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Conversation Partner

For my Adolescent Development placement I am working with a conversation partner through the Saint Michael's College Intensive Language Program. My conversation partner is a young man from Columbia who currently lives with his mother in Middlebury, VT. He is a level one in the Intensive Language Program and is taking classes in the areas of reading, writing, and speaking. My conversation partner and I meet twice a week, once in a more professional setting during one of his  classes and once in a more relaxed setting, usually for lunch. During our in class meeting I am there to support him with his class work and to be someone he can have conversations with to help improve his speaking. Typically we play word or question games to reach a wide variety of topics and vocabulary. When my conversation partner and I meet for lunch we will often talk about how our weeks have been, our likes and dislikes, differences in our cultures, traveling, or any other topic of interest.
I am really enjoying the opportunity to work with my conversation partner because not only am I able to support his learning English, but I am also able to use my Spanish. We often run into language barriers but by using both languages we are able to figure out what the other person is trying to say. As a Secondary Education and Spanish double major I am cherishing this opportunity to enhance my learning in both areas simultaneously.

Comments

  1. Thanks for the update. These connections are so valuable. It sounds like you are really making a difference.

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