Before meeting up with Hyejin today, I was a little worried that I would not be able to offer her anything for her studies in English. I had read a research paper that she wrote for her class, and I was blown away. It was very structured, and I would have never imagined that someone struggling with English wrote it. So I started the session asking her how Koreans wrote, since the Writing across Borders video had made me a little curious. I got the answer I wanted—they usually don’t introduce the topic first, but instead they usually develop background information before delving into a topic.
Perfect, I thought. It was a perfect segue into the essay I picked out for us to cover. Hyejin mentioned wanting to understand American culture better, since culture and language are highly interlinked. I picked out the shortest essay from David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day to cover in our session because he’s one of my favorite humorists, and he employs cultural topics throughout all of his writings. Within the first paragraph, Hyejin was already struggling with comprehension, so we explored each idiom as they surfaced.
The exercise was just right for Hyejin. When we finished, she felt like she had just read a whole new language! Afterwards, we analyzed how this essay differed from her academic prose. He had a theme, but no thesis—and throughout the whole essay he was describing, imagining, and exaggerating. She was amazed at how open he was about certain subjects, and we started talking about the culture shocks she had experienced from the openness of American conversations. It was fun trying to break down American behavior for her—because we’re all still such a puzzle in her mind!
Before leaving, I gave her a writing assignment. I want her to write one scene of her life in the most descriptive way possible, employing all five of the senses. I told her to keep in mind one thing: “SHOW, don’t tell.” I want to feel like I’m being shown an interactive picture, I explained. It may be difficult for her to complete, but I’m interested to see what she comes up with for next week!
David Sedaris-- What a great choice for illustrating a completely different English writing style than she's used to! I also really like the phrase, "Show, don't tell". I might have to borrow that one!
ReplyDeleteI think she can benefit from developing her writing to be more descriptive. This is often the case for the students, and I hope your approach works for her! I wonder how much she really comprehended from the story. Sedaris often requires a lot of background knowledge to get. What do you think?
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