During our session, I asked him what he remembers about prepositions and articles to make sure he retained what we learned last time. He answered all of my questions correctly, so I'm happy to know that what I taught him stayed with him.
I asked him if he had any questions about prepositions and he told me that he prepared a list of questions that he had.
We then went over describing the placement of objects, such as "before and after", "in front of, behind, next to..." etc, because he was unsure of how to describe something that he saw on an advertisement and ask for its meaning. Since he's a pretty visual person, I drew him pictures and explained situations in which different terms were used. He seemed to understand everything better from them.
He then gave me his little notebook of colloquial expressions that he wrote down from watching The Simpsons, and asked what their exact meaning is, which situations can they be utilized in, and whether or not they are commonly used. I never realized how many expressions we have in the English language that make no sense when directly translated to other languages, such as Russian or even Spanish. So when attempting to explain the meaning of them, I tried to substitute the words of the expression into other, more simpler terms and link them to a common situation for better understanding.
It does feel good too realize you have taught someone something. Good job ! It is funny that he watched the Simpsons and took notes. Expressions from that type of show are sometimes hard to explain but there are lots of examples to use and practice.
ReplyDeleteI would have difficulty explaining The Simpson's. The students are so challenging and I enjoy their enthusiasm. Sounds like you two cover a lot of information.
ReplyDeleteYeah I was surprised that he did too, Katie, it was very interesting how he is into the American cartoons and movies, it says it helps him learn colloquial English better since he has time to write it down, hear it being pronounced, and look over it at a later time, something that cannot be as easily done in a regular conversation.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures with placement of objects. That can be hard to explain without pictures.
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