Kate TS#16

(Dojun)
Date/Time: August 24th, 2017; 8:00am
Location: Skype
Topic/Skill: Conversation Skills,Vocabulary, Grammar Structures
Feedback provided to tutee: In today's session, Dojun and I worked on expanding vocabulary and reusing some words/phrases that I had introduced in the past. One of the more interesting things I got to explain was the connotative difference between "traveling" and "tourism" (as well as what "connotation" and "denotation" mean).
Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Today I learned how hard it can be to explain the connotation of certain words/phrases, as so much of that seems instinctual and difficult to put into words. Overall/throughout these tutoring sessions, I've learned some very important lessons, but I think the most important are: 1) Time management-- not just using time wisely during the session, but using time wisely beforehand to make sure that you are prepared and ready for any technical issues that may arise (especially when tutoring over Skype), 2) Be encouraging enough to facilitate conversation, but don't be afraid to be the bad guy/annoyingly persistent-- in the end, the tutee will benefit more from this, and 3) Know what you're talking about-- you can't "you know" your way out of an explanation when teaching English.