Taping Your Way To Reading
From Jerry

I started using a tape recorder for [my student's] readings so he could hear himself and the things he needed to work on.
For example, reading through periods or commas without a pause: I would explain that he needed to pause when beginning a new sentence or paragraph. Until he heard himself, he had difficulty correcting the problem.

Also, hearing himself making progress gave him a good feeling that he was improving.

A tape recorder may not be for everyone. I would recommend using one only with the permission of the student.

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Working The "Online" In
From Marie

For the lessons I have with my student, I try to find an Internet site that relates to what we are studying, and integrate it with the lesson plan.

There are some very good sites that have quizzes and helpful information. Also, some of them are fun and add variety to the lesson.

What I most often do is go to www.google.com and put in whatever my student and I are working on and see what comes up. When we are working on prepositions, I just enter "prepositions" and get all the relevant sites.

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"Turning On" Literacy
From Brenda

After moving into her new home, [my student] did not know how to use her appliances (dishwasher, self-cleaning oven specifically).

I went to her home, at her invitation, and helped her with the instruction books and was able to show her how to use them at the same time.

Note: You could also try the same lesson at an appliance store (let the salesperson or store manager know what you are doing). Of course, you won't be able to actually start the cycles, but at least your partner can play with the buttons!

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Be Flexible
From Erin

Some suggestions that I can give would be to always "meet your student where they are." Don't try to force techniques that obviously aren't working. Be flexible. It takes a little while to determine where your student is and what they could benefit from in your time together.

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Cooking for Learning
From Gary

I had [my student] get a recipe from his wife from their native land and bring it to me at our meeting. First he had to read what he wrote and be able to convey to me how to prepare it. It builds good report with the student, as he was very happy to see that I was interested in his culture. As a bonus, I got a good recipe to try out.