Marian TS #2

 AA and I began with introductions and sharing information about each other.  AA is from Kazakhstan, is 18 years old and English will be his fourth language.  AA is fluent in Kazakh, Russian and Chinese.  He has been in the US about two and half months and has applied to multiple US universities. His goal is to earn a degree in aerospace engineering.  

I can't help but believe AA is a very focused person who has every intention of achieving his academic and professional goals. To get an idea of his skill levels, I asked him three questions:  What are the cardinal directions, what is your opinion of American grocery stores and can you tell me how to get to the Florida Capital Building. He did not know the cardinal directions or about the government systems or the capital building.  He had experienced the grocery, but was a bit confused about the taxes. This gave me great information on ideas for our tutoring sessions.  I then asked if he would write me 3 to 5 sentences telling why he would like to study aerospace engineering. He did this with relative ease. We reviewed the sentence together and while there were very few errors, there were ways to improve his use of English.  For example, he used that when the would have been a better choice and lacked more precise vocabulary terms. But overall, Wow! We got a little sidetracked discussing leaving a legacy and an obituary, but I realize those rabbit holes can be very productive and beneficial if they bring clarity to American culture. All of this allowed us to draft some good learning goals that include writing emails, completing scholarship applications, reading street signs, understanding the grocery shopping, and using phrasal verbs and verb tenses. 

                                                    Let the countdown begin!