Erik TP1

This morning was my first tutoring session with Hyejin, who is from South Korea. Before I met her, the volunteer coordinator at the public library made me aware that Hyejin was actually pursuing her PhD at FSU. This kind of blew my mind, because I was supposed to be teaching her English, although she had already been accepted into an English speaking graduate school.

First off, I reviewed the fluency chart that Hyejin had filled out. Most of her English skills fell in the 6-7 range, but there was one category she awarded herself a full-blown 10: shopping. Her speaking needs a little improvement, but her overall comprehension was superb. I read over an excerpt from one of her last research papers—and let me tell you, her revised paper was better than most first drafts I’ve read in my college courses.

Although she understands how to write and formulate a research paper, Hyejin has very little experience in less formal genres. Her writing is very technical, and I asked her if one of her goals was to expand her stylistic approach. She understands and produces English well, despite some missing prepositions and articles here and there. She’s now at a level of developing her written voice, and to manipulate the dynamics of the English language. Also, we’re going to work on the production of the “r” sound.

We came up with an overall plan that would help Hyejin move her English to the next step. I’m going to assign a weekly journal, which I will also respond to, so I can see how she forms scenes and details rather than just a formulaic thesis. We’ll read over them together, and hopefully she’ll find different ways to express her thoughts. I’ll also have her read a fictional book and compare that style to the scientific journals she’s accustomed to. Overall, it was a great first session!