KellyMichael CP#6

After our tutoring session, Hammoud had two friends also from Kuwait stop by his apartment. Saud has just finished the CIES program and is returning to Kuwait briefly before continuing college in Alabama. Ali just arrived in the US, and is starting the CIES program. Ali's English is very limited, so I made certain I was speaking slowly and clearly for him to understand. In contrast, Saud seemed well practiced and very willing to talk. There were a few times Ali reverted to speaking Arabic. Hammoud and Saud both corrected him to "only speak in English" in order for him to receive practice time in a casual atmosphere. This was refreshing to see, and I know their teachers would be proud to hear how well Saud spoke of his experience at CIES. It was also motivational for me to hear how much he benefited from CIES and why it was important for him to learn English. We spoke about their plans to become engineers. Saud and Hammoud want to become electrical engineers, and Ali wants to be a civil engineer. We spoke about Tallahassee, and I made sure Ali knew I would be happy to tutor him or assist in any way transitioning to a new culture. It was a great conversation, and I think all parties involved benefited from the interaction.