Anne Kooiker / Winonan
The English Language Center has dedicated events and time into helping international students improve their English-speaking skills.
At Conversation Partners, American students who speak English pair up with the international students to help the international students practice skills and develop confidence speaking to people in an informal environment, according to organizer Katie Subra.
Food is also brought in to the Haake Hall conference room for the participants to snack on while at the events, which will take place 4:30 to 6 p.m. March 2 and April 12.
Classes are also held specifically for international students by the English Language Center, which helps refine skills, but Conversation Partners helps people talk in a casual manner and let go of the proper filters they have in their classes.
“We try to have some speaking lessons on pronunciation, style of speaking, genre, repeating a formal speech or a debate in class, but this really helps the other piece where they can just talk without a filter, pick up new vocabulary, learn some slang from the American students, and just do it,” Subra said. “Do it and make mistakes till they become more comfortable.”
Subra said confidence is key when learning a new language. Being at ease in different circumstances the students could encounter in the future, will help them accomplish those skills.
“Everything else comes after that. The fluency and vocabulary; if they are comfortable in the situation, then that’s when they are capable of learning” Sabra said.
It is through this comfort that Conversation Partners closes the gap of languages and allows students to make mistakes and learn in a fun and stress-free environment.
Subra said navigating ways to approach someone from a different country can be difficult but definitely worth the time.
Khalid Alyami, an international student from Saudi Arabia studying chemical engineering, said the event helps bridge any gaps between the cultures.
“You can connect with others, you can talk with them even if you get some mistakes or not. But in the class you will have to play careful and speak as quickly as you can,” Alyami said.
Hamad AlDowais, an international student from Saudi Arabia studying mechanical engineering, said when he first came to the event he was shy, but afterward he really benefited from the event with new friendships.
But moving to a new country with a new language can be difficult for some international students. Abdullah AlDharfan, an international student from Saudi Arabia studying computer science, said some words are hard to understand and it can be tough to converse with American students at Winona State.
“I think we are facing a lot of difficulties to connect with Americans and people outside the English Language Center because we use a lot of academic words, and they use a lot of words we don’t understand. And they are really fast sometimes,” AlDharfan said.
There is also a big difference in culture from Saudi Arabia and the U.S, AlDowais said. This can lead to difficulties among students when developing relationships.
“There is a big difference between our culture and American culture and in the beginning when we came, we faced some difficulties with dealing with the American people,” AlDowais said.
But the international students always are learning new things through their classes, Conversation Partners, and experiencing America, according to AlDharfan.
“Every day we learn new things about American cultures and new words, and also we learn academic ways to write, how to speak and give a speech, because we are out looking to join the university,” AlDharfan said. “And we have to learn a lot of academic things.”
The different ways of speaking and approaching people for certain situations is also different from that of Saudi Arabia, Alyami added.
Alyami said it is good to keep in mind international students are from a very different world than of American students.
“We are from that other side, everything is different and we are here learning a new language and everything is new,” Alyami said. “We are experiencing new things and we struggle.”
Even though speaking and learning in a new language can be a struggle for international students, AlDowais said events like Conversation Partners have brought him out of his shell.
“I think the biggest impact from Conversation Partners is when I first came I was shy and didn’t speak with others. I just came and sat with along the table and just listened to few other people,” AlDowais said. “But now I made relationship with America student, and I add them in my Facebook and I text with them.”