Matthew TS#1

Tutee: Do-Jun Kim
Date: Friday 8/28/15 9:30-10:30 PM

Going into this tutoring session, I did not know what to expect. I didn't really know his age or anything about him, excluding the fact that he lives in South Korea. From my initial email correspondence, I determined beforehand that his prepared English writing was proficient enough to avoid any grammar mistakes. When the tutoring session started, we initially discussed what topics that he would like dedicate his focus. He told me that he primarily wanted to work on his listening and speaking skills. Secondarily, he would like to work on grammar and vocabulary. I also inquired why he wanted to learn English. He told me that even though he does not use English frequently, when he as to use it, he uses it for a long period of time (1 hour+). This gave further credence to his primary objective of learning speaking and listening.
For the rest of the tutoring session, I deemed it appropriate to have conversations that he might encounter on an every-day basis or with native English speakers. We compared and contrasted South Korean cuisines with American. He told me about the large emphasis on the importance of rice in Korean culture and the stereotype that bread was the equivalent American dish. Initially, he struggled understanding some of my questions but quickly improved when the topic became more familiar to him. I agree with him that his listening skills and speaking skills need the most worth, since it takes him a fair bit of time to process and synthesize the information. I focused on these skills most in the second session.