(I think I am her conversation partner.)
But I was very happy to be her tutor and conversation partner because we have been really good friends and have been studying together.
The first(not actually) meeting went well, but it was pretty hard to speak English all the time and understand each other very clearly because we used to speak Korean to each other.
We talked about many things, especially about learning English. She was disappointed at her grammar level at school and asked my how to study grammar. I was not able to give her a good answer because honestly, I don't know either. But I suggested her to study grammar with me. Also, she wanted for me to correct her speaking. I speak English better than her, but I know I am not perfect, so I asked my friend to help me out and she said she would happily help me. So I am going to focus on studying grammar and speaking. What we are going to do is:
1) Grammar book : grammar in use
We are going to pick 5chapters randomly and study. She will explain the subjects to me. (If she dosen't know about them, I will.
2) Movie
She and I love watching movie, especially watching animations because they are usually for children so it is easy for us to understand. (Not everything!) I have a friend who is a native English speaker and she will be going to theater with us and help us out to follow up movies. By doing it, we will be able to study speaking and listening.
3) Sex and the city.
She wanted to be able to use "slangs" and "idiomatic expressions", we decided to watch Sex and the city together. I have English script and translated script for it. I think it will be very helpful because it worked for me. I have watched many American movies and soap opera with subtitle and without subtitle and I tried to mimic their expressions. I am pretty sure that it will help her understand what native speakers say(She said she had troubles with understanding what American people say when they speak fast).
Minseo, please make sure she understands the difference between "learning" and "acquisition".(Remember that I covered these two terms in class?) She seems to be a typical Korean student who learned a lot of English grammar but never had a chance to practice grammar-in-use. Try to correct her grammar errors as much as you can. BTW, sex and the city is my favorite show as well! =)
ReplyDeleteYea, exactly. I think she has studied English grammar for many years, but has not had chances to practice what she has studied. So I will help her grammar-in-use. Acquisition, I think, is earned by practicing. How can I tell her the difference between the two effectively?
DeleteI like the idea of using a structured approach by employing a textbook. The idea of learning English descriptively rather than prescriptively by watching a TV series is also a good idea, especially for picking up on slang and colloquial expressions.
ReplyDeleteI think so too!! But sometimes, I don't even tell what they(in a TV show) are saying is a slang expressions or not. lol
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