All learners have unique knowledge and skills called funds of knowledge. How can you discover your learner's funds of knowledge and make your tutoring sessions even more meaningful? Here are some tips.
Your learner will study with great interest and curiosity when new information means something to them and to their life and culture. Although your learner may not be highly skilled in English, they do bring to their learning a unique set of knowledge and skills (and wealth of experiences) they developed during their lifetimes. These are called funds of knowledge.
Some learners, for example, may know a lot about animals, as farming was a popular activity in their country or family. Other learners are good at fishing, as their previous household was close to the sea, some learners know a lot about cars, as they worked as mechanics or drivers in their country. You can take advantage of your learner's unique funds of knowledge around these topics to make your tutoring sessions more insightful and engaging.
How can you get to know more about your learner's life, knowledge, and skills?
One of the easiest ways is to ask your learner to shoot a simple video of their household using a video camera or a smartphone. (I will present a guide on creating good videos in my next post, "The Steps of Creating a Perfect Video Shoot".)
When the learner brings you a video they shot in their own home or apartment, you need to be a good observer of what you see. On the video, you will probably see the learner's neighborhood, the area around their house.You can look at the objects around the house.
If you a see restored automobile, for example, you can predict that your learner probably has car engine and body repair skills and tools.
If you see ornaments on the curtains, you can suppose that your learner has creative and artistic skills. The garden around the house can tell that your learner knows how to grow their own fruits and vegetables, or is a botanist.You can find out more about those skills during the dialogue with your learner after you view their video together.
For example, if you were to see video stills taken of my backyard in Everett, you would notice a small garden where my roommates Olga, Eugena and I planted beetroots, onions, parsley, tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, and flowers:
Our Garden
Gardening
traditions are very important in Russia, my home country. It means that my
roommates, although we are young, have gardening knowledge that many if not
most young American women and men our age do not have. (I'm 27, and have been
growing my own food since I helped my mother when I was just in grade school.
The Bench near my House
Russians like to have a bench near their houses. Coming home, we like to sit outside with our neighbors and discuss the news and gossip of the day. Usually we eat sunflower seeds during these neighborhood conferences. It means that neighborhood bonds are very strong between the representatives of our culture.
You will see also a jump rope on the gate in the backyard which my roommate Olga uses to exercise and inspires us to do too. Russians unlike Americans almost never go to gyms to work out.
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| My roommate Olga with a jump rope |
So you can tell that we three like physical activity and are good at sports. I like Zumba now, and swimming.
Finally you can also notice a poster on front door of our apartment with a portrait of my roommate Olga, and "Happy Birthday" congratulations. It means that we three young women, like many Russians, are very attentive to each other in our households.
You will also notice a flag above our front door:
Russian flag above our front door
You could predict that this is the flag of my native country. Having the flag in the house is the sign that we respect and are attached to our culture.
The observation of your learner's home, like your insights into mine, will tell a lot about your learner, their knowledge, interests, and skills. If your learner is willing to show you pictures or a video of their home or apartment , you will have a greater spectrum for observation.Magazines, books, posters, furniture, ornaments, and souvenirs will also lend insights into your learner'sinterests and knowledge. Consider cooking utensils, a gas stove with a pot, a big table - all might suggest that your learner's family has a tradition to gather together to have dinner.
In part 2 of this post, I'll talk about how to teach your learner to shoot meaningful video camera or smartphone footage of their home.
Happy tutoring!
Tatyana Pavlova
Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics/ Bashkir State University
MA Education/ESL 2014, Cambridge College
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