Caroline K. has a great tutoring technique to pass along!

Caroline and her student learner read the Dear Abby column from the newspaper.  Her learner uses her dictionary to look up words she is unfamiliar with.  Once she reads the letter, I ask her what advice she would give the writer.  Then she reads what Dear Abby had to say. 

I like this technique for many reasons: it gets her familiar with American culture and idioms, it tests her comprehension, it gives her an opportunity to think and speak spontaneously in English and to hear and feel what spoken English is like.