Developing a Conversation Partner Program
by Kendra Johnson and Amy Tate
English language students want and need real-life
conversation practice. Providing these opportunities is a constant challenge
for oral communication instructors, but we were able to do just that for
students in our advanced pronunciation and oral communication classes through a
partnership at our community college. Working with two professors who teach a
first-year experience course in the Honors College, we developed a conversation
partner program that paired each English to speakers of other language (ESOL)
student with an honors student. They met virtually three times during the semester
for a 45-minute conversation related to culture. The ESOL students reported a
number of benefits:
- learning new vocabulary,
- growing in their confidence,
- identifying gaps in their speaking and listening
abilities, and
- deepening their understanding of another culture.
With willing participants, a program like this can
get off the ground quickly. Just a month after our first discussion with the
honors professors, the students had been paired and were scheduling their first
conversations.
Alternative: Collaborating
with another sector of our school community was rewarding for our students and
for us as professors. However, the most important outcome (student practice)
could be accomplished through a partnership with community volunteers or even
another ESOL class.
Students and Preparation
In preparation for their conversations, the honors
students had lessons on cultural competency and styles of intercultural
communication. The honors professors wanted to ensure that their students had
the skills necessary to engage their partners in respectful conversations about
culture. The honors students also developed a set of about eight
culture-centered questions for each conversation that moved from surface
culture to deep culture.
Meanwhile, the ESOL students completed a brief
survey asking for their first language and a brief description of their
cultural background, including country of origin and anything else they wanted
to share. Their partners received this information before their first meeting.
The honors professors sent us an Excel spreadsheet
with their students’ names, email addresses, and phone numbers, and we randomly
typed the name and contact information of one ESOL student next to each of
those names. We had one more honors student than ESOL students, but we easily
identified an ESOL student willing to have two partners.
After receiving their partner’s information,
students were responsible for contacting each other and scheduling their first
virtual meeting. Every 3 to 4 weeks, they had another conversation, with a
total of three during the 16-week semester.
Alternative: If students don’t
match up exactly one-to-one, consider small group conversations with three or
four students, where there is at least one student from each participating
class.
Conversation Questions
Before each meeting, the ESOL students were
provided with the set of questions that the honors students had developed for
the upcoming conversation. Students were informed that the questions were a
guide, and they did not have to discuss all of them. We wanted the discussions
to develop as organically as possible. As we mentioned earlier, the conversation
questions gradually transition from surface culture to deep culture:
Example of questions from Conversation
#1:
- How would you describe the food of your culture?
What is the most popular food?
- What holidays do you celebrate? What do they
represent?
Example of questions from Conversation
#2:
- How important is being on time to you?
- In what ways are emotions shown, or not shown, in
your culture?
Example of questions from Conversation
#3:
- What are the typical roles expected of different
family members?
- How does your culture view the current social
justice movements, like Black Lives Matter?
See the Appendix (PDF) for more questions.
Alternative: The ESOL students
can develop their own questions for the conversations. The three conversations
could be varying themes on the same topic or three different topics related to
the course material.
Assignments
After each conversation, the ESOL students
submitted an assignment related to their experience. They submitted a
reflection that included a brief summary of their conversation and an analysis
of their learning. For example, they wrote about new words they learned, any
difficulty they had speaking or understanding, and strategies they used to
communicate their ideas.
Some assignments were written, while others were
submitted as audio or video recordings. In the pronunciation class, these
recordings were posted to a discussion board so classmates could hear about
each other’s experiences. The honors students also submitted a graded
assignment in their class.
Tips
We counted this program a success after receiving
overwhelmingly positive feedback from both the ESOL and honors students. The
structure is easily customizable for many teaching contexts. Here are some
suggestions based on our experience:
-
Give students an opportunity to speak with the
same partner multiple times. Some students were very nervous before their first
meeting but were more relaxed after they spoke with their partner. Changing
partners regularly might cause unnecessary anxiety.
-
Attach a graded assessment to the task. We had
100 percent participation, which we attribute, at least in part, to the fact
that it included a graded assignment for both the ESOL and Honors students.
This also adds incentive for students to reply to their partners in a timely manner.
-
Instead of random pairings, consider deliberately
matching students so they have a partner from a different cultural
background.
-
If meeting in person, require students to meet on
campus or in a space where they both feel comfortable.
-
Provide at least a few guiding questions to help
students get started. However, they should not have to study or prepare any
answers ahead of time so their discussion can unfold as naturally as
possible.
Alternate Discussion Topics
Our conversation program focused on culture, but
there are many topics that can generate enjoyable discussion for students. It
is important that the chosen topic facilitate a conversation where everyone
involved can share as well as learn. The goal is to avoid a teacher-student
dynamic where one partner is teaching the other and, instead, to foster a peer
relationship where all participants have expertise to share. If the students
are from different countries, they can exchange information about their
nations, such as
- pop culture,
- government structure,
- transportation,
- education,
- history, and
- tourist attractions.
If students are from the same country or similar
cultures, conversations can center on topics such as
- wellness and health,
- movies/TV series,
- music,
- free-time activities,
- major/career choice,
- family relationships and expectations,
and
- strategies for reaching their future
goals.
Conclusion
After several semesters of these cultural
conversations, our students continue to report the experience as one of their
favorite class assignments. With a little preparation, this program can be
incorporated into any course that is hoping to provide more real-life
conversation practice.
Kendra
Johnson teaches ESOL at Lone Star College –
Montgomery, in a suburb of Houston, Texas. She earned her MATESOL from the
University of Central Florida and has taught English language learners in
Florida, Maryland, South Korea, and Colombia. She uses conversation and
storytelling programs to help students build confidence in their oral
communication skills.
Amy
Tate teaches ESOL at Lone Star College –
Montgomery, in a suburb of Houston, Texas. She received her MATESOL from the
New School. She is interested in oral skills development, including
pronunciation, and she is often looking for creative ways to give students more
practice and feedback with their speaking and listening skills.
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