I have participated in the ODU English Language Center (ELC) Conversation Partner Program for the past two semesters: Spring 2021 and Fall 2021. Every week or so, we met over zoom to speak English for an hour. My Spring semester conversation partner (“Partner 1”) was a Mechanical Engineering grad school student, and he needed to pass a speaking test so he could be a TA. I took ENGL 390 during the Fall 2021 semester and met with a Transportation Engineering grad school student (“Partner 2”). Both of my partners were from China, and I learned a lot about Chinese language and culture.

I spent most of my time with Partner 1 helping him study for the SPEAK test. Since most of the questions required 30 to 60 second responses, I shared tips I’d learned from public speaking classes on organizing ideas and time management. We also talked about his daily life, his fuel cell research, and his experiences growing up in China. When we were done with the English-speaking practice, he usually gave me Chinese language lessons. Even though I took Chinese in high school and some of college, I was not very good at speaking. At the end of the semester, I invited Partner 1 to my house to have dinner with an American family. I saw Partner 1 a couple of times after completing the program, and in Fall 2021, I found out he passed his exam!

Partner 2 had advanced English skills, and we mostly talked about our lives and interests. She enjoys watching Netflix and spending time with friends. Since she is studying Transportation Engineering and I am a big Tesla fan, I brought up the topic of Autonomous Vehicles (AV). As it so happened, her dissertation research is about Waymo, a Google AV company. We talked a lot about Waymo, Tesla, and her research.

Throughout these two semesters, I have learned a lot about Chinese Culture. At one point, Partner 1 shared a little about his Buddhist faith and Chinese attitudes about faith. Partner 2 talked about Chinese food and her experiences as an international student. I gained a lot of respect for ESL speakers and the challenges they faced. Even as a native speaker, I had a few troubles taking the practice SPEAK test, and it would have been impossible for me to do it in Chinese. During the Fall semester, I was able to apply what I was learning in ENGL 390, and I felt more helpful as a conversation partner. I am thankful for the experience of being an ELC Conversation Partner and the connections I made along the way.