I met Taejon today for the first time. He is the second child I will be tutoring. Taejon is five and his father insisted I call him by his American name, Andy. His father warned me that Andy is very shy, but he seemed to come out of his shell rather quickly. Andy seems to be ill-mannered, which made tutoring a little bit difficult. My other child tutee did not answer questions because she was very shy, but Andy seems to not answer questions when he is not interested. He also climbed all over the table and became loud at times. These factors worry me because they can definitely effect my ability to teach him. Also his father sat with us the whole session, which, I think, made Andy feel comfortable acting this way. I have to tell Andy's dad he can not sit with us in a way that won't offend him. That should be awkward enough...
The session went well in the sense that I got Andy talking and I was able to find out what I should be focusing on in session to come. His father wants him to work on speaking, and more specifically, pronunciation. Andy is at a beginner level of English, for example, he does not know the word pencil. I should be able to teach him a lot in the coming sessions. I plan on using very active activities to keep him interested and teach him how to sound out words so he can start building a bigger vocabulary on his own.
I don't think you should worry about offending Andy's father. If anything, he can be nearby if something were to happen. Most parents will understand that them being there is not helpful to their child. I think flashcards with pictures would get Andy's attention and it'll help him learn more words while you help him with his pronunciation. Or consider teaching him nursery rhymes or songs. He's 5, so all he wants to do is have fun. Good luck to you!
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