first day of work

i was suppose to meet the coordinator of the english school again to go over the materials for the class today. i wanted to know what grammar and vocabulary they already learned so that i could incorporate it into our conversation.

the coordinator never made arrangements to meet, instead she sent me a nondescript note last night about both students. something like - pre-intermediate wants to talk about current events. what is pre-intermediate in her terms and what current events? current events of argentina, the world, united states?

this morning i left the apartment at 8:40, hopped on the subte and found the office where the students work.

both my students were older men. for both classes / conversations we sat in a conference room. my first student was very talkative and confident with his english. the second student was at a lower level (probably where my spanish is). he took a long time to find words and seemed to get frustrated (just like me with spanish). i met with both students for 1 hour each, back-to-back.

helping them with their english helped me a lot. both of the students said that it's easier for them to read and write english (same with my spanish), both said it's difficult to understand an english speaker when the english speaker is speaking at a regular pace (same with me in spanish) and both students said they have have an easier time understanding another non-native speaker speaking english. for example, it's easier for them to understand a chinese person speaking english than it is for them to understand a native speaker. weird thing is, i completely understand. i have an easier time understanding my american friends speaking spanish than an Argentine speaking spanish.

so. both students were a pleasure to meet with. for the next meeting i plan on purchasing an english newspaper and discussing one or maybe two articles.

Also, next week I'll be meeting with another student, working for 1 hour each day with him.