Conversation Partners - Spanish 1010

As a Culture Contact option for this course, you will meet regularly with one student in the English as a Second Language Program and complete five journals.

Journal #1 (September 19): Personal background. Write a one-page description of your Conversation Partner.  Provide background information, such as home city and country, major, length of time in Chicago, reason for coming here, reason for choosing North Park, etc.  Also include a few similar questions that s/he asked you.  Do any of the questions seem "awkward"?  Do you or your partner avoid answering any questions? 

Journal #2 (October 3): Language study. Write a one-page description of the language learning experiences that your Conversation Partner has had.  Find out how long s/he has been studying English, how s/he studied the language, whether English study was required, what s/he thinks of English study, and what s/he thinks of his/her own ability in English.

Journal #3 (October 22): Family.  Talk to your Conversation Partner about his/her family.  Who lives in the same house?  How does s/he describe the relationships?  Who seems to be the "most important" members of the family?  Do individual family members have special roles or expectations?  How do these family relationships differ from your own?

Journal #4 (Extra credit; November 3): Education.  Talk to your Conversation Partner about the education system in his/her country.  How do students learn?  Get a good picture of the learning environment and compare and contrast schooling in your partner's country with your own experiences.

Journal #5 (Extra credit; November 17): Cultural awareness. Write a one-page description of the "value-added" nature of your exposure to another culture.  How has this experience affected your attitudes and understandings of your partner's culture? 

Journal Guidelines

• Each journal is evaluated on organization, language usage, and treatment of the questions of linguistic and cultural comparison.  The questions are meant to orient you rather than limit you.  Feel free to go beyond these questions in your analysis.  I am most interested in your perceptions of similarities and differences between aspects of your partner's culture and your own culture. 

• The paper must be at least one page in length, typed (preferably on computer), written in English and turned in by the due date to receive full credit.   If I ask you for a revised draft, it will be due one week following the original due date.  

• Projects #4 and #5 are available for extra credit.  In order to earn additional points (up to 2% each), the journal must be follow the same guidelines and be turned in on the due date.

Cultural Guidelines

• Plan on meeting with your partner once or twice a week.  Agree upon a reasonable time commitment -- one hour a week is ideal, and more if you both wish.  If you can't meet for longer periods, then meet twice a week for half an hour.

• Meet anywhere you can both converse comfortably -- the library, ARA, George's.  Feel free to invite your partner to accompany you and your friends on selected activities (chapel, trips to the Loop, a basketball game, etc.).

• View your partner as a friend rather than as part of your final grade.  Your partner comes from a very different culture; try to learn about his/her culture as you teach about your own.

• Try to have a natural conversation rather than "grill" your partner.  If the suggested questions aren't working, let me know.

• Avoid topics that might be considered too intrusive.  For example, you may get asked about your girl/boyfriend, finances, political views, etc.  Don't feel any more obligated to answer such questions than you would with your own friends.  Likewise, be sensitive to questions that may provoke similar anxiety in your partner (e.g., politics, religion, money, personal possessions, relationships...).  Do make a note of "inappropriate questions" that you get asked, and include them in your journal, along with a guess as to why such questions were asked.

• If you have any difficulties -- inability to get together with your partner, incompatibility, etc. -- let me know as soon as possible, and I will try to assign you to a new partner.