English can be a difficult language.  It is my heart language, my home language.  And for all intents and purposes my only language.  Greeting in three languages does not count, nor do my few remaining Zulu words count as speaking that language.  

A young friend of mine is in grade 8.  He wants to be an attorney.  And he has asked me to help him with his English.  (In the past, i've helped at my or his gogo (grandmother)'s request.) We were going to read a book and check for comprehension and a few strange words.  Turns out most of the words are strange.  As in,

not used everyday in Soweto, i.e. dense, enormous, and shinning.  

So we will go back, closer to the beginning.  I've pulled out teaching English workbooks and English Made Easy notebooks.  My daughter is enrolled in teaching English as a second languages for next semester.  I could use what she will learn, now....right now.

The last two weeks we covered pronouns, especially he and she.  Most South African black language only have one word to describe both.  In Zulu,,yena.

And past tense....like darken and darkened--see the root.  And cloud and clouded.   And climb and climbed.

We will begin with how each letter sounds, and sight words and grammar and a bit more organization.  I feel in over my head, tho i love to teach/tutor.   This is important to him and to me.