Austin TP 12

My 12th and last blog for this session was also the first meeting of the new one. I met with Dohoun, who is both older and bigger than me, which is a first. Dohoun is 30, from South Korea, and is a physical education master, going for his doctorate now. He says he weighs 85 kilograms now, but weighed over 100 kilos not long ago. I've already asked him for his help in the gym, in exchange for my help with his English. He is taking and ITA exam, (International Teacher Assistant...I think). His favorite sport is Badminton, something you don't here very often. He says the game is very popular in Korea, so I guess I'll have to take his word for it.

Dohoun wants to be a TA here at FSU, and his biggest weakness according to him are his listening and speaking skills. I have yet to assess his reading and writing skills, but that will come later. He says he is nervous about teaching in front of so many people. This is a universal fear, not just native to Americans. Public speaking is difficult, so my plan is to have him make a speech in his native Korean, and then make the same one in English, and take note of the differences.

I asked Dohoun if he was married or had any kids. He says he is too young. I've never thought of 30 as too young, but I guess I can't know until I get there. I definitely think 23 is too young. We're meeting again on Tuesday at 12. Being that he just started, he didn't have any work today, but hopefully he has something on Tuesday. Otherwise, I'll just make up a lesson from scratch.