This course has allowed me to develop weaker conversational skills I use in general speech, as well as create an idea of what conversational conventions can be used in a Japanese setting.  The implementation of aizuchi in daily speech was a normal occurrence before the class, but now I understand the important role it has in facilitating the flow of the conversation.  I also learned the importance of listening, and knowing when to speak. 

     I thought of this course as a great opportunity to relearn how a conversation should actually be conducted. I usually speak too much in a conversation to the point of changing it into a speech. Through the assignments completed in class, I relearned how to conduct myself in a conversation and understand the subtleties that each role implies.  I am more conscientious of how I conduct myself in a conversation. 

     Connecting those learned conversation skills into a Japanese context was a fun and interesting experience. For example, not being being direct in conversation, respecting the conversation partner by not speaking too much, and utilizing aizuchi to let the speaker know that what was said was understood.

Thanks to this course, I was able to identify one of my weaker skills in communication, allowing silence to be present in a conversation. In the first TalkAbroad assignment, I was not confident enough to take on the role of speaker in the conversation. In the second assignment, because I felt uncomfortable with silence, I controlled too much of the conversation. The two TalkAbroad assignments showed me how a conversation should flow in a Japanese context, but also in a general sense.