Hou Wanxia's daughter, Nini, is preparing for her end-of-term exams and the usual run of competitions at this time of year. One in particular, which prompted this weekend lesson with me, is the 'how many English words can you remember?' contest. I agreed to teach a group of Nini's friends, all of whom have a good command of English vocabulary and grammar rules, but have trouble stringing correct sentences together. The key aim was to review vocabulary from the text book and introduce a number of study skills and activities that they can use as they revise for their exams. I prepared a two-hour class [with breaks ] and materials for 8 children. What Wanxia didn't tell me was that 3 of the children (the boys) were her own tutees (mostly children of College teachers), all a much lower level of English than the girls that Nini had selected, and one of them a Grade lower in school - so he hadn't even studied the English I was supposed to be reviewing. The goal posts were shifted as and when required and at the very least I was able to evaluate the students' study strenghts and weaknesses so that they all left with a personal learning plan.
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