Kim Clauson_ TP 3

                I had my second visit with my conversation partner, Matar, and his family on Friday, November 9, 2012.  I had volunteered to be a tutor for Matar’s wife, Manal, because she and her son had been in States for only about two weeks.  Matar’s English was rather proficient and he wasn’t interested in working on his skills because he believed that his wife needed a sufficiently greater amount of help.  Manal wasn’t a student at CIES, though she did take a few English classes while she was still in Saudi Arabia.  Like the first time I visited the family, I was presented with a coffee table full of tea, soda, candy, dates, and crackers!  It was amazing!  Apparently, hospitality is a huge part of Arabic culture.

                Luckily, Matar had his workbooks from when he began CIES so I had idea of where to begin my lesson with Manal.  I supplemented the lessons in the textbook with pictures from an illustrated English/Arabic dictionary.  I wrote notes that contained the different examples that I showed to Manal so that she would have something to reference.  Our lessons discussed the difference between the articles a and an, and it also covered how to make something plural by adding “s.”  We ran into the example “city” so I provided a few examples of how to add “-ies” and drop the “y.”  For homework, I gave her a few list making assignments and had her write five sentences using the exact words and sentence structures that we learned.  I brought a few DVDs that taught the English alphabet and fun stories which were designed for kids.  I am hoping that Manal watches the videos with her son. 

Matar, the husband, asked if I had any suggestions for how he could make the transition easier.  I suggested that he talk to his son and wife in English first, then translate it into Arabic.  I understand that foreigners fear losing their first language, but the presence of the language in the household would help tremendously.