Cameron TS#3

On February 12^th, Diana and I covered articles. This time, we met at the Hecht House in the student lounge instead of the Leon County Library. Articles seemed like a basic lesson, but she seemed confused when I tried describing and explaining the material. For example, I told her that when using “the,” it describes a specific noun and then gave her an example like “the book.” I struggled explaining the material and felt I was just a poor teacher. Since this was not working, I tried comparing it to a television show we both adored, “Lost.” I told her when we talk about the island the crew is stranded on we use “the” because it is a special island. It is not any island, it is “the” island where magical stuff happens. “Specific” was a word I kept trying to use with no avail, so I switched and put an emphasis on “any” and changed “specific” to “particular” (a cognate in French). This is where the lesson changed. It started clicking for her. I said that “a” and “an” equals to “any”. “The” equals “particular”. I found a beginner level worksheet on articles, and she did not miss one. This is where things started clicking for me as a tutor and found that I needed to change my style and understand where she is coming from before starting my lesson.