Blog Post #2

I was fascinated and very inspired after meeting with Brenda and Carson a few weeks ago.  They had a wealth of knowledge that I found to be extremely helpful in developing and understanding my role as a conversation circle facilitator.  I feel like I could have greatly benefited from a more in depth training with them before the semester.  I had my second meeting that week and I tried to implement a few of the strategies that Brenda and Carson spoke to.

In the conversation circle this week, I brought up the topic of how different cultures give and receive feedback, which served as a perfect segue into talking about the "MOM" critiques that Brenda and Carson mentioned.  The students in the conversation really liked to having that bit of American culture revealed to them, and I think that this could be a great strategy for each students personal development.

One idea I have for disrupting the "wheel and spoke" model of conversation that my group has developed is starting with pair sharing a topic and then talking about it as a larger group.  My thinking is that this will give the students time to process in a less intimidating environment before having a large group discussion.  However, this idea will be dependent on the number of students that are present.  I am also hoping to try the reading idea that other facilitators have tried with success.

On Adaptability

The start of my Chat Cafe last week foreshadowed the rest of the conversation. When I arrived at the UGLi lobby, admittedly only a few minutes before 3, I couldn’t find a single table to set up the circle. Soon, my participants had arrived and I sort of had to think on the fly. We all adapted to the situation and decided to go outside and sit on the grass for the hour, taking advantage of the lovely weather. I think that concept of adaptability is the most important thing that I learned last week. It came up time and time again in the conversation itself.

One of the first questions of adaptability that we all had to approach was the addition of a new member to our circle: Ting. Ting speaks English well and is completely understandable. However, it was clear that she was more hesitant to speak than the other two participants in the circle. I tried to direct questions her way, but it seemed forced and had a stifling effect on the conversation. Luckily, my circle lived up the task and adapted themselves. Ray (the philosophy major) sat close to Ting, I believe to make her feel more comfortable and welcome. Meanwhile, Martin asked her about their questions about China (where they are both from). It was exciting to watch and I look forward to seeing how Ting will continue to mesh with the rest of the circle.

After discussing our days, we went into the mock class discussion portion, for which they were all well-prepared. We talked about the article (which was about Ichiro using Spanish smack talk to intimidate and ridicule his opponents), but the discussion ultimately veered back to Ray, who expressed once again her frustration at not being able to vocalize her opinions in her philosophy classes. She wished that she could have a translator follow her around the way Ichiro does. From there, we tried to get at the aspects of the discipline that brought her to philosophy in the first place. She recommended a low level class to Martin and said, “Just wait until you talk about God, That’s the best!” A theological discussion of beliefs followed. What started as an exploration into a Wall Street Journal article had ended in one of the fundamental questions of humanity. That’s what I call adaptability. 

Reflecting on the 2nd Meeting

This week my conversation circle met in Espresso Royale, but didn't necessarily utilize the reason why we were there. I had a hard time figuring out how to "teach" ordering coffee or tea, and when I tried to do it, it interrupted the flow of the conversation a little bit. But at the same time it allowed different people to have different conversations - the people who stayed vs the people who ordered drinks which felt nice and natural.

My group members have continued to have language questions for me so that was what we focused on a majority of the time. The conversation started with my new member asking about email etiquette and quickly turned into questions about classroom English vs conversational English. It took me some explanations to understand the discrepancy, but Kaio used the example that he and non-native english speakers that he knows often used the word "seldom" which his roommate (or friend, I forget who) said that native speakers very rarely use the word seldom. He said that American's often use two simpler words to convey the meaning of the vocabulary they learned in the classroom - much like I used very rarely in the sentence above instead of seldom.

This seemed to be a common experience among the members in my group and we agreed to all come to the next conversation with a couple of words to breakdown or fluff up depending on contexts. 

Other topics that came up were language change in general - for example the trend that's happening in American English right now that shortens words: Adorable -> adorbs, English text speak and acronyms like YOLO and lol.

Hiroki, one my my participants asked the group about teaching instruction in their respective countries and the US and I learned that in China, Japan and Taiwan that students are expected to listen to lecturers and not ask questions or participate. I hadn't realized that this might be a culture shock, and we talked about usually in what kinds of classrooms participation is expected more than others - ie a class with 30 people vs a 300 person lecture hall.

Overall I thought it went well, but there definitely is still a focus on me as a repository for knowledge rather than a general conversation. However like we talked about in class, I don't think that that's necessarily terrible. My group is always full of suggestions which is really helpful as a facilitator and I'm excited to have our next meeting outside and talk further about different registers of words!

Blog Post 2

One of the most important things I learned from last week's class was that not every conversation has to be a sit-down, ask questions type of conversation. This, for me, took a lot of the pressure off. I learned that we can go for a walk if we want to or play a game. It helped me to know that there could be other things in my back pocket besides a list of questions that I could use if the conversation lagged. Additionally, this reminded me that there's a lot of freedom in these conversation circles. We are looking to fulfill the goals of the circle, but we can do that in whatever way we feel our group would like to do. This was really encouraging for me and a great reminder.

Knowing this has allowed me to have a lot more fun with planning and thinking of ideas. Additionally it was great to be able to have a list of possible things to do that I could show the students in my circle. They could look at the list and even came up with their own ideas based off of what other groups had done in the past. I thought that this was very helpful.

Going through the different scenarios, or case studies, was also something I took away from last week's class. They had some really good insights into some different situations that might come up, and having the peace of mind that came from that conversation definitely helped me coming into this week. I don't necessarily think that anything really crazy or bad is going to happen, but it's nice to know that problems do arise but they are easily dealt with.

I am having a really great experience so far. Our first two conversations were very organic and required little to no help from my "back-pocket questions." Everyone in my group is really interested in being there, and it's fun to see them start to interact with one another. They are quickly becoming friends, and I know that I have a lot to learn from them this semester. I'm really looking forward to next week!

Blog Post #2 -- Reflection on first meeting

My first meeting with my students had its share of logistic difficulties, some of which have also been expressed by other facilitators in their blog posts, but on the whole I found it to be remarkably engaging and emotionally fulfilling.

My previous facilitation experience has been mostly directive as opposed to free-flowing and collaborative (that is, nothing like a true conversation.) I am used to having to draw small talk out of students, which can be a painful and awkward process -- this first conversational meeting, however, absolutely broke the mold for me in that respect. The students who attended were very lively and talkative; they were also considerate and friendly, not only to me but also to one another. Their English language abilities ranged along an interestingly wide spectrum but I was both surprised and incredibly pleased to discover that these differences in ability did not deter them from being open, genuine, and amicable with one other. I've often found myself in unfamiliar linguistic environments and usually treat that as a challenging barrier to communication. My chat cafe students, however, seemed to perceive language as an additional component of the conversation rather than an obstacle or barrier. 

I did have one minor problem (which I alluded to in my first paragraph) regarding the logistical organization of my first meeting. I made the mistake of meeting in a location that was unfamiliar to the students (Espresso Royale on State Street), which resulted in one of the chat cafe members being unable to find us. In future e-mails I will be more detailed and explicit with my directions, and individually check with each member that they know how to get to our agreed-upon locations. I really want to create an atmosphere of attentiveness and concern for each member, and to make sure that the students feel like they are welcome at our weekly meetings!

Blog 2 - Prepping for the Second Week

     I found that I was not all that nervous for the first Chat Cafe until I woke up the day of Chat Cafe. This was of course the day after we met with the members of the ELI. I started making lists of potential topics to discuss, just in case the conversation become slow or weak. I made cookies because I was nervous and that's something I do when I am nervous.
     But all this nervousness was for naught. My first meeting had a few hiccups at the beginning but did quite well by the end. Our main difficulty was finding each other and finding a place for all six of us to sit together. We ended up sitting outside for the first meeting, which isn't exactly what I had imagined but worked nonetheless. One of my members was not able to meet with us as they could not find us. I made sure to send an email after our meeting was over to apologize and explain more specifically where we would be meeting the next time.
      I asked my group if they would be interested in meeting in different places and they quite liked that idea. I wouldn't have imagined this, but this week we'll be going to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. We'll probably try a coffee shop the next week and a noodle restaurant on Liberty after that. My group seemed quite interested in actually experiencing Ann Arbor and discussed meeting outside of Chat Cafe to do things together. And it was only our first meeting!
    All of my members were willing participants and would even break off into smaller group discussions. We would be talking as one group, and then a pair would break off and continue the conversation one way while the other half would discuss something completely different and then suddenly we were all talking as one group again. It seemed natural. And I never had to open up my book of notes. They really liked the cookies (Yay!). And they also seemed earnestly interested in what everyone had to say. Everyone who signed up came (with the exception of my lost member who has assured me that they forgive me and want to meet with us next week).
     I'd say week one was an interesting success.

Blog Post 2

Right off the bat, I just wanted to voice my excitement over how well the chat café went!  Not only was my group really engaged and talkative, all the individuals sounded genuinely excited to be there.  The hour passed by easily, and the conversation flowed smoothly over a variety of topics ranging from our hometown food, to classes, to student life and hobbies.  To me, this appeared the epitome of a genuine conversation.  If I had to qualify a conversation as being genuine, I would say there are a couple of key factors.  Firstly, the conversation should touch on topics that are deeper than small talk questions, as asking questions about ones age, hometown, etc.  I felt that my group really reached that point when we started discussing some of our favorite movies, without any conscious transition into the topic.  The ability to have an organic flow of conversation without one specific facilitator is another important part of a genuine conversation.  Here, I felt that all the individuals in the group participated equally and with enthusiasm.  We were so engrossed in our topic, we didn’t even realize the hour was up!

            After our discussion with Brenda and Carson (which occurred after my chat café) I felt fortunate because I realized that the genuine conversation that my group had held was the exception, rather than the norm in these facilitated conversations.  My group members all spoke great English, so some of the participation and speaking games that were recommended in the ELI handout may not be as applicable here.  However, Brenda gave me some great advice on how to incorporate structure into our chat café.  I had mentioned to her that my group had voiced an interest in American film, so she suggested focusing our conversations on movies that we would watch outside of the café, then meet up and discuss them.  That way, we could work in some references to American culture and pop references.  I have already assigned my group their first movie to watch for our Wednesday meeting, and am excited to see what they have to say.

Blog #1

After our conversation in class yesterday, I'm feeling pretty excited about my first conversation circle next week. I'm looking forward to getting to know some really cool people, and I'm excited to develop more conversation facilitation skills. I also think it's just going to be a really great experience, and so I look forward to the weeks ahead where my group really starts to fall into a rhythm. I'm a bit nervous about the first few weeks as we're just getting to know each other, but I look forward to when we can have some fun and engaging conversations with each other. The challenge that this group may pose for me is also exciting, and so I hope to learn a lot from the other people in my group and from the experience of being a facilitator.

This is a little different than any facilitation I've done in the past, and in some ways I think that it will be a little bit easier because it's less formal. However, it might be more challenging because it's a conversation with my peers. I imagine that it will be difficult for me to find a balance between being a peer and being a facilitator. In the past I think I've found that I tend to gravitate toward a more hands-on role in conversation, but I hope to be able to remember that I'm not teaching, but I have the opportunity to be as much of a participant in the conversation as anyone else in the group. I'm looking forward to this, but again, I imagine it will be difficult for me to find this balance. However, after our conversation in class yesterday I think that I have a better sense of how I might be able to set this precedent early. I hope to just be able to tell the group that I'm there to facilitate but also to participate, and that we all have the opportunity to learn by really jumping in and engaging with the conversation. I hope that this will make it so that I have to ask fewer questions, that conversation will just flow, and that finding the balance will be easier because of it.

I find a lot of my motivation for being a conversation facilitator through my work at the Sweetland Peer Writing Center. I have experienced and witnessed the frustration that international students have felt at how difficult it is to really pick up English. In one conversation I had in the writing center, a student told me that it was hard for her because she was only friends with other international students and they rarely spoke English together, so the only time she was really getting any English was in class. A University class, she said, was not an ideal place to learn more English. I can empathize with what she's going through, and I really hope that for at least a few students these conversation circles are a space where they can feel comfortable to speak and practice English. I also hope that it's a space where students can meet new people who have undergone similar experiences, and that I can learn from them as they relate their experiences to me.

Blog Post #1

I am looking to forward Chat Café starting up next week.  I am exited to have the opportunity to connect with international students on campus.  As comes with in any new social situation, there are the usual anxieties of wanting to make a connection with the other members of the conversation circle, but the overwhelming prospect of cultural enrichment and personal development greatly outweighs the initial fears.  

My excitement for this experience is closely linked to my motivation for wanting to be a conversation circle facilitator.  I studied abroad as an international student at a French university for 6 months in 2013; this was one of the most difficult and rewarding experiences of my life.  I took part in a French conversation circle to improve my conversational French while I was there.  I had a adequate fluency in French for most settings, but I still felt very uncomfortable speaking in casual situations.  Through my experience in the conversation circle, I learned a great deal about the intricacies of French culture as well as common and colloquial sayings.  

I view this conversation circle as an opportunity for me to "pay it forward" with other international students at my home university.  I am so grateful for my peers that helped me through the struggles of attending a foreign university, and I would like to be a resource for other students experiencing the same at Michigan.  

Blog Post #1

These past few days, thoughts and questions about the upcoming conversation circles have not been far from my mind  -- how do I make and maintain rapport with the students? How do I promote the organic creation of a comfortable and inviting environment? How do I get a stranger to talk to me? How do I two strangers to talk to one another? Communication is the most basic and necessary -- but also the most intricate -- element of a human connection. There's something really frightening about that.

It's not just communication that I find daunting. I'm acutely aware of the challenges that international students face, not only here on campus, but also in the political, cultural, and socioeconomic microcosm of America at large. I'll always remember the fear of being unable to speak that accompanied me all throughout my first few weeks in the United States; there was nothing cognitively or developmentally wrong with my linguistic faculties but I was constantly and consistently afraid of tripping over my words, messing up any element of grammar, blanking on vocabulary, and so on and so forth. For many foreigners, the notion that communicative ability is linked to perception of one's self, and one's self-worth, is a strong one. I know I definitely felt (and continue to feel) that my ability to use English in a convincing and effective way is the primary method others will use to gauge my intelligence and overall character. 

This combination of the fear involved with using a foreign language and the social awkwardness that always initially exists in groups of strangers is what I'm most fixated on currently. As the semester moves along, I think I'll naturally grow into my role as facilitator and begin to understand how to subtly aid other international student's in coming to terms with their relationship with English. Its my hope that I will eventually be able to encourage the students in my conversation circles to lose their trepidation not only in dealing with one another, but also in dealing with the English language itself.

Expectations - Blog 1

What I'm thinking most about after reading the email thread and last semester's facilitators' last blog posts is the idea about preparation. It makes sense to be nervous about your first session - to have so many expectations for it. It makes sense to worry that you wont make a good impression, that you'll come off more authoritative than you want to be, or conversely too permissive. As an RA at Alice Lloyd I've lost sleep about how my residents would perceive me only to figure out what I knew already to be true - those who were going to engage from the beginning were going to engage and those who weren't weren't. I found that the most genuine conversation happens when I'm being myself quirks and all open, even a little vulnerable, but okay with it. What I've learned is that if you set the stage and are calm and comfortable with it, the group responds. Like Lauren Fitzgerald said, "your emotions (anxiety or comfort) will rub off on the people in your circle."

This notion of not over thinking is a new one for me, but one I am truly trying to embrace both for myself as a facilitator, an RA, and a person. I want to hold myself to a level of candidness and engagement and I'll expect them to hold themselves to the same standard. I'll have conversation points in my back pocket, but will only bring them out if others are reluctant to speak. I'll be okay with awkward silences and encourage ownership of the space. I'll do my best not to get ahead of myself.

What I think will be the biggest struggle for me is cultivating that group community. In the past I have preferred one on one conversations to group settings because of the level of depth that one on one conversations allow and the akwardness of finding one's space within a bigger group. I realize now, as I'm writing this, that I may be able to use that feeling to my advantage - as the students who come may be looking for their space in this greater University.

I'm expecting some awkwardness and adjustment and I'm sure that I'll walk away from some sessions not feeling as great as others. But I think if I continue to keep in mind that this is a conversation, I'll be able to let go of some of the preconceived expectations that often hold me back. 

Blog Post #1 -- The Prospect of Class-Based Conversations:

When I was reading the final blog posts of last year’s conversation facilitators, one idea really caught my attention: the issue of learning in a non-native language. I have been in several foreign language classes and have always struggled with losing the train of conversation or the professor’s lecturing topic, so I understand how frustrating it must be for international students who cannot keep up with the discussion. I conducted one tutorial in the Writing Center where an ESL student had to write a brief analysis of an article in the Wall Street Journal. She found that she could not even start writing because she, through no fault of her own, had no idea what the article was actually about. A few unfamiliar words can make a piece of writing or a speech completely incomprehensible. And often it is impossible to stop the flow of a class to ask important clarifying questions. So, what is an international student to do? Could we, as conversational facilitators help in any way? Perhaps, we could encourage students to write down words or phrases that they have encountered and bring them to the conversation circle. These confusions could actually act as jumping-off points for wider conversations, especially if a few students are in the same class. On the other hand, it might be pernicious to bring academia into the conversation circle arena. It could turn a supposedly stress-less environment into another part of “school.” I guess that is my ultimate question: How connected will our conversations be with academics at Michigan? To what extent can we escape or embrace our place within a place of higher education? 

Blog Post #1

Blog 1- Carmella Vong

As I prepare for my first conversation circle, it is safe to say that I am filled with nervous excitement, or pre-performance jitters, if you will.  I am really looking forward to meeting the students who show up, and getting to introduce myself to them.  I figure that if they took the time to seek out the conversation circles in the first place, register for the circle, and attend, then they must be really invested and interested.  However, I am nervous because I can only hope that I will live up to their expectations of a good conversation leader.  What if the students come in expecting someone much more qualified or adept than me?  Or even worse, what if, after one session, no students return?  To me, this fear of disappointing the students is a huge motivating factor in creating a great first conversation circle.  I wanted to be a conversation circle facilitator in the first place because it would be a way for me to help give back to the University of Michigan society, and I would like to make this program a great resource for international students to use.  There is so much potential in this project, and I am so looking forward to getting the ball rolling.

Nervous and Excited

So I'm not quite sure what to expect in the coming weeks but I've already started thinking about what my group should do for our first meeting, especially after reading the ESL Conversation Groups email thread and the final blog posts of past facilitators of this class.

Attendance definitely seems like it was an issue for all facilitators and I'm trying to brainstorm how to make this a non-issue for this semester (though I'm sure I won't be able to completely eradicate the problem). I was thinking of discussing expectations with the conversation group on the first day so they know what I want from them and what they want from me. But I'm also worried that is too authoritative. I want to be friends with these people, not their teacher. But it could work. Sending out reminder emails also seems like a good idea. Maybe creating a facebook page? There's lots of options and hopefully our group can discuss them together while keeping in mind that there is an expectation that they should be attending every meeting.

As for the first meeting's topic...I was thinking of starting with the really generic questions: what's your name, where are you from, what are you studying, etc. Though everyone hears these all the time, these really are great starting points for a conversation. When I've gone on trips with international students before, what you study and what you plan to do in the future are always really interesting questions. Especially in a country where employment and social structures are different. So I guess you could say my plan for conversation is not to have a plan and to just get to know each other on broad terms for the first meeting. Also, I may make cookies...We'll see.

As for location...I think Scott said the first day we'll be meeting in a certain location. If not, I'll probably choose a more academic setting for the first meeting and then discuss with the group what they want to do from there. I know I'm really interested in trying different places for lunch. I also have not been able to explore Ann Arbor's food scene all that much. And since it is something the city is rather well known for, I'd like to try. But again! This all depends on what my group wants, like all my other ideas so far.

In the final blog posts, some facilitators mentioned planning activities and even sharing international opportunities around campus. I think that's a really good idea! I was thinking maybe every week all the participants can bring in a cool event that's going on in the next week or so. This could help participants learn about the diverse campus life while also including all Chat Cafe participants in international and cultural activities.

I have lots of ideas but none concrete yet. I'm nervous and excited to start the Chat Cafes and I hope I learn a lot from my group!