Miles TS#11

Saturday June 13, 2015 - During today's tutoring session, I wanted to focus on Joseph's speaking skills. I began the session by explaining some of the customs associated with weddings, funerals, and holidays in the United States. Next, I asked Joseph to tell me about the same occasions and their associated customs in Burkina Faso. The majority of the session was spent with Joseph telling me about weddings, funerals, and holidays in Burkina Faso; I stopped him periodically to correct grammar usage and pronunciation. There were many instances of incorrect pronunciation, so I could not stop to correct every one because that would have disrupted the flow of the discussion and discouraged Joseph from speaking. I did, however, stop him occasionally and have him repeat words and phrases until he achieved the correct pronunciation (for each instance, I would repeat the word or phrase three times to show him the correct pronunciation). Finally, at the end of the session, I asked him a few questions about the wedding, funeral, and holiday traditions in the United States to see if he had retained the information I presented at the beginning of the lesson.