Venus TS #15

Date/Time: Tuesday, July 1st at 1:00 pm 

Location: Dirac Library
Topic/Skill: Reading, Vocabulary, and Listening Comprehension

Feedback provided to the tutee:
In this session, Wei and I began by reviewing her homework and diving into targeted vocabulary practice. We explored six high-frequency academic and conversational words; “procrastinate,” “whereby,” “irritants,” “balloon,” “menial,” and “tweak”. I provided EFL-friendly definitions, example sentences, and cultural notes. Wei actively engaged with the words, offering her own examples and asking great follow-up questions about how these terms appear in daily life and on campus. She especially enjoyed the cultural tip about Americans “tweaking” everything from schedules to sleep routines.

We then transitioned into a short listening activity using the first few minutes of the TED-Ed video Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator. Wei listened for the main idea, new vocabulary, and an idea that stood out to her. She found the “Instant Gratification Monkey” metaphor both funny and relatable, and made strong connections to her own study habits. Our discussion about American college culture, particularly the humorous yet serious way procrastination is discussed, helped contextualize the content and sparked meaningful reflection.

To close the session, Wei completed a creative writing prompt in the style of an advice column, offering strategies for a student struggling with procrastination. She successfully used multiple vocabulary words from the lesson and demonstrated correct use of present perfect and past perfect grammar. Her response showed not only comprehension but growing confidence with more advanced structures.

Lesson(s) about tutoring and/or the tutee you learned:
This session highlighted how impactful it can be to blend skills like listening, writing, and grammar practice within an engaging, real-world theme. Using humor and culturally relevant content made the learning more enjoyable and memorable for Wei. I also saw how creative writing can be a powerful tool for checking both vocabulary and grammar in context, especially when it encourages students to reflect on their own academic lives.

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