David Sutton CP #5

On Monday evening, April 14th, I conducted my fifth conversation partner session with Ahmed.  We conducted this session in a study room at his apartment complex here in Tallahassee.  Ahmed started off by telling me about his upcoming trip home to his native country, Kuwait.  He is very excited about his upcoming trip and it showed in his animated conversation with me.

After this opening discussion, we talked about the progress he's made in the last six months.  Overall he is very satisfied with his progress thus far, I concur with this assessment.  However, I believe that once he develops a strong grasp over high frequency verbs and pronouns, etc., new challenges will emerge with greater effect.

For our final discussion topic, Ahmed gave me his impression of Americans from a social interaction aspect.  He is amazed at how often Americans use the word "like" in their conversation.  On this last point, Ahmed is absolutely correct.  It is amazing how often Americans use the phrase, "I was like..." instead of "I said..." in their everyday conversation.  I think that Ahmed has touched upon an important colloquial phrase that is not easily explained in grammar instruction to ESL students. 

I will have one last conversation session with Ahmed before he departs for his trip home.