Blog #2

            I think I took a lot away from hearing Angelo and Carson’s advice as well as from reading the “Survey Results” handout they gave to us.  At the same time, though, some of the issues raised in both the talk and the reading made me feel more anxious about whether my idea of what a Chat Café should be is different from my group’s.  In particular, I am nervous that my attempts to be more of a peer than a teacher and to have a freely flowing conversation rather than a strictly planned activity don’t conform to my group’s expectations. 

            As I read the survey results, I noticed that many students seemed to prefer a more structured topic or a planned activity to a natural conversation.  Both times I have met with my group, I came with a prepared list of conversation topics and an “emergency” deck of cards, but I haven’t had to use any of them.  My group and I sat outside and chatted about majors and dining hall food and differences between their home countries and the United States.  I enjoyed these casual conversations because they felt more like talking to a group of friends than a classroom.  Yet many former participants wrote in their surveys that “follow[ing] a topic each week would be better.  Otherwise [they] don’t really know what to talk about.”  Some of them suggested that the facilitator email the topic to the group beforehand so that everyone could prepare to talk about it beforehand.  I think this sounds a lot more like something a teacher would do and I’m also a bit concerned that people might not feel inclined to come if they aren’t particularly interested in the topic I’ve chosen.   One person said that taking attendance is a good idea so that people feel obligated to be there, and while I am definitely having trouble with attendance, I’m also not sure I want anyone to feel obligated to be there.  Other students wrote that the facilitator “should be a teacher, not just a listener.”  This confused me because we have spent a lot of time in class talking about how we shouldn’t be acting like a teacher.  I’m also a firm believer in the notion that the best way to get better at speaking a language is simply by speaking it.  I don’t think that correcting every grammatical mistake will help them as much as creating a space where everyone feels comfortable talking will.  At the same time, though, I don’t want to disappoint anyone who joined because they were looking for a structured environment where someone would correct their mistakes. 

            Another person said that they felt that ending exactly at the designated time made it seem like the facilitator didn’t want to be there, but I know that some of the kids in my group have class and meetings immediately after our Chat Café.  I’m not really sure how to deal with this, because I can see how it might seem rude to end exactly at 5:00, but it might also be rude to keep people from their next activity.

            All this is a lot to think about, but I am confident we will all find our own ways to respond to these conflicting pieces of advice and make our groups our own.  I think one of the best ways to do this might be to send out a survey asking people what they are expecting from this experience so that they can answer in a private and honest way.  All in all, I’ve really enjoyed these first two meetings and I’m looking forward to the rest of the semester!