FSU TEFL Certificate Course Summer 2025

 Date: 7/14 Location: Online Topic: Everyday Activities and Feelings Feedback Provided: I gave my tutee a lot of feedback on word choice during this lesson. We talked about the day she had and how she felt during the certain activities she did, as well as looked at a picture of patrons in NYC and talked about how they might be feeling. I taught her the meaning of the word metropolitan in regards to a metropolitan city. We also talked about how certain words make more sense in a cultural and casual context even those the original word may be grammatically correct.  Lessons Learned: I learned that it is sometimes difficult to explain why certain words or phrases would not be used even though it is grammatically correct. Sometimes my tutee will say things that are technically correct on paper, but sound uncomfortable and would not be typical speech for a native English speaker. I do try my best to explain why it wouldn’t be used, but most of the time find that just saying that it...

Date/Time: Saturday, July 19th, at 10:00 AM Location: Lucky Goat Coffee Topic/Skill: Academic Small Talk, Networking Confidence, and Conversation Transitions Feedback provided to the tutee: In this session, Nejoud and I tackled one of the most terrifying things in academia,  networking small talk. Specifically, how to approach those awkward moments at conferences and receptions. We opened with a warm-up discussion about awkward professional conversations. Nejoud shared a few relatable stories from previous events where she wasn’t sure what to say, especially in English. We discussed cultural differences in how professional small talk happens, and I introduced the idea that in U.S. academia, small talk isn’t just fluff, it’s the bridge to meaningful connections. Our mini-lesson focused on a three-stage framework for transitioning from casual to academic conversation: Friendly Opener : “This is a great event, isn’t it?” Light Question:  “What brought you to this...

Date/Time: Tuesday, July 15th, at 5:00 PM Location: Dirac Library Topic/Skill: U.S. Dating Culture, Cross-Cultural Comparison, and Relationship Vocabulary Feedback provided to the tutee: In today’s session, Wei and I dove into the wonderfully awkward world of dating in America . We kicked things off with a short YouTube video called “8 Things to Know About Dating in America.” Wei actively listened for the main idea and took notes on a new vocabulary word, and reflected on a dating behavior that felt different from her home culture. She was especially surprised by the openness of casual dating and how quickly some Americans move into relationships. We then transitioned into a short reading on dating etiquette in the U.S., highlighting social expectations around asking someone out, who pays for what, public affection, and the infamous “DTR” moment (Define the Relationship). Wei identified cultural contrasts with ease. For instance, she found the idea of splitting the bill unus...

Date: 7/7 Location: Online  Topic: Reading Comprehension and “th” Sound Pronunciation Feedback Provided: I had my tutee read a story that used a lot of “th” sounds in it and gave her feedback whenever she messed those up. She often would say it as a “sh” sound instead, so we went over the differences in mouth movements in each of those sounds. Lessons Learned: In my previous lessons with other tutees, I learned that it’s hard to produce pronunciation mistakes when a student is reading directly from a page. I tried to prevent that this time by having her read it out loud a few times and then reciting it to me as best as she could. While this did work better, I did learn that it’s probably best to have them memorize something before hand and then say it to me, as she missed many of the key words that I was looking for. I did, however, learn that this is a great way to test comprehension. I was able to see things she missed and placed where she got characters/topics confused with anot...

 Date: 7/3 Location: Online Topic: Job Interviews/Professionalism Feedback Provided: I gave my tutee feedback on how to structure her answers to typical interview questions. For example, when asked about what her greatest weakness is, I told her to give an honest answer but to make sure it’s something that she can then explain how she’s working on it or how it makes her a better worker. We also talked about how it’s okay to keep some answers more short and sweet (such as the one about weaknesses), while going more in depth about others (such as the ones asking about why you’re the most qualified candidate). Lessons Learned: In this activity, I provided a lot more linguistic support. I gave her answer structures and example answers prior to her answering the questions, which I think helped guide me in giving better feedback and also helped her understand her answers and the questions a lot better. I also learned how important it is to pay attention to my own speech in these lessons....

 Date: 6/28 Location: Online Topic: Debating (AI pt. 2) Feedback Provided: In this lesson we talked a lot about the professional structure of debates. Though she was not expected to be completely professional since this was a more casual setting and she couldn’t be completely prepared, I did explain that there were certain things that would make her lose a real debate. For example, I told her to stat away from reduced forms and to make sure she gives reasons to back up her points. We also talked about sentence structure and word choice and how that correlates to explaining things properly. There were a lot of instances where she over explained, explained things backwards, or used a word that grammatically made sense but just did not translate as well as it could have. We went over better ways to phrase what she meant. Lessons Learned: In this lesson I learned that I need to be better at preparing more linguistic support, as well as better anticipating mistakes. I felt that there wa...

Date: 6/26/25 Location: Online  Topic: Debating (AI) Feedback Provided: I mostly gave my tutee feedback about sound pronunciation, especially for “v” and “w” and “th” and “sh” sounds. I taught her about minimal pairs because she tends to mix those pairs up with each other. We also  Lessons Learned: In this lesson I learned a lot about the difficulties of teaching over a computer. I think one of my strengths that I’ve noticed in these lessons is my ability to teach pronunciation, but I didn’t realize how much easier it is when you are face to face with a student and they can see the way your mouth moves. This lesson taught me to get better at explaining how to position one’s mouth and tongue for certain sounds. It also taught me that it’s more helpful to say the word slowly to myself first in order to understand the mouth positioning, rather than just repeating it slowly over and over again.