Monday, September 24, 2012
The 2 o'clock Hunger
It's that time of day there are not many students in the writing center and all the tasks of a tutor have been completed. So what I ask is there left to do? Well I answer with read. Now I may be the only one that finds this much down time while at the WLDC in the afternoon, but I have made a nice dent in the books "Drive" and " How to Watch T.V. News". One is a much smoother read than the other, just F.Y.I.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
ESL Tutoring
Under Rosemary's persuasion, I am blogging for the first time in my life and doing it about my experience with ESL tutoring. I honestly don't believe I've accomplished as much as I expect I should have. However, my anxiety about tutoring ESL students has faded.
I have found, in my life experience, that even in a business relationship an element of personal connection makes for a better work environment. So, I approach the encounters as I would with any person I form a relationship with. I connect with them in a personal way. What I feel is beneficial about this approach is that I'm learning about their background. I learn about the languages they have spoken and have been exposed to. I learn about the culture they come from. I learn about what is important to them. I feel this is significant because it is allowing the client to trust me. They don't just see me as another college staff person but as someone who is really interested in their life and their success in it. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all college staff are impersonal, many are just busy and overwhelmed. As a tutor, we have the opportunity to fill in the gap. This applies to any student receiving tutoring services. Yet, more so, it applies to the ESL student.
The anxiety for the ESL client as a learner outweighs the anxiety I have as a tutor. By acknowledging how they must feel, I realize that worrying about being "perfect" is just pointless. We are both going through a learning process. This viewpoint has helped ease up my nerves, which has brought about a more relaxed experience for both the client and me. The fact that they do not see me being anxious helps them to feel more confident in themselves and me. I think that combining the previous approach with this one is working.
Grant it, I do have concerns about my performance. Really though, that's just about refreshing my knowledge regarding the fundamentals about the English language, which I haven't had to think about in years. I am using resources at the WLDC to assist in that. One of those is the green book that Rosemary suggested. Studying the materials between clients is advantageous.
The approaches I have taken are what seem to be successful at this point. It's not technical. My tendecncy is to overcomplicate. I don't know if anyone else does this. But whether you are like me or not in that way, I think it's best to start where I did and move on from there.
I have found, in my life experience, that even in a business relationship an element of personal connection makes for a better work environment. So, I approach the encounters as I would with any person I form a relationship with. I connect with them in a personal way. What I feel is beneficial about this approach is that I'm learning about their background. I learn about the languages they have spoken and have been exposed to. I learn about the culture they come from. I learn about what is important to them. I feel this is significant because it is allowing the client to trust me. They don't just see me as another college staff person but as someone who is really interested in their life and their success in it. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all college staff are impersonal, many are just busy and overwhelmed. As a tutor, we have the opportunity to fill in the gap. This applies to any student receiving tutoring services. Yet, more so, it applies to the ESL student.
The anxiety for the ESL client as a learner outweighs the anxiety I have as a tutor. By acknowledging how they must feel, I realize that worrying about being "perfect" is just pointless. We are both going through a learning process. This viewpoint has helped ease up my nerves, which has brought about a more relaxed experience for both the client and me. The fact that they do not see me being anxious helps them to feel more confident in themselves and me. I think that combining the previous approach with this one is working.
Grant it, I do have concerns about my performance. Really though, that's just about refreshing my knowledge regarding the fundamentals about the English language, which I haven't had to think about in years. I am using resources at the WLDC to assist in that. One of those is the green book that Rosemary suggested. Studying the materials between clients is advantageous.
The approaches I have taken are what seem to be successful at this point. It's not technical. My tendecncy is to overcomplicate. I don't know if anyone else does this. But whether you are like me or not in that way, I think it's best to start where I did and move on from there.
Monday, September 17, 2012
George Orwell
"Political chaos is connected with the decay of
language... one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at
the verbal end."
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Uber-tutor challenge
Work with a student on a piece of his/her writing without reading every sentence in a straight line from start to finish. You may ask the student as many questions as you want.
Are there any disadvantages to doing this? What are they?
Are there any advantages? What are they?
What questions did you ask the student that helped this work (or might help this work next time)?
Will there be a next time?
And last, why in the world would I ask you to try this?
- Read the first paragraph to try to find a thesis.
- STOP reading.
- Only skim subsequent paragraphs, in particular looking for topic sentences.
- Read the last paragraph, in case the thesis got put there.
Are there any disadvantages to doing this? What are they?
Are there any advantages? What are they?
What questions did you ask the student that helped this work (or might help this work next time)?
Will there be a next time?
And last, why in the world would I ask you to try this?
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Welcome to fall semester 2012
You've barely had time to get to know your workplace and a couple of your fellow tutors, and already we're asking you to start blogging!
This blog enables you to read about what other tutors are doing--what worked and what didn't (that time, anyway). You can share frustrations, epiphanies, or successes. Respond to each other with encouragement, empathy, questions, suggestions, or random song lyrics. Not really. No lyrics. Unless they are pertinent.
Really, this blog is what you make of it.
This blog enables you to read about what other tutors are doing--what worked and what didn't (that time, anyway). You can share frustrations, epiphanies, or successes. Respond to each other with encouragement, empathy, questions, suggestions, or random song lyrics. Not really. No lyrics. Unless they are pertinent.
Really, this blog is what you make of it.
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