(Tutor Observation #2)
I observed Dylan tutor Pinar on the Past Perfect and Present Perfect tenses. Watching him explain to her the difference between the two was very eye-opening. I'm very used to having things explained to me by an experienced and knowledgable professor or teacher. Not to say he isn't knowledgeable but he has less experience explaining something like the verb tenses than, for example, Mrs. Kim.
This intimidates me because I also have little experience verbalizing these kinds of intricate explanations. The difference is that I have only tutored children and we have done very little grammar work. Obviously, we can all agree, grammar is the most difficult to explain.
Something I found very helpful during his session is that he asked for examples of what she didn't explain. Additionally, after he finished an explanation, he says "does that make sense" or "do you get it" and noticed that Mrs. Kim also says this. I think this is a subtle, but very strong habit. In a classroom or tutor atmosphere it's clear that the student/learner should always ask questions if they don't understand, but these little questions after each lesson/explanation might prompt the student to voice any questions they may have, but were nervous/shy to ask.
To be honest, I was always scared of tutoring an adult because of many reasons, including the difficulty of the material they are learning, but watching Dylan tutor Pinar was motivational.
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