This evening I taught the first lesson of an English speaking program for my new student A. at his office near Taksim Square. He would like to practice the upper intermediate English he recently learned in an intense program with British Culture. Our goal is to reinforce the language and move the new vocabulary and grammar structures from his short term to long term memory. He would also like to prepare for an interview for a new position.
In our first 90 minutes lesson, I guided him through a possible interview with a staff member of the British company. I relied on my previous experience with interviews to imagine the possible questions and dynamics. Basically, the interviewer would expect complete accuracy in the use of all grammar structures and the choice of prepositions. Student A. already could speak fluently as an upper intermediate level. However, he made frequent mistakes with prepositions and dropped essential words in adjective clauses. I realized I needed to focus on coaching him to correct these mistakes.
Starting off, we sat across from each other at his desk. Hunched over, he spoke softly with low energy. I asked him if he would mind going to the large conference room. We continued the lesson while standing up and walking around the long table. Immediately, his vocal energy increased and his body language, especially the hand gestures, became more expressive. We continued the role play. As the interviewer, I inquired about his strengths and asked for specific examples of his ideas and projects. A. spoke in English for the first time about his success in his field. He described himself as knowledgeable, innovative, and well-connected and gave concrete examples.
At the end of the lesson, I asked for feedback about the lesson. He liked walking and talking. He thought that he could do better at describing his variety of job titles and job descriptions. His first home learning assignment would be to go over his English CV and find the most appropriate English job titles to match what he does in Turkey. I greatly enjoyed our walking and talking lesson, and look forward to continue our creative program!
In our first 90 minutes lesson, I guided him through a possible interview with a staff member of the British company. I relied on my previous experience with interviews to imagine the possible questions and dynamics. Basically, the interviewer would expect complete accuracy in the use of all grammar structures and the choice of prepositions. Student A. already could speak fluently as an upper intermediate level. However, he made frequent mistakes with prepositions and dropped essential words in adjective clauses. I realized I needed to focus on coaching him to correct these mistakes.
Starting off, we sat across from each other at his desk. Hunched over, he spoke softly with low energy. I asked him if he would mind going to the large conference room. We continued the lesson while standing up and walking around the long table. Immediately, his vocal energy increased and his body language, especially the hand gestures, became more expressive. We continued the role play. As the interviewer, I inquired about his strengths and asked for specific examples of his ideas and projects. A. spoke in English for the first time about his success in his field. He described himself as knowledgeable, innovative, and well-connected and gave concrete examples.
At the end of the lesson, I asked for feedback about the lesson. He liked walking and talking. He thought that he could do better at describing his variety of job titles and job descriptions. His first home learning assignment would be to go over his English CV and find the most appropriate English job titles to match what he does in Turkey. I greatly enjoyed our walking and talking lesson, and look forward to continue our creative program!