs.
ReplyDeleteThat was a good idea! I will.
DeleteJodie (I don't have my own account)