FSU TEFL Certificate Course Summer 2024

May 14 th  Tuesday Location : CIES building - Room 316 Topic/Skill:  Reading & Writing/Email construction and comprehension. Feedback provided to the tutee:  I helped clear up some email misunderstandings Wei brought to me and we talked about email construction and common email practices in the USA. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned:  I learned a lot about the pressures of someone like Wei moving to the US without any prior knowledge about common email practices. There are many unwritten messages in some statements in emails here because Americans ere on the side of being as nice as possible over email. This can cause misunderstandings regarding intent and planning for opportunities.  ****I got the order mixed up between two of them and forgot one of my sessions with Wei. Whoopsie!****

  May 9 th  Thursday  My home, Dinner                                                              Topic/Skill: Speaking/Pronunciation and Grammar I corrected Miguel's pronunciation and basic grammar. We cooked dinner together and went over food vocabulary pertaining to the spaghetti we cooked. My roommate and I each knew a little Spanish and were able to understand what Miguel was trying to communicate and we offered him vocabulary and grammar advice when it got in the way of his communication. Otherwise, we tried to not interrupt him.  I learned a lot about Cuban food culture! I also became more comfortable with what mistakes to bring to Miguel's attention, and which to let slide for the sake of communication and not intimidating him. At the end of the night I felt we had engaged in ...

Date/Time: April 28 th  Sunday Lake Ella & Black Dog Cafe                                                 Speaking/Pronunciation I helped Miguel with his pronunciation of basic phrases such as introductory questions. He has issues with sounds such as "th" and "-ed". This helped me learn more about the variety of circumstances that motivate someone to pursue learning the English language. Additionally, it was educational for me to speak with an absolute beginner in English. While I was able to understand his Spanish a little, we mostly communicated in the most basic English  Total Time - 3 hours 

       Date/Time: July 14th     Topic/Skill: Reading comprehension Teacher Presentation:  The teacher started the class by having students refer back to a passage they read previously on wild and domesticated animals. After this, the class continued analyzing the article about wild and domesticated animals. Classroom Management: Dr. Rios was constantly moving around the classroom asking questions and communicating with the entire class.  Materials: Computer and reading off a projector screen. Student Participation: The students were listening and involved in the discussion thanks to Dr. Rios's ability to get the students engaged in the reading/analysis. Feedback Provided: Dr. Rios asked questions and let the students answer. Only when students were struggling did he jump in and help guide them to the answers that he was looking for. He also had students read passages and after this, had the students look for the main ideas and key points of t...

   Gislene TS#2 Date/Time: May 22 nd Wednesday with Miguel 3-4:05 pm Location: CIES building Topic/Skill: simple present Feedback provided to the tutee: I corrected my tutee’s beautiful mistakes and pronunciation. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: ESL student is confused with “with” and whit, fly and flay. Those were addressed. He is pretty good at simple present now and needs help with simple past and irregular verbs.  

    Date/Time: May 16th Thursday Location: Zoom Topic/Skill: reading comprehension and casual conversation Feedback provided to the tutee: Spoke with Dojun casually a lot at the start of class. Spoke at native-level speed and asked him if he was able to understand everything I said. I corrected him when he would occasionally make a speaking mistake. We also read half of an article on the Florida Everglades and the invasive python population. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: I learned that Dojun does not know much about Florida besides the fact that it is hot. In the future, I will consider creating more lesson content based on my state.

   Date/Time: May 14th Tuesday Location: Zoom Topic/Skill: reading comprehension Feedback provided to the tutee: I had Dojun read more native-level articles. We also went over more common English phrases. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: I am slowly gaining more confidence in interrupting my tutee when they make a mistake in reading or do not comprehend me when listening. Advanced students need to be corrected when they make even small mistakes lest these mistakes become fossilized in their brains. I am continuing to gain the confidence I need to be an effective tutor.

   Date/Time: May 9th Thursday Location: Zoom Topic/Skill: reading comprehension/idioms Feedback provided to the tutee: I had Dojun do some further reading about the latest Boeing controversies. After we read the article I then went over some common English language idioms none of which Dojun knew before the lesson. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Reading articles about similar issues helps reinforce vocabulary one previously learned. Because we had already read about the Boeing controversy once before I noticed Dojun having an easier time comprehending words he previously struggled with. Ones like "cozying up" as in a government agency cozying up to a private company.

   Date/Time: May 7th Tuesday Location: Zoom Topic/Skill: reading comprehension/vocab Feedback provided to the tutee: I had Dojun read a native-level article on Boeing's recent struggles. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Dojun needs more active feedback from me during the lesson. He read the article well, but at the end, I asked him how much he understood and he said he only comprehended around 50% of it. In the future I will do a better job actively asking, looking for, and fixing his mistakes. After reading the article, I also went over all the new vocabulary words from the article that he did not know.

  Date/Time: May 3rd  Friday Location: CIES building Topic/Skill: reading comprehension Feedback provided to the tutee: I had Rosario take a TOEFL speaking practice exam. We then went over his answers and analyzed the questions he got wrong. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Rosario needs help strategizing for the TOEFL exam. He needed some help understanding exactly what some of the questions were asking him. Additionally, he finished his exam early but did not double-check his answers. I think that in the future, alongside more reading comprehension activities, it would be beneficial to teach Rosario test-taking strategies as well.

    Date/Time: April 30 th  Tuesday Location: Online through Zoom Topic/Skill: Speaking/Listening Feedback provided to the tutee: I conducted my diagnostic and discussed goals for improving his English language skills. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Dojun is a very kind South Korean man who wants to learn English because he works at an airport and would like to communicate with other stations/countries staff and colleagues. He does not have many opportunities to speak English in his daily life so the time that he spends studying and speaking with me will be vital in improving his English. His English is quite advanced already so I doubt he will need help with simple grammar. His speaking and listening skills need work so I will mostly be correcting his speaking but I also have ideas for article reading and listening comprehension practice.

   Date/Time: April 26 th  Friday Location: CIES building Topic/Skill: Speaking/Listening Feedback provided to the tutee: I corrected my tutee's spoken language mistakes as I conducted my diagnostic and discussed his goals for improving his English language skills. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Rosario is very serious about learning English and passing the TOEFL exam as he is considering retaking the exam again in May after he failed to pass the exam this month. His dedication to the English language has motivated me to do my best to help him prepare for his exam before I leave for South Florida next week.

      Date/Time: May 1st     Thursday  Topic/Skill: Listening practice Teacher Presentation:  The teacher started the class by chatting with the students before having them go to canvas and do listening practice assignments. Classroom Management: Due to there being only two students in the class Dr. Ciapetta was able to address the needs of each student whenever they had problems directly. There was not much managing to be done as the students were listening to the dialogue on their computers.  Materials: Laptop with headphones. Student Participation: The students were attentively listening to the dialogue and writing down their answers. Feedback Provided: The students provide their answers to the listening prompts on a Google doc. The teacher also has access to this document and corrects the students' English after they are finished typing. Lesson(s) on teaching you learned: I learned that to communicate with absolute beginner-level stu...

     Date/Time: May 1st       Topic/Skill: Student-led discussion. speaking/listening practice. Teacher Presentation:  The teacher started the class by introducing the student Sultan, who was leading the discussion. Classroom Management: Dr. Ciapetta mostly let the class run itself as Sultan was the one leading the discussion. Dr. Rios was also there, as his class was taking part in the discussion as well. Both teachers would take notes and write down every mistake they heard a student make. Materials: No materials were used. Student Participation: Every student participated in the discussion by giving their own opinion on the questions Sultan asked. As Sultan is studying criminology, the questions were focused on how genetics and environmental factors play a role in people committing crimes. Feedback Provided: The teachers would take notes on a Google doc every time a student would make a mistake. They would write down the name of the studen...

    Date/Time: April 30 th     Topic/Skill: Reading comprehension Group 4 Teacher Presentation:  The teacher started the class by reading a chapter from the novel  Hatchet. After this short reading, the teacher brought up an academic article the students were to read and summarize about international students and their lives on campus. Classroom Management: Dr. Rios is a great teacher, the students really like him. He confidently moves around the classroom as he asks students to read passages, encouraging them with light jokes and a caring personality. Materials: the book Hatchet and the article students were summarizing. Student Participation: Students would help each other when stuck on a word they didn't know. Other than that the lesson was mainly focused on the reading material with not much interaction between students. Feedback Provided: The teacher provided feedback whenever a student finished a passage.  Lesson(s) on teaching you...

   Date/Time: April 29 th     Topic/Skill: Past participle Teacher Presentation:  The teacher started the class by reviewing schedules such as an upcoming quiz. He then went on to the main lesson which was past participle. Classroom Management: The teacher monitored the three students asking each other the provided questions and making mental notes of mistakes the students made with their English. At the end of the class, the teacher said that he would talk about the mistakes he heard the students make in their next class meeting. Materials: A worksheet on Canvas that the students had to open as well as textbook material. Student Participation: The students interacted with each other and myself asking questions like "Have you ever met a president or governor?" and "Have you ever been to Canada". The other student would then have to respond with an answer. Feedback Provided: The teacher provided feedback whenever the students asked for help and als...

   <TS Blogs> Date/Time: May 18th Saturday Location: CIES Topic/Skill: Writing Feedback provided to the tutee: My tutee wrote a birthday card in Korean for her mother. She learned how to use formal expressions and verb conjugation. She had to practice writing some words she did not know how to spell. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee can practice more her writing skills.

   <TS Blogs> Date/Time: May 15th Wednesday Location: Strozier Library Topic/Skill: Speaking/Listening Feedback provided to the tutee: My tutee practiced the simple past tense forming sentences that he can use in daily life. We also practice listening skills. He had to guess what I said in the sentences we learned. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee had grammar knowledge but was struggling with grammar-in-use.

   <TS Blogs> Date/Time: May 14th Tuesday Location: CIES Topic/Skill: Speaking/Writing Feedback provided to the tutee: We reviewed the Korean song we learned last week. My tutee then learned how to count numbers in Korean (speaking and writing). Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Korean has two ways of counting numbers, and she struggled with which to use when telling time.

  CO#5 Date/Time: May 15 th Wednesday Group 2/3 Listening with Ryan Topic/Skill: collective behavior: what happens when people get into large groups. Teacher Presentation:   The teacher had them watch a scene from friends, then the 2018 Hawaii missile alert Classroom Management: The teacher had them answer a 10 t/f questions about the video. He replayed the video. Then they listened to the podcast The war of the worlds. Then, they compared both in groups and answered questions about it. Materials: computer, projector, worksheet Student  Participation: group work, discussion    

  CO#4 Date/Time: May 15 th Wednesday Group 2/3 Speaking with Angel and Felicia Topic/Skill: Discussion about Cancel Culture Teacher Presentation:   The student introduced the topic and asked questions. Classroom Management: The teacher took notes and gave them feedback. Materials: computer, projector, worksheet Student  Participation: discussion

  CO #3 Date/Time: May 15 th Wednesday Group I Reading with Ryan Topic/Skill: Irregular verbs review Teacher Presentation:   The teacher first went over what he will do in class, then students did an activity of T/F about the irregular verbs learnt on the reading “The mountain” by Readworks. He personalized it to be about the students. Classroom Management: The teacher had other reading “Crossing the Finish Line”. He goes over vocabulary and culture. He also went over vocabulary. Materials: computer, projector, worksheet Student  Participation: they had a worksheet in which they had to fill in the blank using irregular verbs and answer true or false.  

CO #2 Date/Time: May 15 th Wednesday Group I Grammar with Olivia Topic/Skill: Present continuous and simple past Teacher Presentation:  The teacher had the students watch “A work in progress” by Wes Bal, a former FSU student. Classroom Management: The teacher explained the movie before the saw it as there was no subtitles. She explained the movie as they watched it and asked questions about it. She also went over vocabulary. Materials: computer, projector Student  Participation: they had a worksheet in which they had to fill in the blank using simple past.  

  Date/Time: May 15 th Wednesday Group I Composition with Felicia Topic/Skill: Simple Present Teacher Presentation:   The teacher used word by word pictures dictionary and students had to answer questions about the action using simple present. Classroom Management: The teacher used good doc and gave them real time feedback. Materials: computer, good doc Student  Participation: google doc

  Gislene TS#3 Date/Time: May 16 th Thursday 7-8 pm with Faisal Location: Library Topic/Skill: In the first session I got to know him, his motivations, and what he needs most help with. Feedback provided to the tutee: I corrected some of my tutee’s pronunciation errors. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Tutee asked for ways that can help him improve faster. I mentioned speaking English whenever is possible and practice on Duolingo on his free time. He learned the difference between train(vehicle) and train (verb), and also close(verb) and close (adjective). We will focus on conversation in our next meetings.

 Gislene TS#1 Date/Time: May 15 th Wednesday with Miguel 3-4:20 pm Location: CIES building Topic/Skill: In the first session I got to know him, his motivations, and what he needs most help with. Feedback provided to the tutee: I corrected some of my tutee’s pronunciation errors. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: ESL student is confused with E/I. Tutee suggested that I gave him exercises and next time we meet we will go over them. (Has/have/had) and simple present affirmative exercises sent over WhatsApp.

  <TS Blogs> Date/Time: May 13th Monday Location: Strozier Library Topic/Skill: Speaking/Grammar Feedback provided to the tutee: Since my tutee wanted to improve his speaking skills quickly, I taught him the necessary phrases in the present continuous tense. I showed him pictures (swimming and exercising), and he had to express the picture. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee had knowledge about the present continuous but struggled with the grammar-in-use.

  <TS Blogs> Date/Time: May 11th Saturday Location: Tutee's house Topic/Skill: Writing and reading Feedback provided to the tutee: Since it was near teacher's day in Korean, my tutee learned how to write a letter to her piano teacher. She learned greeting and closing expressions. After that, the tutee learned a famous children's song for a level-appropriate reading skill. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee struggled with writing in Korean (spelling) and pronouncing some words. 

   <TS Blogs> Date/Time: May 8th Wednesday Location: Strozier Library Topic/Skill: Speaking Feedback provided to the tutee: We practiced introducing ourselves to other people. I ask the tutee simple questions about his routine. (ex. What did you do today? How was your day?)We practiced talking about our day. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee is an absolute beginner, so I needed to speak slowly and use easy vocabulary.

  <CO Blogs> Date/Time: May 7th Tuesday Topic/Skill: Speaking Session Teacher Presentation:   The teacher asked students to record their prepared speech outside the classroom. Classroom Management: The teacher timed every presentation. Materials: Smartphone, recorder Student Participation: Students constantly interacted with the teacher. They had to talk about their cultural presentation plan. Students did unprepared speech taking turns. Feedback Provided: The feedback for the recorded speech is going to be given individually. Lesson(s) on teaching you learned: The teacher typed students' mistakes and corrected them on Google docs.

  <CO Blogs> Date/Time: May 6th Monday Topic/Skill: Listening skill Teacher Presentation:   The teacher showed the documentary about Al Capone to the students. Classroom Management: The teacher timed every presentation. Materials: Projector, Youtube Student Participation: There was no student participation Feedback Provided: The teacher explained the documentary while watching the video. Lesson(s) on teaching you learned: The choice of video to draw students' attention.

  <CO Blogs> Date/Time: May 6th Saturday     Topic/Skill: Speaking skills (giving a presentation) Teacher Presentation:  The teacher explained detailed instructions for their presentation homework and the importance of presentation to the students. Classroom Management: The teacher timed every presentation. Materials: Whiteboard, a marker Student Participation: Students had to talk about their thoughts about the importance and process of the presentation. Feedback Provided: The teacher corrected their minor mistakes when the students spoke. Lesson(s) on teaching you learned: The way the teacher conducted and facilitated the speaking environment for the students.

  <CO Blogs> Date/Time: May 6th Monday   Topic/Skill: Reading Teacher Presentation:   The teacher read the story to the students. Classroom Management: The teacher timed every presentation. Materials: Projector, Word, whiteboard, marker, reading material. Student Participation: Everyone did a spelling test. Students had to read a story and understand the content. Feedback Provided: The teacher explained vocabulary from the story when asked by the students. Lesson(s) on teaching you learned: The way the teacher explained the vocabulary using motions and expressions.

  <CO Blogs> Date/Time: May 6th     Topic/Skill: Grammar Teacher Presentation:  The teacher talked about her weekend with pictures. She wrote sentences to explain several grammar points including simple present and past tense. Classroom Management: The teacher timed every presentation. Materials: Projector, Google, Google docs. Student Participation: The teacher asked students several questions during her presentation, and they answered. Feedback Provided: The teacher provided an explanation when students asked questions. Lesson(s) on teaching you learned: The efficient way to teach grammar in context using my experience.

  <TS Blogs> Date/Time: May 4th Saturday Location: CIES building Topic/Skill: Vocabulary Feedback provided to the tutee: We read a simple poem about winter and learned describing words. I included drawing and physical activity to teach vocabulary. My tutee also reviewed numbers. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee was confused about counting numbers and saying time.

  <TS Blogs> Date/Time: April 27th Saturday Location: CIES building Topic/Skill: word association game/vocabulary Feedback provided to the tutee: I assessed my tutee's language level, and we played a word association game using picture cards and read a book. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee sometimes could not find certain words in Korean. Since the tutee is six, I would love to make sessions focusing on activities.