Professor: Prof.

Tripp
EDU 541

Tutoring Project
Nora Ramtahal
Molloy College

On Saturday September 20 2014, I met with Claudia Bouer. First, I explained the
assignment to her, and she was excited to be part of it. Next we came to the conclusion that it
would be beneficial for her to make an effort to communicate with me in English only.
Interestingly, she was pleased with this arrangement. I learned that Ms. Claudia was born in
Colombia and grew up there. Currently, she has been living in Seaford, NY for twelve years.
One of the reasons why Ms. Claudia has not learned to speak English proficiently undoubtedly, it
is because every summer she returns to Colombia for the entire summer and only communicates
in Spanish. Presently, she holds a job that mostly requires her to communicate in Spanish only.
She expresses that she enjoys working within this community. On the other hand, she regrets it
because she is facing a greater disadvantage of not being able to improve her English
communicative skills. She also revealed that in the past she attended school, but learning the
English language and its grammar became overbearing. She laughed and said, My brain is
aging. To change the tone I said, I am still in school and yet, my writing lacks grammar skills.
I am not sure, if she understood my sarcasm.
In the future, she claims that working with a diverse population would be ideal. However,
obtaining this goal seems very distant because her English speaking skills are limited. I stated
that one of my goals is to convince her that she is able to become proficient in L2. But, she
needs to begin interchanging ideas, and initiating conversation in the L2 to expand her
vocabulary. Excitedly, she said, I love living here independent. She sighed with despair and
added that she feels lonely. Her wish is to remain living here in America, but she often feels like
she does not fit in. In addition she explains, I love this culture because here I can do big things,
but I feel like I am not.

Please take into consideration that one of my optimal goal is for Ms. Claudia to express
her believes first. The chief factor is to set the stage for her to speak, and to begin feeling
comfortable when having a dialogue in L2. When I pointed out to her that for a while she was
able to interchange ideas in the target language, she laughed (I shared a smile too). I know it is
early to predict, but I am able to detect that to turn this scenario around, Ms. Claudia needs to
begin communicating in the target language more frequently. In addition, she would benefit from
reading children books to improve her grammar, and to build expressive/informal vocabulary.
Next, she wrote a brief paragraph about her country (Colombia). This would be one of
the initial steps to identify her strength in English grammar, and text. Her written piece follows:
My name is Claudia Iam Colombian. I miss my family to much because here Iam alone and not
have friend. I love America and love very much English. My dream is to stay here and talk
English good.
This is what happened next, I asked her to read it to me and look for mistakes. Interestingly when
she started to read it, she realizes that it did not sound correct. She proceeds on her own and
starts to correct the sentences, while I observed patiently. Then as time passes, she says I need
to read it one more time. She read it. This time it really sounded better. Now, I decided to read
the sentences slowly to her. Hence, for her to grasp what is in need of improvement. She seemed
embarrassed and touched her forehead. I shared a friendly smile to reassure her that she is
capable of learning. We concluded that English grammar can be a difficult aspect for anyone,
even for some native speakers. Briefly I went off tract, and I confessed that one of my
assignments revealed how poorly my grammar skills can be. I explained that having to accept
reality (of not being good at grammar) in a certain way it, it creates a feeling of being illiterate.
Ms. Claudia responded, no way. I said, Yes way. Prof. Tripp is my witness. We both paused.

Afterwards, we began to review the following corrections:

My name is Claudia. I am Colombian. I miss my family to much because here I am alone and
not have friends. I love America and I love very much English. My dream is to stay here and talk
English better.
I announced to Ms. Claudia that at the next meeting, we would need to review adverbs of degree.
She was assigned homework. Next week, we will learn about this assignment and how well she
performers.
Saturday, September 27, 2014. Ms. Claudia greeted me with a nice smile and said,
Surprise, now I know what mistakes I made in the writing week. Please keep in mind that I
am pushing Ms. Claudia to initiate conversation. I need her to continue taking the lead, so she is
able to keep communicating with confidence. She reads the above sentences and stopped at the
word to; instead, she paused briefly, and she spelled it too to indicate the correction. I showed
her my enthusiasm (I realize that I am beginning to love this project, hum!).
Quickly, allow let me return to last week (09/27) and mention that I printed a practice handout
which Ms. Claudia was asked to complete for homework. The assignment is below.
The instructions are: choose the correct answer so, too, and very. Below are some of the
questions:
1. The coffee was too hot to drink it.
2. The coffee was so hot that I couldnt drink it.
3. There were far too many people.
4. The bus was very crowded. (Either could be used here).
5. Was it too expensive to buy? (Either could be used here).

It is obvious that Ms. Claudia became confused with the questions that showed that either word
(so, too, very) could complete the sentences above correctly. Well, that was done deliberately to
expand her awareness of grammar rules. Then I explained that learning the grammar rules can
be a constant process, especially in my case because I am, also, bilingual. At this point, I realize
that I should have not made that comment, she portrayed a looked of hopelessness. So quickly, I
fixed such mistake (hopefully) by saying, you will be able to manage your grammar, no doubt.
She did not respond it. We returned to review the usage of adverbs of degree.
She volunteered to write few sentences about her favorite beverage:
I like drinking coffee very much. In summer, I drink coffee too. I think I drink coffee too much.
Coffee is so good.
OK. She has indicated that she understands the usage of the above adverbs.
It is time to move to the next phase. I brought to the table the idea to pick a topic, where she
encounters difficulty when explaining/expressing her-self in the target language. This is what she
wrote and read it afterwards:
When my mother- in-law speaks to me, she talks fast. I do not know what is the best way to ask
she to talk slow to me. Sometimes, I get confused, but I can show that.
She read the sentences, but could not find any mistakes. I proceed to explain that the word, she
or her are defined as pronouns in English grammar. Then she responded, Oh! I remember now.
I stated that pronouns would be introduced next week. For homework, she will write a
paragraph incorporating pronouns. All of the sudden she looked shy, but asked anyway, if we
can meet two times a week. My response was, Ill think about it, but I am not sure if it will be
possible.
Saturday October 4, 2014. After our small talk, I informed Mrs. Claudia that perhaps at
the end the semester, we could meet with twice a week. Nonetheless ,I pointed out that this idea

might not be a done deal yet. Either way, she expressed her gratitude. Now I realize that I might
have to come through, oh boy! At this point, she read her written piece and it says:
I do like to talk a lot, but dont like to talk to people in English because I make mistakes. My
mother-in- law talks fast and dont understand what she is talking about. I think she knows that
too. I want to tell she to talk in slow.
To my surprise, she claims that she is not sure if there is anything wrong in the text. I handed her
a sheet with pronouns. She reads them, and declares that she does remember learning about
pronouns in the past. I replied, Excellent. Then I asked her to complete five sentences on her
own. Personal Pronouns 1:
Replace the bold word(s) with the correct pronoun (I, you, we, they, it, she, or he):
1. My cousin and her friend were at the mall. ___They________ were at the mall.
2. Peter is a little sick. __He_________ is a little sick.
3. Does your aunt know what happened? Does ___________ know what
Happened?
4. The door is locked. ___________ is locked.
5. My friend Linda and I are going on a trip. ___We________ are going on a trip.
6. Am I a good student? Yes, ___________ are a good student.
7. My cats are hungry. ___They________ are hungry.
8. Mr. Jones is a good teacher. ___He________is a good teacher.
Thankfully, she performed well on the above exercises.
Next, we spoke about the sentence she wrote: I want to tell she to talk in slow. I brought to her
attention that this sentence is incorrect. Therefore, an explanation followed: When a third-

person pronoun replaces a subject, use "he" or "she." When it replaces an object, use "him" or
"her." Also, we reviewed the following sentences:
Incorrect: The person I saw stealing the watch was her.
Correct: The person I saw stealing the watch was she.
Suddenly, she said, Now I got it. She satisfied read the sentence and she did it correctly. Ms.
Claudia learned (I hope for good this time) the difference in usage of pronouns.

October 18, 2012. Today, Ms. Claudia did not say much. I decided not to ask any
personal questions. Instead, I jumped right into the lesson. This time, I though, it would be best
to read the book GREEN FEET: Keys to Reading. Here is a segment of one of the stories read:
The title is In and Out
We work with words: how, town, owl, low, show, found, our, round, four, grow, loud, grown,
pour, cow.
Sound the words: now, out.
Look, Ted, said Jan.
A man went down that hole. Can he get out?
Ted said, He can get out. But he has something to do.
Now come on and play ball.
She was shocked by the amount of quotations marks need it. I replied, They can be a pain
sometimes. So, for a moment I thought which will be the best model to explain these grammar
rules on quotations? In my mind I thought, This project is really beginning to get into my skin.
I explained and I wrote the rules 1 to 2 as follows:
1. Use double quotation marks to set off a direct (word-for-word) quotation.
Correct: "When will you be here?" he asked.

Incorrect: He asked "when I would be there."

2. Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks.
Examples:
The sign said, "Walk." Then it said, "Don't Walk," then, "Walk," all within thirty seconds.
He yelled, "Hurry up."
She did not enjoy this lesson. She expressed the following, writing in English it gets hard it and
hard it. I couldnt agree more, but I continue to reassure her that her writing skills can improve
with reading. Well, she said, I dont like reading, especially in English. My final attempt to
persuade her was to pick up the book, by saying to her, we will read this book (name is
mentioned above) together. It will be interesting and fun to read it, Finally, the lesson came to
an end. As she packed herself to go, I felt that she began to feel a bit overwhelmed. So, I thought
I need to change gears for the next meeting.
Saturday October 18, 2014. On this day Ms. Claudia was proposed to walk in a bagel
store and buy breakfast. She took a while to complete this assignment, it was a bit frustrating.
This is the scenario: Good morning. I would like a plain bagel with butter. Please can you toast
it? Thank you. Also, I will need a medium coffee. How much do I owe you? Although, she was
advised to establish her own style, she became shy; and thought that she could not do it. This is
how she responded it, I cant do it. I said, You can. She started to hold her hands, and looked
around without saying a word. I just waited it. She looked at me. Perhaps, she wanted me to ask
her again to go in the store. I did not. I gestured to her to go in, instead. Now, she passed her
hand on her face (showing like a wiping motion). I just stood waiting. Finally, she walked in. I
went in and I remained near. Of course, she looked back, and made eye contact. I just smiled, but
she seemed to have giving me a dirty look. Then to spice things up, I asked her would you order

something for me as well. She is smart, and acted like she did not hear me. Her turn arrived, and
this is what she said, One moment yes. She touched her forehead and said, A bagel. I need
butter, coffee medium. Yes, toast please. Then the clerk responded by saying, you want the
bagel toast it. Ms. Claudia said, Yes thank you. At this point, I approached Ms. Claudia and
said good job lady. She looked and said, I cant believe that in Colombia I was an educated
woman, but here I am not. I smile and said, Lets eat, time is flying. This is off track, but at
this point, I thought of my mother. So, I came to the conclusion that I need to persuade Ms.
Claudia to take courses in ESL. Then I informed to Ms. Claudia that next week, it will be best to
meet a Molloy. She said, I let you know.
Saturday October 25, 2014. At Molloy, we sat in the cafeteria. I asked Ms. Claudia to try
to pay attention, and to listen to what others were saying. First, she claimed that everyone was
talking to fast. I said, If you can only try to detect a single voice and follow it; it may help to
understand at least few words briefly. At this point, I remained silent and waited. She vaguely
said, One girl is talking of class she need to take. She says that she is tired of the class she have
now to much work.
I introduced Singular/Plural Irregular Verbs. For singular nouns and pronouns, you add an "s" to
the verb. For example:
Singular Regular Verb: Mary makes cookies.
Singular Irregular Verb: Mary steals cookies.
Plural Regular Verb: They yell at the kids.
Plural Irregular Verb: They speak to the kids.
English verb agreement can be found below.
INDICATIVE:
Present
I have, you have, she has, we have, they have

Next we work together filling the blanks:

1.
2.
3.
4.

My friend wants to learn English.

She needs to practice to speak English well.
My friend likes to communicate in English.
I need to speak English more frequently.

Ms. Claudia wrote the following: One girl is talking of class she needs to take. She says that
she is tired of the class she has now to much work.
I asked Ms. Claudia to register for ESL classes at Molloy, and she agreed.
Saturday November 15, 2014. Ms. Claudia read Pets at School by Green Feet.
We work with words: horn, fork, short, storm, word, worst, world.
Sound the words: or, work, mice, bell, pets.
Sight words: school
This is the day for pests at school, said Ted.
I have a Pug. Sue has a Kit. And Joe has something in a box with al id on it.
Lets show the pets, said Joe. I want you to see my pets now?
Then she wrote the following, I have a dog in Colombia. My dog likes to eat all foods his name
is pepe. I miss my dog but it is ok. When I go to Colombia, he fallows me all the places. It is
hard to leave him but what can I do. We viewed the link below to learn the punctuation rules.
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/punctuation/punctuation-rules-help.html
Punctuation Jungle

This lesson on punctuation presented a challenge. Ms. Claudia for homework was assigned to
write a paragraph.
Saturday November 22, 2014. The paragraph reads:
I am going to Colombia in (for) Christmas. Every day (,) I count the days. I will stay there for 2 (two)
weeks (and) (I) can not(cannot) wait. My husband is going too,(and) I am happy. Can not wait to see my
family and my pet pepe,(.) (He) he is a smart dog.

I read it first, and indicted the mistakes. She corrected them and with full of excitement, she
expressed that she will try to read English more often.
Moving on, she read a part of this story Red, Yellow, and Brown by Green Feet.
We work with words: penny, hobby, funny, silly, follow, bubble, waffle.
Sound the words: happy, yellow, am, seen, sun.
Sight word: pretty
It was a pretty fall day. The sun made the trees look red, yellow, and brow. But Kim was not
happy.
Yes! Ms. Claudia wants to read all the stories in this book. She says these stories are easy to
read and to follow the grammar. I will make copies for her.
Articles are in the menu. There are only three articles in English: a, an, and. We visited the links
bellow to learn about definite and indefinites articles.
http://www.englisch-lfen.de/en/exercises/nouns_articles/article_a2.htm.
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/articlestext.html#sthash.H9uUXcHy.dpuf

Choose the correct definite or indefinite article: "the", "a", "an" or "x" (zero article)
I bought a pair of shoes.
I saw a movie last night.
They are staying at the hotel.
I think the man over there is very unfriendly.
I do not like x basketball.
Saturday November 6, 2014. Today (final meeting), my AIM was to promote learning
and motivation, as well as to boots her self-confidence. I spoke slowly and clearly to her. I
explained the meaning of Idioms and then showed her several pictures. After asking a question,
I waited for a few seconds for her response.

She enjoyed this lesson, and tried to explain in her own words the meaning of the above idioms.
She did well. She explained that in Spanish there are similar idioms that may have the same
meaning. She felt comfortable with this lesson and became very expressive. My goal was to keep
communicative skills flowing for language immersion. Finally, I encourage her to read in
Spanish, as well as in English for transfer to take place. I explained to her that transfer in
terms of language (linguistic) learning, do play an impact in developing comprehensive skills in
the target language.
Today I completed my tutoring project. It was a learning experience. As a candidate
teacher, I need to try to respond to the needs of L2 learners by modeling to students what they
are expected to do. Also, it is imperative to consider making connections to their culture when a

new lesson is implemented to entice curiosity, and engagement. Hence, this will foster tolerance
for diversity among students. I will tutor again and try to be better at it.

References
Creekmore, M., Greenman, M., Harris, T., Green Feet: keys to reading. (1972). Oklahoma, City:
The Economic Company.