Andrew TS#8

 Date/Time: 06/27/2021 11:00 a.m.

Location: Conversation over Line

Topic/Skill: Introductions, Needs assessment, Speaking

Feedback provided to tutee: Zhang Zhewei(張哲偉) was the second person that my friend Zhou introduced to me. He mostly wants to improve his English thanks to his own personal prerogative. He had previously studied English in school but really slacked off on his studies while he was completing his masters program. So, now he would like to build up what English he still has mostly for the sake of communication, but also to help him at his job. Zhewei's English overall is not bad, especially considering he hasn't really sought out practice since high school. Although, he does have a few problems. While his fluency and pronunciation are both good, his vocabulary and listening ability are both limited. These are the two areas that I think I will focus on most.

Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: This was actually a lesson for me in just how powerful affective filters can be. I found out that one of the main reasons Zhewei hasn't looked for anyone to practice English with is because he was too nervous. He was so worried about misspeaking or bothering someone he never looked for someone to practice with. The only reason Zhou was able to convince him to speak with me is because I already know some Mandarin. So in the event that there is a misunderstanding, he can explain it in Mandarin and not stress over me sitting there in apparent judging silence. He told me all of this, of course, in English. So he can with little difficulty hold a conversation to a passable degree, but because his affective filter was so high he has never tried to look for native or single language English speakers to talk to. It never ceases to amaze me how our selves are almost always our own worst enemy.