Rebecca TP#11

Tutoring Session #11

February 15^th, 2015

14:00-15:00

This afternoon’s session with Hector was culturally focused. Though it was the day after Valentine’s, we talked about the holiday and celebrations in the United States and around the world. I brought some reading materials on this topic that were mainly extensive for Hector’s reading level.

At one point, I explained how it was common for children to give everyone in their class Valentine’s cards or candy in Elementary school (at least when I was little), and Hector found this a little strange. This continued into a discussion on how schools in the US tend to enforce students being generous to each other, even if this does not always make logical sense (i.e. being nice to your bully). I think it was a worthwhile tangent to go on, as it shows a slightly different side to Americans than the level of bluntness expressed by many students from Latin and South America.

During this session, less speaking error correction was addressed than usual. The more relaxed atmosphere allowed Hector to loosen up more than usual, I think. He is always a very serious student. As such, he tends to say less, or be in constant correction when speaking. Today, however, his words flowed much better, and when I would point out an error, he corrected himself without getting flustered.