Kate CP#5

Date/Time: August 2, 2017; 12:00pm
Location: Chick-fil-A
Topics discussed: The solar eclipse, other friends, life plans
Cultural and/or linguistic topics you and your partner learned: Mubarak and I met for lunch with some other friends and students from CIES, as well as the instructor Angel. We talked about the upcoming solar eclipse, and did some investigating into whether or not looking at it would actually make you go blind. Mubarak was willing to bet $100 that it wouldn't, but Angel wasn't so confident. I got to know Angel and the other students better as well, and we talked about where we were from and what we wanted to do in the future. We had a fun time eating together, talking about random things, and teasing each other.

Ken CP #6 Eduardo

Eduardo and I met today in the CIES lounge. It had been some time since I had interacted with him. I am always meeting with his wife so he, jokingly, said that I had abandoned him.
We have been trying to get together for several weeks but something always seemed to come up.

I sat in on Eduardo explaining to Gabby, Basil, and Assad how to hit on Brazilian women. He encouraged  men to be very direct and to the point when flirting with women, and even said it is okay to tease women that you first met. Gabby did not agree.

It was very entertaining to sit in on the conversation as everyone was laughing comparing what they think is the best way to approach someone on a first date.

Unfortunately, Eduardo had to leave early because he had forgotten that he had to meet Mardioli's conversation partner today. Instead of leaving however, Gabby approached me and wanted to practice her english by having a conversation about the United States.

I obliged her and so began my first tutoring session with her.

Ken TS #7 Gabby

Today, I met with Gabby for a tutoring session. Gabby is (like Eduardo and Mardioli) from Brazil. At the age of 18, she is one of the youngest people in the CIES program. She approached in the CIES study room wanting to know more about American culture, in particular, about my thoughts about President Trump. I used this as an opportunity to allow her to practice speaking in a way that would allow her to express her own ideas.

I expressed how I felt about President Trump and then asked her several questions about the Brazilian political system and her opinions on it. She said she was having difficulty discussing it in english, but I encouraged her not to worry about making mistakes and that I would confirm with her if her message got across.

Ultimately, we spoke for an hour back and fourth about a variety of topics including the American prison justice system, Brazilian opinions on American values and people, world history, and the power of media to name a few.

Gabby said that I had opened her eyes to many issues within the United States and I told her she enlightened me to the Brazilian world view.

Corbin Ryan: Conversation Partner Meeting #4 with Mohammed AND Naief

            I met with Mohammed, Naief, as well some other Kuwaiti CIES students at Café Shisha. I’m no stranger to hookah myself, but I held off from any since I wasn’t feeling so well. The seven of us sat in a circle on the floor together and just chatted and talked, smoking, drinking coffee. It was a very relaxed experience. I felt that there wasn’t so much social pressure; there is a lot more to talk about in a group rather than when it’s just two of us having a conversation. After showing off the few Arabic words that I know, the group immediately taught me some swear words in their language, which they found to be very entertaining.

            Angel Rios was there as well, and because he was there, I realized that this hookah session wasn’t just a hookah session at face-value; it was very much an opportunity for these students to feel more relaxed to practice English as a communication skill. Not only that, Angel is building relationships and trust with his students, who will definitely learn more in the classroom (not to mention what they learn outside the classroom) much more effectively. With two native English speakers there, the vast majority of the conversation we all shared was in English. From what I noticed, very little Arabic was spoken between that group of friends that evening.

            I would be very wise to take the same kind of opportunity with my future students, to meet with a group of them outside the class for a group activity that they all are comfortable with and enjoy, all while practicing English conversation. Of course, I must learn and keep in mind the appropriate ways of interacting with students inside and outside the classroom, depending on which country I plan to teach in.   

Ken CP #5 Camilo

Today, I helped Camilo find an apartment to sublease. His lease at his current apartment expires in 1 week and he asked me to help him to find a decent apartment at a good price. I left CIES class early to do exactly that.

He met with the apartment owner, and only needed me to field a few questions. The apartment was unfortunately not what he was looking for, so he decided to move on from that.

I helped him search for more apartments, but most subleasers are only subleasing until July 2018, not December 2017 which is what Camilo is looking for.

I told him I would call around tomorrow to see if I could find something that is within his criteria

Corbin Ryan: Conversation Partner Meeting #3 with Naief

            I met with Naief last Monday evening. I met him at his apartment and then we went to Olive Garden together. Apparently, that’s his favorite restaurant after the Indian restaurant within the same shopping center.

            Naief first came to Tallahassee last October to study English at CIES and then returned to Kuwait the following December. He came back to study at CIES in January of this year, so he has been here in the United States for about seven months. His speaking and listening abilities are at a noticeably higher level than other CIES students who I have interacted with, and there is no doubt that this is because he has had a lot more practice and exposure to our language. Actually, Naief lives with my other conversation partner, Mohammed, who has only lived here in Tallahassee for the past five weeks. The two have become good friends.  

There were only one or two instances where he was confused about a question I asked or an idea that I shared. For example, he had to ask what I meant when I asked him about the most major differences he noticed between Kuwait and the United States. Once he understood the question, though, he told me his observation that students have a lot more freedom in choosing their studies. Naief said that in Kuwait, a student is required to commit to their major with the government, because they want to make sure that they will have enough students who major in the sciences, mostly. I must be conscious of these differences when teaching my students in the future, wherever I go.    

Annie TS #4

I met with Hani on Wednesday the 19th at the Sweet Shop. We discussed an essay he had written in class. There were many errors but I focused more on content and whether he managed to communicate his main points in an organized manner. Then we went over a summary he wrote over an article that he read at home. Reading is very difficult for him, so it's very time consuming for him to read and summarize. We then read an article together but I think I picked one that was too difficult and he struggled. I asked comprehension questions and directed the reading, but he didn't really understand the reading. I took note of my mistake and have been choosing more level appropriate materials.