Larry+Bohne-+Tutoring+Response

This is where I am going to leave my tutoring responses.

11/20- We are able to help the international students with their portfolios. It is interesting to see their collection of writing- especially since most of it was done out side our our instruction. A portion of me wishes that we could have been more involved in their writing process. Some of there papers need a lot of work, and if we could have stepped in earlier in the writing process then I feel even greater progress could have been made. Further, they would have learned additional pre-writing and revision techniques that are vital to doing will in an academic situation. That said, their progress is still apparent. I conducted similar strategies to what I had done previously by having them read it out loud and them have me read it to them. It seems as they read it, they found issues with format and cohesion. They were able, I feel, to make their papers flow better. Wen I read it, they were able to pick out some of the "accent" issues: missed articles, overuse of pronouns, etc. It seems they have learned to understand English as it is spoken to them, but their reading and especially writing do not connect. How do you bridge that gap?

11/13- Today we go to work with the international students on clauses. I have found that many native English speakers despise learning grammar, perhaps it is from poor instruction in primary and secondary schools. The ELLs were very involved and seemed to react positively to the grammar lesson. Perhaps a part of the enthusiasm is that they were getting it correct. When they could see their success and comprehension, they were more apt to participate.

11/6- We were able to help the ESL students do some of the exercises from their text book. It is great to see their progression and feel that I have had some part in it. Initially I was doubtful of the effect that I would have on the international students. I felt that I did not have enough the to make a difference. But after several weeks of working with them, I have seen improvement. It has been great working with different students, and seeing what each has to offer, and what interests each. It is also neat to be able to work with a student who I had worked with several weeks ago, Hussein, and see he progress that he has made. He really is improving. This is the reason to teach!

10/30- I got to plan the corn maze. That was fun. It was also interesting to see how excited they got. After asking, I learned they do not have anything like it in Saudi Arabia. Memo especially enjoyed it.

10/23- MENG teaching. Logan and I taught about cause and effect. I was concerned at how well they would grasp the concept- although not difficult. Logan had the great idea of using a video to demonstrate and have them guess what was going to happen. It is always nice going back to basics. The ELLs did very well, and by they end they were becoming creative with the possible effects of a cause.

10/16- We only spend a brief time with the ELLs. The MENG students split off to prepare the lesson for next week. Logan and I are working together. I hope it is educational and interesting.

10/9- Today I got to work with Hussein and review some of the work he has completed thus far for 1010. As I have mentioned before, I am struck at the various levels they each are at. Some, I am surprised they passed the ESL program. If I were in their situation, I would be nervous to undertake an academic degree in another language. It is also interesting that many speak much better than they write. I has Hussein read his paper aloud and then I read it a loud as well, and it was interesting to see what he was able to improve upon after that exercise. I wonder how effective it will be with other students.

10/2- No class

9/25- We had the opportunity to discuss the influence of culture on their experience in the US. It is interesting to see how many of them prefer the US to their home country. Many, however, will be going back. Although there are things they like more- such as food, personal expression, etc, they miss their religion, and family.

First two weeks in conversation section.