Jordan CO #3

Date/Time: May 10 2pm

Location: Hecht House

Teacher Presentation: Kyle Kaminski - Substitute

Classroom management: This was a small class in numbers yet the students were fairly spaced out throughout the room. The instructor did a good job and managing the class despite it not being her subject or specific group.

Materials: Audio recording, computer, whiteboard

Student participation: Students did the majority of the talking during the lesson with the instructor there to help promote the conversation.

Feedback provided: The instructor would ask questions to the students and help them focus in on the part of the recording that would help them gain a better understanding as a whole.

Lessons on teaching you learned: This lesson taught me that there isn’t any reason to fear students even with the substitute coming in and being nervous. The students are still there eager to learn and are likely just as nervous.

Jordan CP #6

Date/Time: 5/27/16, 12

Location: Hecht House

Topic discussed: Tests

Cultural and/or linguistic topics you and your partner learned: for this conversation we mostly just talked about the test that Mutaz had to take in order to continue his schooling. He had taken the test twice before and saw about a .5 point increase in his score on a 10 point scale. He gave me some of the questions and vocabulary that were on his last test and I told him that even I would have had problems with some of them. A lot of the examples that he gave were either highly academic or formal language while others were phrases more commonly found in European English, which I think is a little unfair for a test that was given in Tampa.

Jordan CP #5

Date/Time: 5/25/16, 12:00

Location: Hecht House

Topic discussed: New conversation partner

Cultural and/or linguistic topics you and your partner learned: I was unable to find any community service for Mutaz to help out with, however, I did ask around my org and found someone else who would be interested in talking to him. One of my brothers introduced to his friend Nadine who was very eager to work with Mutaz. I didn’t know this at the time I introduced the two but Mutaz later told me that Nadine was from Egypt, around the same area Mutaz is from. He said talking to her was extremely helpful as since he could still work on his English yet when he couldn’t find the words to express what he was trying to say, he could still switch over to Arabic and still be understood.

Jordan CP #4

Date/Time: 5/19/16, 12:00

Location: Papa Johns

Topic discussed: Genetically modified food

Cultural and/or linguistic topics you and your partner learned: For this conversation I met with Ali and we talked about an article I read earlier in that day regarding genetically modified food. We discussed whether we agreed with the practice of potentially harming consumers to reduce cost and potential losses. I had originally planned this as a tutoring topic for timed writing however the relaxed atmosphere made it much easier to sit down and hold a conversation.

cp 6

On Thursday June 2^nd 2016, I invited my conversation partner Abdullah to come watch Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors with my friends and me at the Palace saloon. Abdullah gladly accepted my invitation and came to the palace around ten o clock, an hour into the game. Along with Cameron who met Abdullah the first time he came to palace, Abdullah got to meet me friends Austin, Adam, Taylor, Joseph, and Steve. Happy to say that despite my friends being drunk for the NBA Finals and Abdullah being sober since the Islamic faith prevents drinking Alcohol, Abdullah and my friends got along very well and discussed  many different topics ranging from Abdullah’s life and culture back in Saudi Arabia to each friend giving Abdullah their own “secret” to flirting with American girls. Abdullah had so much fun at the bar with us that he even joined us when we left the bar and hung out with us at Austin’s house till two in the morning. Eventually Abdullah left but before he said that tonight was one of the most enjoyable nights of his life and that he was glad to call me his friend. We added each other on Facebook and hung out one other time after June 2^nd. Today Abdullah left to go back home but sent me a text saying that he was glad to meet me and that one day he hopes to see me again. I also look forward to the day I can see my friend Abdullah again.

cp 5

On Tuesday May 31^st 2016, I met my conversation partner Abdullah at the palace saloon for our third conversation session. I arrived early at nine o clock to secure a pool table and dart board for the evening waiting till nine thirty for Abdullah to arrive. Abdullah commented that I was not with my friends this time and I told him that none of my friends wanted to go out to a bar on a Tuesday night so it was just me and him. Although being one on one allows me to have more conversation with Abdullah, I could tell he was a little disappointed that he would not be socializing with other people. Needless to say, I played pool and darts with Abdullah till eleven thirty and despite it just being us, I could tell he had fun. I learned that night that Abdullah does not drink because his religion does not allow him to do so. I am glad that despite the palace being a bar that serves beer, Abdullah still went to an establishment unknown to him and socialized with people who drink.

cp 4

On Saturday May 28^th 2016, I was planning on watching game six of the NBA western conference finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors with my close friends at a bar called The Palace Salon on Jackson bluff road. Before the game, however, I received a text message from my conversation partner Abdullah who asked me if I would like to hang out tonight. I recalled that during our first conversation session, we said that one night maybe we would go out and have fun together. So I invited Abdullah to Palace to watch the game and meet my friends and he accepted. I got there at 10 and Abdullah arrived at 10:15. With my friends Cameron, Josh and Brent, Abdullah and I played pool and darts till midnight. Abdullah said at twelve that it was getting late for him but that he wanted to hang out with us next time my friends and I went to palace.