Emily TS #1

Date/Time: Thursday, 16 March 2017 at 10 AM

Location: Skype

Topic/Skill: Today I met with my adult tutee for the first time. Dojun is a 38 year old air traffic controller living in Seoul, South Korea. This first session was primarily an evaluation of Dojun’s skills and his personal strengths, weaknesses, and goals. We discussed his prior history with English language, such as learning for six years in middle and high school, and what level he felt he was currently speaking. Dojun admitted that his prior English education focused mostly on reading and grammar, as Professor Kim warned us about South Korean schools, and had difficulty listening and speaking. Dojun stated that he had problems listening to English speakers primarily because of their speed and also because when he hears a new vocabulary word he focuses wholly on trying to figure it out and not the rest of the sentence. Dojun reminded me very much of my conversation partner in that both have an advanced knowledge of the grammar and mechanics of English, but struggle with finding, or even knowing, the right English vocabulary to express their thought. Throughout our first meeting I asked Dojun about his interests and what learning style worked best for him. I hope to use topics that engage him throughout our sessions together and create a learning environment that makes English more than a necessity. Dojun is very motivated and I told him a great way to focus on his listening skills outside of our sessions would be to watch American comedy shows or movies that have rapid dialogue; he would challenge his listening skills while learning about American culture at the same time.