Stephanie_TS#4

Last Saturday, I tutored Ilbouldo at the Starbucks across from CIES. We worked on a listening exercise because that is the area he said he has been struggling the most with. We practiced some one-on-one conversation, and I spoke very slowly so he could understand. He liked that practice a lot. He also brought some homework with him – an audio exercise about a recipe for a Greek Salad. I really liked the activity; I thought it was a great way for students to practice listening comprehension. Ilbouldo did not care for the activity because he said it was kind of hard for him. He had to rewind the video many times, but we were able to complete the assignment together. The assignment asked him to listen to the video three times (we listened to it many more times than that because he needed it). The first time listening, he was instructed to write down the ingredients (exact measurements and everything) for a Greek Salad. The second time listening, he was instructed to write down the procedure of preparing the salad word for word. For example, he would have to write down the exact steps like when to peel the cucumber, when to add the olive oil, etc. The third listening portion consisted of more comprehension questions. For example, one of the questions was “What is the greek salad a good compliment to?”. Ilbouldo did not understand what compliment meant, he thought it was just an endearing phrase. I explained to him what compliment meant in this context, and the answer was “a meal”. The host of the cooking demonstration had mentioned that briefly at the end of the show.