FSU TEFL Certificate Course Summer 2025

 Date: June 29th, 2025 Location: Ye-won's House Topic: Elements of a Story: Setting, Read and Recall, and Illustrate the story Feedback provided to the tutee: I offered my tutee feedback on her usage of apostrophes and when to use 'in' and 'on'.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee becomes more engaged when she can relate to the story.

Date: June 29th, 2025 Location: Ye-won's House Topic: Making Inferences and Reading Comprehension Feedback provided to the tutee:  I offered my tutee feedback on her usage of their, there, and they're. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee is curious about quotation use and idioms.

Date/Time:  Friday, June 27th at 1:30 PM Location: Dirac Library Topic/Skill: Reading, Vocabulary, and Grammar (Present Perfect vs. Past Perfect) Feedback provided to the tutee: In this session, Wei and I jumped right into skill-building using a real-world article from the BBC on why we procrastinate. We began with a warm-up prompt to get her talking about something she recently read in psychology or business. Her response was thoughtful and gave us a great lead-in to the day’s topic, procrastination. During our reading activity, we skimmed for the main idea and highlighted key academic vocabulary words like “procrastinate,” “avoidant behavior,” and “motivation.” Wei quickly picked up on the context clues and offered insightful comments about how these concepts show up in her own life as a student. She related to the article in a meaningful way and was especially reflective when we discussed the emotional and cognitive roots of procrastination. We wrapped up with a gr...

Hannah TS #20 Date: June 24 th  Tuesday Location: Zoom (online) Topic/Skill: “ICT-Based English Instruction for Ukrainian College Students in Times of War” project; American vacations Feedback provided to the tutee: Facilitated discussion about American vacations in a small group. Lesson(s) about tutoring you learned: The importance of simplifying one’s speech content and rate in language instruction. 

Date/Time: Wednesday, June 25th at 3:30 PM Location: Virtual  Topic/Skill: Responding to Academic Feedback & Follow-Up Conversations Feedback Provided to the Tutee: In today’s session, Nejoud and I tackled one of grad school’s sneakiest stressors: responding to academic feedback in real time . Whether it’s a professor’s critical comment during office hours or a classmate’s question after a presentation, these moments can feel like pop quizzes in emotional regulation and linguistic finesse. We reviewed how to buy time with phrases like: “That’s a great point, I hadn’t considered that angle.” “Let me think about that for a second…” “I’ll need to explore that more, but off the top of my head…” Nejoud practiced responding to spontaneous follow-ups with poise, not panic. We role-played a mini Q&A session where I asked layered, slightly unexpected questions about her research topic. She focused on keeping her tone calm and her structure clear, even when she wasn’t total...

Date/Time:  Tuesday, June 24th at 8:00 AM Location: Virtual  Topic/Skill: Research Talk + Q&A Practice Feedback Provided to the Tutee: Nejoud gave a short explanation of a research idea in statistics, tailored for a general audience. I pretended to be a curious classmate and asked gentle follow-ups like, “What do you think the results might show?” and “Why did you choose this method?” She responded with poise and used several hedging phrases we practiced, like “One possible explanation could be…” We also focused on intonation and pacing,  making sure her transitions didn’t get swallowed or rushed. Her clarity has improved, and she’s getting more comfortable with using natural phrasing like “This is still in progress, but...” to buy time and sound polished under pressure. Homework: Nejoud will revise the mini-talk using the feedback from today and submit a written version for review. She’ll also brainstorm 2–3 more potential Q&A responses for future prac...

Date/Time:  Monday June 23rd at 3:30 PM Location: Virtual  Topic/Skill: Academic Hedging & Presentation Soft Skills Feedback Provided to the Tutee: This session zeroed in on a key grad school survival skill: hedging,  that academic way of sounding smart without sounding like a know-it-all. We played with phrases like “It appears that…” and “This could suggest…” and contrasted them with overconfident ones like “This proves…” . Nejoud practiced rephrasing overly strong academic statements to sound both thoughtful and open to collaboration. We also explored the cultural shift she’s navigating: where clarity is more valued than complexity, and where it’s not only okay to not know everything. We unpacked how to invite feedback with phrases like “This is still a work in progress” and how to reframe being questioned as a compliment to her ideas. Homework: Refine one of the dialogues from last week to include hedging language. Also, prep a short 1–2 min “research ...

  Jasmine Smith TS#14 Date:06/25/2025 Location: cies balcony Topic/Skill: speaking Feedback provided to Tutee: He is working on speaking slowly and correct pronunciation Lessons about tutoring and/ or the tutee you learned: He read a news article to himself then summarized it to me as a way to practice getting his message across in a formal/ academic way. I found this method to be very helpful.

Date: June 25th 2025 (Wednesday) Location: Killearn Methodist Church Topic/Skill: Third Grade Reading / Sequencing a Plot Feedback provided to the tutee: Focused on ordering the events and actions within a story. Answered sequencing questions based on a several paragraph passage.Tutee was encouraged to circle sequencing word, denote sections of the story,  and underline key actions. Gradually took away linguistic support and had her answer the final set of questions without consulting the text. Then, I had the tutee apply those same skills to the passage we read and answered questions to yesterday. Throughout the entire session, I had the tutee point out where she got her answer within the text.

Date: June 24th 2025 (Tuesday) Location: Killearn Methodist Church Topic/Skill: Needs Assessment Feedback provided to the tutee: Began tutoring a new tutee. She is a 3rd grade student focusing on her reading comprehension. We worked through a passage and question set so I could gage how she approached the activity. Tutee's spoken reading is fine, but she struggles with at-level reading comprehension. Based on this needs assessment, we should focus on identifying the speaker of a reading passage, understanding character identities, cause and effect of actions, and using context clues to determine unknown words. Also, I'm going to help her apply active reading strategies (highlighting main idea, underlining unknown words, noting parts of a plot/passage, etc.) I will also use notes made by the previous tutor of this tutee about what the tutee does/does not do well to help guide our future sessions.

    Jasmine Smith TS#13 Date:06/18/2025 Location: cies balcony Topic/Skill: speaking Feedback provided to Tutee: He needs to practice speaking slowly and with intention. When he talks fast his teachers can't always understand what he is trying to say. Lessons about tutoring and/ or the tutee you learned: I learned that native English speakers are often granted more leniency when making errors with speaking English due to dialects and slang. This can be frustrating for someone learning English who has to focus on accuracy even if their point of the message can still be understood. 

  Date: June 17th 2025 (Tuesday) Location: Zoom. Topic/Skill: Football at FSU // Answering Comprehension Questions Feedback provided to the tutee:  After the presentation by the main professor, my group discussed comprehension questions based on the lecture. Most of my students didn't participate, but I had four students who actively participated. I corrected them on basic grammatical errors and led them to correct answers for the comprehension questions. We had expanded discussions on why student athletes do and should continue to get paid.

Date: June 24th 2025 (Tuesday) Location: Zoom (Ukraine) Topic/Skill: Vacationing in the US // Answering Comprehension Questions Feedback provided to the tutee: After the presentation by the main professor, my group discussed comprehension questions based on the lecture. Most of my students didn't participate, but I had three students who actively participated. I corrected them on basic grammatical errors and led them to correct answers for the comprehension questions. We had expanded discussion on the size of US national parks.

Date: June 17th, 2025 Location: Killlearn Kids Camp Topic: Commas and Quotation Marks, Cause and Effect, and Possessive v. Plural Feedback provided to the tutee:  I offered my tutee feedback on identifying when to use the possessive or plural form.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee is unsure how to identify cause and effect in a story. 

Date: June 17th, 2025 Location: Killlearn Kids Camp Topic: Sequencing, Possessive v. Plural, and the Elements of a Plot Feedback provided to the tutee:  I offered my tutee feedback on words to identify the sequence of events.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee is curious about how words are spelled, compared to how they are pronounced. 

Hannah TS #19 Date: June 20 th  Friday  Location: CIES Topic/Skill: Vocabulary and Pronunciation Feedback provided to the tutee: Corrected tutee’s errors in making sentences with target vocab and corrected tutee’s pronunciation errors. Practiced pronunciation with minimal pairs.   Lesson(s) about tutoring you learned: The importance of providing part of speech and clear example sentences when introducing new vocab.

Hannah TS #18 Date: June 18 th  Wednesday Location: CIES Topic/Skill: Grammar (gerunds vs. infinitives) Feedback provided to the tutee: Corrected tutee’s errors in making sentences with gerund- and infinitive-specific verbs.   Lesson(s) about tutoring you learned: The importance of consistent correction of repeated mistakes. 

Hannah TS #17 Date: June 17 th  Tuesday  Location: Zoom (online) Topic/Skill: “ICT-Based English Instruction for Ukrainian College Students in Times of War” project; American college sports Feedback provided to the tutee: Facilitated discussion in a small group about sports in American public universities.  Lesson(s) about tutoring you learned: The importance of intercultural competence in English language instruction. 

Date/Time : June 17th, Monday at 1:00 PM Location : Dirac Library Topic/Skill : Initial Assessment  Feedback provided to the tutee : In this initial meeting, Wei and I spent time getting to know each other and laying the groundwork for our future tutoring sessions. We discussed her background, goals, and what she hopes to get out of our time together. She’s motivated and ready to dive in across all skills. Wei expressed a desire to improve her grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Her goal is to become more confident and proficient in both academic and everyday communication. To help us build lessons that are both effective and engaging, we brainstormed ways to make our sessions more interactive and interest-driven. Wei shared that she’s especially curious about topics like psychology, education policy, and business. These are areas that spark her intellectual curiosity and will serve as meaningful content for practicing English. I assured her we can absolutely ...

Date/Time : June 12th, Thursday at 1:00 PM Location : Kellogg Building Topic/Skill : Understanding Regional Accents ; The Midwest Feedback provided to the tutee : In this session, Thakshila and I took a trip to the heartland as we explored the sounds of the Midwestern accent. We focused on the General American variety often associated with newscasters (a.k.a. “non-accent accents”) as well as some strong regional features from states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and parts of Illinois. We covered hallmark traits like the flat a in “bag,” the rounded o in “boat,” and the nasal intonation that sneaks into longer phrases. Thakshila noticed how the Midwestern “nice” is more than a stereotype, there’s a soft, sing-songy politeness embedded into the intonation that makes even disagreement sound friendly. We also compared how vowels shift depending on whether you’re in the Great Lakes region or venturing into “Fargo” territory. For listening practice, we used short interview clips and a f...

Des TS #12 Date: June 10th 2025 (Tuesday) Location: Outside Kellogg building. Topic/Skill: Speaking/Nitpicking grammar in Conversation; Composition Feedback provided to the tutee: We discussed topics of ranging difficulty and complexity, and I stopped and corrected any mistakes I heard. Since this student is advanced, there were minimal mistakes and he would self-correct roughly 98% of his mistakes. We practiced prepositions with time, seasons, months, and weeks (i.e. on Monday, in June, at 10am.) We also practiced correctly saying idioms, such as "out of the blue" vs. "out of blue."

Hannah TS #16 Date: June 11 th  Wednesday  Location: FSU Student Union Topic/Skill: Grammar (Conditionals, gerunds vs. infinitives) Feedback provided to the tutee: Corrected tutee’s errors in making first and second conditional statements and sentences with verbs that use either gerunds or infinitives. Also corrected pronunciation errors.  Lesson(s) about tutoring you learned: It’s better to highlight students’ errors (before giving them the answer) so they can self-correct.

Date: 6/4/2025 Location: Online Topic: Speaking (smoking debate and speed friending activity) Feedback Provided: I provided feedback on minimal pairs, specifically for the “p” and “b” sounds. We also talked about the importance of using the correct verb tense and word choice, especially when talking about plans. He told me he will be going back home soon and is excited, but phrased it as he had just recently went home. Lessons Learned: I learned that some ESL and EFL students don’t have much interest in American culture and are just learning English out of necessity or interest for the language. This specific student is learning English because he will be going back to his home country to teach engineering in English. I always wanted to incorporate some fun, American-specific lessons into his sessions, but this conversation with him made me realize this is not always necessary. Though it’s important for me to provide enough cultural engagement so they have an appreciation for our cultu...

Date: June 13th, 2025 Location: Killlearn Kids Camp Topic: Third Grade Reading Comprehension: Components of a Story, Understanding the Differences Between Their, There, and They're Feedback provided to the tutee:  I offered my tutee feedback on when to use there, their, and they're. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee is unsure when to use "on" or "in."

 Date: June 11th, 2025 Location: Killlearn Kids Camp Topic: Third Grade Reading Comprehension: Prefixes and Suffixes, Components of a Story Feedback provided to the tutee:  I offered my tutee feedback on using setting clues to figure out the setting of a story. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: My tutee is familiar with the past tense and actively utilizes that knowledge to understand words.

   Jasmine Smith TS#12 Date:06/12/2025 Location: cies balcony Topic/Skill: speaking/listening/ reading/ conversation skills  Feedback provided to Tutee: He learned a couple of new vocabulary words including; rude, spiciest, and overrated. Lessons about tutoring and/ or the tutee you learned: I learned about a country he visited, called Luxembourg which is located in Europe.

  Jasmine Smith TS#11 Date:06/11/2025 Location: cies balcony Topic/Skill: speaking/listening/ conversation skills  Feedback provided to Tutee: He has trouble understanding different accents, dialects, and slang. Lessons about tutoring and/ or the tutee you learned: I learned that Florida slang meshes a lot of words together, so it can be hard for my tutee to understand his roommates sometimes.

Date: June 9th, 2025 Location: Killlearn Kids Camp Topic: Third Grade Reading Comprehension: Compare and Contrast, Nonfiction and Fiction Texts Feedback provided to the tutee:  I offered my tutee feedback on routinely referring to the text when answering questions. Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: The differences in meanings between there, their, and they're may not be clear for young students. 

Hannah TS #15 Date: June 9 th  Monday Location: CIES Topic/Skill: Vocabulary and Pronunciation  Feedback provided to the tutee: Corrected tutee’s errors in making sentences of previous vocab. Went over new vocab by providing simple definitions, examples, and asking tutee to construct their own sentences using the new terms. Corrected tutee’s pronunciation errors throughout and went through minimal pairs. Lesson(s) about tutoring you learned: Consistent practice (with, in this case, vocab and pronunciation) is important in terms of sustaining one's knowledge and skill base. 

Date: June 6th, 2025 Location: Killlearn Kids Camp Topic: Third Grade Reading Comprehension: Prediction and Silent Letters  Feedback provided to the tutee:  I offered my tutee feedback on understanding contrasting new adjectives.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: I learned that combining smaller activities with a large comprehension practice creates a better balance than doing only large activities. 

Hannah TS #14 Date: June 4 th  Wednesday Location: FSU Strozier Library Topic/Skill: Listening, Writing (Dictation) Feedback provided to the tutee: I read aloud a short passage with advanced vocabulary for tutee to transcribe, and highlighted tutee’s errors for correction. Lesson(s) about tutoring you learned: Dictation activities can be especially useful for strengthening one’s listening and writing accuracy. 

Hannah TS #13 Date: June 2 nd  Monday  Location: CIES Topic/Skill: Vocabulary and Pronunciation Feedback provided to the tutee: I corrected tutee’s errors in making sentences using target vocab. I also corrected tutee’s errors pronouncing minimal pairs and reading passages that integrated target sounds.  Lesson(s) about tutoring you learned: It is helpful to provide reading passages that integrate target sounds for practice. 

 Jasmine Smith TS#10 Date:06/04/2025 Location: cies classroom  Topic/Skill: speaking Feedback provided to Tutee: His speaking samples for the TEFL practice exam are getting better each session we do them. Lessons about tutoring and/ or the tutee you learned: I learned that consistent practice and constructive feedback leads to noticeable positive growth.

 Jasmine Smith TS#9 Date:05/28/2025 Location: Outside of Strozier Topic/Skill: speaking Feedback provided to Tutee: The tutee has performance anxiety, and he is nervous to take the TEFL exam. We talked about confidence building through practice tests, deep breathing, and visualization. Lessons about tutoring and/ or the tutee you learned: I learned that emotional support is just as important as academic support. Performance anxiety can be an obstacle for people to perform their best.

Date: June 4th, 2025 Location: Killlearn Kids Camp Topic: Third Grade Reading Comprehension Feedback provided to the tutee:  I offered my tutee feedback on contrasting stories.  Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: Stories that aim to teach the student a moral through a lesson a character learns may be difficult to determine. 

Date/Time: June 4th, Wednesday at 3:00 PM Location: Kellogg Building Topic/Skill: Language Toolkit  Feedback provided to the tutee: In today’s session, Nejoud and I began diving into the real-life communication challenges of graduate school. Building off our initial assessment session, we honed in on how to navigate some of the most intimidating grad school interactions: office hours, networking events, and those casual-but-awkward hallway run-ins with professors or peers. We talked through some of the hidden expectations in these moments, like how to initiate a conversation without overthinking it, how to shift from small talk into an academic question, and how to “read the room” for tone and formality. I introduced the concept of a “language toolkit,” filled with flexible, go-to phrases for different situations. This included phrases like:  “I was hoping to get your insight on something from class...” “I’m really interested in your work on ____, would you be open t...

  Date/Time: June 2nd, Monday at 3:00 PM Location: Kellogg Building Topic/Skill: Diagnostic Assessment Feedback provided to the tutee: This was my first session with Nejoud, and we kicked things off with an assessment conversation to map out her goals, strengths, and hopes for our tutoring time together. From the start, it was clear that Nejoud has a strong command of English, but wants to hone the kind of speech that will help her navigate an American graduate program. She stated that she wanted to focus on speech, specifically academic speech. Focusing specifically participating in class discussions, asking for clarification respectfully but assertively, initiating conversations with professors, and navigating the unspoken “how to be a grad student in the U.S.” norms.  Homework: For our next session, Nejoud will jot down a few real-life scenarios she’s either already faced or anticipates encountering soon such as, how to ask a professor to clarify a grading policy ...

   Des TS #11 Date: June 3rd 2025 (Tuesday) Location: Outside Kellogg building. Topic/Skill: Speaking/Nitpicking grammar in Conversation; Composition Feedback provided to the tutee: We discussed topics of ranging difficulty and complexity, and I stopped and corrected any mistakes I heard. Since this student is advanced, there were minimal mistakes and he would self-correct roughly 95% of his mistakes. We discussed some cultural differences, such as his home country fazing out physical mail. One of the CIES teachers came over to talk to us during our session. We all discussed how some people (native and nonnative English speakers) find speaking easier than writing, while others find writing easier than speaking. My tutee falls in the former category, and the CIES teacher recommended us to look over his recent composition piece. He emailed it to me and I'm going to review and provide comments in preparation for Thursday's session.

  Des TS #10 Date: May 29th (Thursday). Location: Outside Kellogg building. Topic/Skill: Speaking/Nitpicking grammar in Conversation Feedback provided to the tutee: We discussed topics of ranging difficulty and complexity, and I stopped and corrected any mistakes I heard. Since this student is advanced, there were minimal mistakes and he would self-correct roughly 97% of his mistakes. He is focusing on fine tuning his pronunciation in preparation for starting his master's degree in the fall.

Jasmine Smith CO #5 Date: May 29th Topic/Skill: introvert/extrovert Teacher presentation: The teacher invited a guest speaker and they lectured on how being an introvert/extrovert affects students learning a new language. Classroom management: Both speakers used humor to guide students to stay on task and pay attention to the lecture. Materials: white board, graphs  Student participation:  The students took a quiz to see if they were an introvert or an extrovert. They also participated in the lecture by asking questions and adding their thoughts to the discussion Lessons on teaching I learned:  When students are learning a new language e xtroverts tend to be too busy talking to listen to feedback  while  Introverts overthink too much  and do not talk enough to practice and receive feedback.

 Date: June 2nd, 2025 Location: Killlearn Kids Camp Topic: Third Grade Reading Comprehension Feedback provided to the tutee:  I offered my tutee feedback on capitalizing the name of her favorite book Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned: I learned from my tutee that connecting the lesson back to things she is interested in can make a big difference to maintain interest.