Conversation #3

Today, November 16th, I had my third meeting with Li. Since we had just met last week, it was a little difficult at first to think of things to talk about. One of the things that has impressed me each time that we have met is how easy it is for Li to come up with things to talk about-whenever there is a lull in conversation, he is quick to fill it. This is something that I tend to struggle with in my native language, so I was somewhat surprised when he had little trouble keeping the conversation going. We talked about how our weeks had gone, and about Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving break. I found out that his aunt lives only 10 minutes away from campus, and he will be celebrating his first Thanksgiving this year with his family. This led to a conversation about how he decided to come to TCU. His cousin graduated from here two years ago, and now has a good job because of his degree in Business. I was really interested to learn about what made Li choose a school so far from home, and it makes sense that family in the area would have influenced that decision. We talked a little about our plans for after graduation, even though that is far away for both of us. Finally, we talked about how classes were going, in particular his English class that led him to do the conversation partner program. He seemed a little flustered about the class, and talked about how difficult it is to write essays on the computer and to get a high enough score on them to pass onto the next level of classes. I asked about how long it generally takes to move between classes, and he did not know for sure, saying it ranged from a month to a year, depending on the person. As usual, his speaking skills were quite good, and from what I could tell he understood most if not all of what I said. There are few times when I’m talking to him that he has trouble with grammar or with remembering a word, which I always find impressive. Once again trying to fit in conversations before the end of the semester, we scheduled a meeting for next Tuesday before the holiday.

Conversation #2

Between our first two meetings, Li and I talked several times via Facebook and ran into each other once or twice on campus. We met on November 9, once again at the TCU Bookstore. 

This time we spend most of our minutes discussing the current workload in our classes. We talked about the surplus of tests and papers due in the days before Thanksgiving Break, and about how our classes were going in general.

One thing I thought was interesting about our discussion this time was some of the questions Li asked me about my classes. We were talking about how long it takes us to write English essays- he was jealous of the native speakers who get away with writing it all the night before it’s due. He then began asking me about the time it takes me to do various assignments in my French class. While it is obviously much easier for me to read and write in English than in French, this discussion led me to an interesting realization. While I understand the difficulties in doing assignments in a foreign language based on my experiences, all of the excerpts I read and essays I am assigned in French are much shorter than those that Li must complete in English. Not only does he have to deal with the challenging workload college presents, but the additional factor of a foreign language as well. Especially in light of the article about American students’ inability to read, I was once again struck by the difficult task that Li and all foreign students are taking on. Going to and surviving college is a challenge for most, and succeeding at this while in a foreign country with a non-native language is nothing less than admirable.

Li also talked about having to take both the SAT and the TOEFL before coming to college. When he talked about the speaking portion of the TOEFL, I was reminded of my experiences taking the French AP exam. I am very glad that my scores on that exam did not determine my ability to go to college, and I can’t imagine the stress of taking the SAT in a foreign language. It is crazy to me to think about how difficult it must be to live and learn in a place using your second, non-native language.

We ended our meeting by setting up our next conversation to ensure that we catch up and meet 8 times. I will be speaking with him again on Wednesday the 16th.