Kim TS #9

I met with my adult tutee, Modibo, in our usual spot in the CIES listening lab on Thursday, April 6 at 12 pm. At the end of our last meeting I asked Modibo if there was anything he was struggling with in his classes or if there was anything that I could help him with in our next tutoring session. He told me that although it may be very elementary, he was hoping I could supply him with a lesson that helped him learn the various items found in a kitchen, a room, and an office. He said "for example, a chair, a desk, and kitchen tools." He told me that when he came to CIES in January he placed in Level 3 and was in classes that were too advanced to learn some of the more everyday words. However, he told me it has been so long since he learned those words in school that he'd forgotten a lot of them and he wanted a review. So, I went to the public library and picked up a copy of Arthur's Really Helpful Word Book. Inside the book are everyday words that are found in various environments ranging from the zoo to an office. It's a bit of a vocabulary overload. While at the library I looked at the version printed in French and my head nearly exploded. Luckily, Modibo knew most of the words already and just needed to be reminded of some words he had forgotten. We talked about words such as 'telephone' and discussed how Americans love to shorten language whenever they can, so although telephone is the full name for the object, most people just refer to it as a 'phone'. I also explained to him the difference between a stove and an oven, or rather the different elements of a stove - the range vs the oven. We spent the entire meeting looking through the book and talking about any words that were new or unfamiliar. There were a couple animals he had never heard of (fox, raccoon) and some food he hadn't been introduced to yet (beets, radishes).