I met with Y, my TP, twice last week. On Tuesday we met at the library as usual. The week before we had briefly touched at the end of the session on the American structure of governmnt. Y had mentioned that the next time she wanted to explain to me something about the Korean system of government, because she knows a lot about it. So on Tuesday it was one of the first topics I introduced and I think it was a successful one. Because it was a topic she knew a lot about and was interested in, there was a lot she wanted to say. When she came to a vocabulary word she needed to use but couldn't remember - like 'constitution' - she drew a diagram and from there I came up with possible vocab selections and she quickly found the word she needed.
We met again on Saturday, again at a Starbucks near her house. Unlike the last time we had met there, she had already ordered her own drink by the time I arrived. I congratulated her on doing it by herself! During our session I was reminded again how speaking with a non-native speaker can make you question your own understanding of some words. For instance, I used the word 'duplex' in our conversation and when she queried it I struggled a bit to answer. "A duplex is like two houses that are attached. But only one story, otherwise it's a townhouse. Or can a duplex be 2 stories? And a row of more than 2 is still a duplex, right?" None of which is helpful to Y who is staring at me confused. I left her with the notion that it was a place to live in, but not a stand alone structure. Sometimes sharing a general sense of meaning is the best you can do.
Lindsey, that happens to me all the time. I think I can explain something because I know it and when I start explaining it I realize I'm not really sure I DO know it!! It's a really cool way to understand your own limitations in language and concepts.
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