Photo by: Rachel Roark
A DU program which serves to help non-native speakers learn English had its quarterly kick-off meeting last Wednesday, after being formed last fall.
The Conversation Partners program is designed to assist students from other countries learn English by talking to native speakers, usually current DU students, for a scheduled hour every week for six weeks.
At the meeting, students were given written information outlining the expectations for the upcoming weeks as well as certain etiquette reminders. These included speaking exclusively in English, using the given conversation starters, avoiding judgment and of course, having fun.
The first session with the students is at the English Language Center (ELC), but other meetings can involve different activities, all planned by the native English speaker. These include teaching them how to play a board game, taking the partner to coffee, leading a tour around campus and even showing them a favorite place to eat in Denver.
During these activities the students are expected to hold conversations with each other concerning backgrounds, families and places of origin, among other topics. The overall goal is to give the non-native English speakers practice listening to and speaking the language.
The program was created by Professor Ruth Chao from DU’s School of Education but has picked up the support of another individual to help run it each week. Lisa Wexler, a Faculty Instructor for the ELC, has taken an active role in the Conversion Partners program.
She explained that the program gets more successful with more participants each year.
“The response was quite positive, so the ELC decided to try to run the program twice a year in fall and winter,” said Wexler.
In addition to receiving native speaking participants from different classes across campus, more specifically Chinese, Arabic and Fundamentals in Intercultural Communication classes, the program looks for volunteers from different student organizations like the DU Volunteers.
Much of the involvement is not voluntary being that it is for a grade in one of the above classes, according to Wexler. Even though the participation is for class, the student response seems positive.
“It is really fun to learn about their [non-native speakers] families and home-lives,” said freshman Kelly Mackay, a native-speaking participant. “It is something so very different from my own.”
Wexler estimated that there are more than100 peopled involved in the program this quarter.
The ELC is a school slightly off-campus that is dedicated to enhancing one’s skill with the English language prior to their admittance into classes on the main campus. Once the student passes out of this program they are permitted to register for DU classes. These students also take certain classes at the International House throughout their involvement with the ELC.
“Many of our students have conditional acceptance to DU based on completing the ELC program,” said Wexler.
Usually, this series of classes takes five quarters, but students are permitted to test into a higher level of English upon arrival, making their involvement with the program shorter.
Some of the students use the ELC as a way to learn English and then go back to their home country to focus on their desired area of study.
The ELC building is located on South Josephine Street and East Asbury Avenue.
