My conversation last week was sparsely attended. But,
honestly, I am not sure how to feel about that. Only one person shod up for the
conversation (the philosophy major). I chalk up the absences to the impending
fall break and the numerous other commitments that people have. I was
discouraged at first, thinking that I could have made the circle more of a
priority (both in my own life in and in the lives of my participants), and
avoided this situation. But, at the end of the hour, I was more enlightened to
the possibilities of the conversation than ever before.
In our hour long conversation, Ray (the participant that met
with me) had the opportunity to voice some of her thoughts about how the circle
was going so far. She gave me some great ideas for improvement and ultimately
changed the way I view the circle. The most important concept that expressed
was her recognition that the short and infrequent nature of the circle made it
not the best choice for consistent improvement in speaking English. Rather, she
believes, the circle should serve as a gateway to “English-speaking
friendships,” that is relationships that develop further outside of the group
setting. She suggested that I made a google doc page of everyone’s contact information;
so that they could all meet up outside of the conversation circle to speak in
English. I am going to try this and see what happens!
From our one-on-one meeting, I really grasped the importance
that feedback plays in this whole conversation circle project. Now, I wish I
could have an individual session with each of my participants to mine their
brains for more improvements on the current system. When it comes down to it,
they are the ones experiencing the circles on the most immediate basis. They know
them best.
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