Nyah’s Lesson Dec. 8, 2019

Started with more complex grammar and even that I got wrong! 

Then some cultural stuff.That I got right.

Qu’est-ce que vous buvez quand vous avez soif?

Water*

Quand vous allez au restaurant, qu’est-ce que vous buvez?

Water* 

Qu’est-ce que je bois (meaning me)?

Coffee.*

Vous savez ‘poisson’?

Fish*

Glace?

Ice*

At this point, it is clear I am wandering. It did have something to do with her beginning to miss a lot. She’d just informed me she was leaving for several days so it was throwing off my planning, Many days I would prepare a lesson and she would have to cancel. It was painfully apparent in this lesson that my usual ability to improvise wasn’t cutting it. She even asked where the story was in this…. and then how long it was, clear signs of confusion and frustration.

However, at this point she was still game for participating in story-making.

Ou il va pour boire?

Drugstore. 

Que vous voulez boire?

Iced tea*

Il tombe amoureux.

Fall in love*

Qu’est-ce que vous regardez?

The neighbor’s dog (out the window)*

Vous pouvez me dire qu’est-ce que vous allez faire a Kansas City?

Why I’m going?*

Vous allez visiter….. 

Tiffany (friend)*

Vous allez rester chez elle?

Yeah, her house b/c her husband is gone now.*

Vous allez etudier beaucoup?

No, I have only one assignment.*

Une classe?

No, two*

Les classes sont de quoi?

Statistics and English*

My teacher takes too long to respond and grade.

En ligne?

Yeah, she e-mails me.*

Here we continued talking about her cousin and his work and school and as can be seen from asking what she was seeing out the window and what she would do in Kansas City, she paid good attention and followed well. Because of her constant minimal acknowledgments of comprehension, I want to show in these transcriptions that she was understanding rather than just ‘going along’ or ‘getting the gist’.

Again, the use of PQA is seen to be much more engaging and effective. My French is up to it, using the French we have had.

I apologized to her for not being better prepared. It was hard to hear this recording because we were agreeing we would be continuing the French through the summer. Later I will discuss the influence of her expectations, her upcoming matriculation, and the COVID 19 lock down on her decision to discontinue. She always like the “scroll”, a scroll with previous words on it and she enjoyed doing that, part of that “good kid” behavior, wanting to show what she knows.

We continued on past the lesson which her mom explained by saying she enjoyed spending time with me.

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