This evening, I met with my adult tutees at the Grandmarc apartments. I am tutoring Mohammed and Hamed, from the same class, in a joint session. I talked for Mohammed for a short bit while we waited for Hamed to join us, and asked him about why he is studying English, what he likes, and so on. He surprised me when he said he likes vocabulary best--I think I will try to make a new vocab list each week. When Hamed arrived, I asked him the same questions, although I was definitely surprised by Hamed's speaking skill. Mohammed's English is good, but Hamed speaks with much more confidence and fluidity. I learned that they both are from Kuwait, directly out of high school. Mohammed loves soccer and American action movies, so I want to incorporate sports or film into my lessons, and Hamed is interested in everything about American culture. I want to also try to learn a bit of Business English myself, so I can try and teach Hamed some vocabulary, as he plans to study Business in Philadelphia after graduating from CIES. We talked for a little while about accents and England; I learned that British English is the standard taught in Kuwait. Both of my tutees have been learning English for 12 years, which truly shocked me.
Hamed and Mohammed have a great grasp on English grammar, so I do not think we need to review too much of the basics; instead we will focus on grammar-in-context, writing, and speaking. I plan to have them both write a short essay at the beginning of each session and then switch and read the other's out loud, so that they can practice speaking as well as learn proofreading skills. They both truly have a desire to learn English, and I want to help them in any way possible.
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