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writing center
Jun. 7th, 2002 01:42 amTomorrow will be my last session with the Chinese professor! I must remind myself that this is a good thing because I can't explain things anymore because she's gotten to complex areas of English I can't fully understand or explain. Today we had a major breakthrough, though! We finally nailed down the difference between "wasn't" and "didn't." Only took seventeen weeks.
Oh God. Am possibly the worst tutor ever! Oh well.
If nothing else, from here on out she will say "It's wasn't cold outside" instead of "It didn't cold outside" like she was up to today. Oh, such milestones! I have clearly made Great Inroads!
But really, do you know how hard it is to describe the difference between "to be" and "to do" without using the variations of the two verbs and/or sounding like JC?
Me: Well, to be means just, well, to be. Like, to exist.
Wenping: Exist? What?
Me: It means -- nevermind. Well, to be, it's like, what you are.
W: [Blank stare]
Me: And to do -- well, that's when you're actually doing something.
W: [Blank stare]
Me: Like, if it's cold. The weather doesn't do cold, it just is cold. So, if you wanted to talk about it being cold outside.... [prompting look]
W: It didn't wasn't cold?
Me: Good, almost. We usually say "It wasn't cold."
W: I don't understand. Why no didn't?
Me: Because it's not something you do, it's something something is.
W: [More blank stare]
Finally (finally!) realized that if I used EXAMPLES things would be so much clearer.
Second tutoring session was one of the head-banging ones, where you just want to throw down the paper halfway through the session and call it a day. Which is kind of what I did. She wasn't receptive! I wasn't helping her! And she arrived at the end of my shift and was keeping me late! I had to leave! The session itself pretty much went like this:
Me: What if you did this?
Tutee: No.
Me: What about doing this?
Tutee: No.
Me: Do you really need to repeat the same idea four sentences in a row?
Tutee: Yes.
Me: How about moving --
Tutee: No.
Me: Ok! Paper looks good! See ya later!
I can't believe tomorrow will be my last shift in the writing center! Two years of work all done. It's freaky.
There may be a sentimental post about it tomorrow night. You've all been warned.
Oh God. Am possibly the worst tutor ever! Oh well.
If nothing else, from here on out she will say "It's wasn't cold outside" instead of "It didn't cold outside" like she was up to today. Oh, such milestones! I have clearly made Great Inroads!
But really, do you know how hard it is to describe the difference between "to be" and "to do" without using the variations of the two verbs and/or sounding like JC?
Me: Well, to be means just, well, to be. Like, to exist.
Wenping: Exist? What?
Me: It means -- nevermind. Well, to be, it's like, what you are.
W: [Blank stare]
Me: And to do -- well, that's when you're actually doing something.
W: [Blank stare]
Me: Like, if it's cold. The weather doesn't do cold, it just is cold. So, if you wanted to talk about it being cold outside.... [prompting look]
W: It didn't wasn't cold?
Me: Good, almost. We usually say "It wasn't cold."
W: I don't understand. Why no didn't?
Me: Because it's not something you do, it's something something is.
W: [More blank stare]
Finally (finally!) realized that if I used EXAMPLES things would be so much clearer.
Second tutoring session was one of the head-banging ones, where you just want to throw down the paper halfway through the session and call it a day. Which is kind of what I did. She wasn't receptive! I wasn't helping her! And she arrived at the end of my shift and was keeping me late! I had to leave! The session itself pretty much went like this:
Me: What if you did this?
Tutee: No.
Me: What about doing this?
Tutee: No.
Me: Do you really need to repeat the same idea four sentences in a row?
Tutee: Yes.
Me: How about moving --
Tutee: No.
Me: Ok! Paper looks good! See ya later!
I can't believe tomorrow will be my last shift in the writing center! Two years of work all done. It's freaky.
There may be a sentimental post about it tomorrow night. You've all been warned.
