Ben - TP #8

For my second-to-last tutoring session with Fumie I thought it might be a good idea to change up our usual pattern once again. So I introduced a lesson plan that I actually wrote for the TEFL class. It was a lesson plan based on Greek Mythology, specifically the first four labors of Hercules. Originally I had intended for this lesson plan to be a reading lesson plan for lower-level students, but I found a way to tweak it, make it more of a speaking lesson, and to make it appropriate and helpful for Fumie. To begin the session I gave Fumie a brief introduction to Greek Mythology in general. This was intended to build schema for Fumie and to provide an interesting cultural backdrop for our lesson. Interestingly, Fumie had never heard of Hercules (I thought perhaps she might have been familiar with the Disney movie), so it was very helpful for her to learn about some background of the myth. We also went over what the word "myth" means and how mythology is similar and different from one culture to another. I very much enjoyed this because it gave Fumie a chance to make connections with her own Japanese culture.

After the schema-building exercise, I had Fumie to a speed read of the text in fifteen minutes. This forced her to grasp the general ideas and not so much an understanding of each and every word in the passages. When she was done with the speed read I went over some words that I thought she may not have understood (Greek gods, mythical creatures, etc.). Then I asked Fumie to recount, out loud, what each of the passages were about. I was very pleased that Fumie grasped a great deal of what the passages were communicating, even though the figures in the passage may have been unfamiliar to her and difficult to understand. There were of course questions that she had about specific characters and creatures, but overall it was a very constructive lesson. I did notice some recurring problems with her pronunciation of "r" and "l," the focus of our previous session. For our final lesson I planned to do a close focus on this pronunciation, do some research on the best possible strategies, and tackle it one last time before Fumie has to to return to Hiroshima.