Blog Post #6

I would like to use this final post to reflect on my experience and my participants' experiences throughout the semester. Even though the semester flew by, a lot happened.

For our first meeting, I was much more nervous than I was prepared to admit. The same tension could be felt amongst the participants. This was to be expected as no one in the group knew one another. Regardless of this, my group was quick to start chatting. I thought that our semester was off to a wonderful start. However, sometime between the 1st and 2nd meeting, my participants hit a conversational roadblock, the origins of which were unbeknownst to me.

It's easy, as a point-person of any group, to become flustered when things don't go as planned. I will admit that I felt stranded during those meetings which were not as lively as the first. But, I will share this piece of advice: failed attempts at conversation should not be taken as a failure or a disconnect. Rather, failed attempts give you, as a conversational leader, a better idea of the preferences of your group, and moreover, a better opportunity to allow your participants to incite conversations of their own.

One of the most successful strategies I implemented during the semester was allowing my participants to begin the conversation themselves. By taking a few moments of silence at the beginning of each meeting my participants eventually realized that the conversation would begin only when they took the initiative. Not only did this lessen their nerves about communicating in English, but it also allowed us to avoid stagnant conversation.

As the weeks passed, so did the occurrence of silences, long pauses, and crickets. Now, headed into our last week, I am happy to say that not only have these participants gained a tighter grasp of the English language and conversational skills, but have also grown closer as members of the international community. Although it is my ultimate goal to is to catalyze friendship between domestic and international students, this is a pretty good start.