Claire TS #7

Date/Time: March 29, 12:00-1:00pm
Location: CIES
Topic/Skill: Gerunds vs. infinitives practice games

I met with Ana for the fourth time yesterday along with two other students who are in her Grammar and Speaking classes. Ana asked if we could meet more than once a week sometimes, and I had found some nice games to practice our topic from earlier in the week (gerunds vs. infinitives), so I suggested that she invite a couple of her classmates to play the practice games. They had fun with the games, and the backdrop of competing against one another made the practice a lot more light, fun, and motivated. I was able to be there to be the final judge of whether something was right or not, but they were able to judge one another's answers much of the time and monitor themselves internally. This was awesome because it gave them all extra practice correcting one another and explaining the reason behind their choices, it meant that I didn't have to do the correcting as much myself, and it added legitimacy to the rules and corrections I've been emphasizing so far. I did get to use the whiteboard to explain one concept that they were having difficulty with and provide some example sentences. Most of the activities came out of the Fun With Grammar book, and again I found mid-activity that a few of the questions were quite confusing. I really need to look closely at these materials before using them with Ana in the future so that I can adjust the question or the answer on the materials so that it makes sense and helps build the intended skill effectively. Overall, I thought this method of using small group games and discussion for a tutoring session was very refreshing and beneficial.