Tyler-CP10

Before I left Tallahassee, I managed to meet for lunch with Tugba. We met on Thursday during the CIES lunch hour, and walked to a spot in the shade outside. Tugba gave me some Turkish cookies that she had brought along with her, which were delicious. She asked me what I was going to do when I got my Tefl certificate. I told her my plans (rushed as they were) of moving in with a friend in West Palm Beach and working a part-time job until I could get out of the country. I let her know that I was always available to help her study should she need it. Her plans are to remain in CIES until she passes her TOEFL and gets accepted to study art history.

We talked for awhile more about what we hoped to do and where we hoped to go. I'm glad I got the opportunity to meet some interesting students in the CIES program. I feel like I learned quite a bit from them. At last the time came when the lunch hour was over and I wished Tugba the best of luck in the future. I hope to keep in touch with her and a few other students after I leave Tallahassee. Overall it's been a very good experience in the TEFL program.

Tyler-CP9

Today was Tugba and I's 4th day working and speaking together, and I enjoy our time together. Somehow as conversations often do, ours took a turn in an interesting direction. I don't recall how it began but it eventually lead to religion and philosophy. I found out that she is a Shi'ite, and I asked her how that was different from the other sects of Islam. She explained to me that it was a different way of interpreting the Qu'ran. She then showed me her favorite teacher, who turned out to be a Shi'ite mystic named Rumi. I often enjoy mystical teachers because despite the religions that they represent they all come to the same conclusion, and that is that we are all one.

We watched some of Rumi's videos on youtube, and his general message reminded me of a teacher that I often read and watch; Osho. I showed her one of Osho's videos also because, essentially he says the same thing that Rumi does, only in different words. Afterwards I thanked her for introducing me to new information and for a particularly interesting conversation.

Tyler CP-8

Today after tutoring was over with, Tugba and I got to talking again. Luckily I had my computer with me to aid in our interesting conversation. I began our discussion by asking her about music. Tugba listens to many kinds of music, but especially enjoys folk and classical Turkish music. I pulled up youtube, and asked her to show me a few examples of the music she enjoys. She began by showing me a more traditional folk artist. I then showed her a few songs of my own, ranging from folk to bluegrass. She seemed to like them and even wrote a few down. She then showed me a few more, including one that I really enjoyed. Hayko Çepkin, is a kind of gothic Turkish rock singer, whom I quite enjoyed. To be honest, I was surprised (as I often am by foreign music) at how much I enjoyed it. All-in-all, it was a great conversation, and I feel that I learned quite a bit, and I hope that she did also.

Tyler-CP7

Tugba and I had the opportunity to talk freely again today after our tutoring time. I began by asking her some of the customs of her country. One of the things that she explained to me was the evil eye. It is a common Turkish symbol that originated in ancient Mesopotamia as a protection against evil spells and curses. Now-a-days it is used more as a cultural fashion symbol, or an homage to the past. Tugba says that the blue evil eye is found almost everywhere in Turkey and that she has jewelery featuring it. I found this to be quite fascinating because I have seen the symbol (as most people probably have) many times throughout my life, and have always wandered as to what its' origin was.

Tyler-TP12

I met with Tugba today after Cies classes to help her study for some of her assignments. The material she was working with consisted of mostly reading and vocabulary words. I read the worksheets she had with her and we began to go over them. In order to complete the work, the vocabulary words given from the story had to be used in a sentence. I had Tugba write the first sentence on her own. She had the general idea right, and used the word correctly, but seemed to have some trouble with her tenses. I explained to her what the problems were, and demonstrated what the correct tenses were. Tugba seems to have a very good grasp on most of her vocabulary, but like many other foreign students she has trouble with tenses. This is understandable because English doesn't always follow its own rules, so many specific word uses must be simply memorized.

Tyler-TP10/11

This was my fourth tutoring meeting with Tugba in one week, and I believe she was a bit burnt out from studying, but we persisted on. I attempted to make this lesson more fun than some of the previous lessons. I found a few youtube videos that were funny and appropriate, and I asked the general who, what, why, etc. I figured that this would be a nice break after several days of studying more intense Toefl exercises. Some of the video's I picked were humorous, and it seemed Tugba thought so as well. She did very well, and got the majority of the questions right. The ones that she got incorrect I explained and we went over in more detail.

After we were done with those videos, I showed her what I had hoped to be my final lesson plan. It was (at the time anyways) an Edgar Allan Poe story, which proved to be to advanced for the level I sought to teach it in. She did understand the majority of it though, with some help via vocabulary explanations. After our lessons were done we had the chance to converse for awhile.

Ayerim - CO3

The last class I observed was Vicky’s Grammar Class. Today we practiced making interview questions. She talked about different fears people may have, also known as phobias. The students interviewed each other with questions they created themselves. I really loved Vicky’s energy and willingness to help the students. We did a group activity, in which students interviewed each other to find out what their fears are. The second activity was a short review on the benefits of living a healthy life. The students we asked to write some interview questions in which the answer was located on the passage. During the activity, one of the students sitting next to me was having some difficulties with forming questions. So since her partner wasn't helping her much, I did. I asked her to pick a sentence and together we formed the question. I was a bit difficult trying to give her the answer. After class, Vicky said that I picked a good place to sit and thanked me for helping student.