By Pei Jun Quek and Jojo Kang
It is a daunting experience to step into a new environment in a different country where there is no sense of familiarity, writes Pei Jun Quek and Jojo Kang. The Language Café, which was started in Michaelmas, aims to help John’s students build confidence in their language over tea, coffee and crisps.
The idea of a Language Café was conceived in Michaelmas term last year during a Resident Tutors’ meeting, where it was shared that some international Johnians felt they lack confidence conversing in English in their daily interactions within college. This quickly translated into a collaboration with the International Reps to kick-start the first Language Cafe that very weekend.
Held in Haughton Hall over coffee, tea and crisps, the Language Café serves to provide a relaxed platform for Johnians to practise and grow their confidence in conversational English, and help build a more inclusive John’s community. During the inaugural session, we asked participants to share some of the barriers that they face, as well as their personal experiences conversing in English. In the second session we had more new faces coming along to be conversation partners so participants had the opportunity to be exposed to different accents.
In these conversations, we understood that international Johnians have doubts in their language skills more because of a cultural barrier, despite the ability to perfectly express themselves in English. Compared to not knowing how to say things, a bigger challenge is to find common topics between students from different backgrounds. Therefore, at the language cafe events, topics such as “Christmas holiday” were established at first to encourage people to start conversations. From there, more and more questions and stories sprang up.
Another challenge many students faced was the difficulty in actively talking to people that they have not met before. It is a daunting and overwhelming experience to step into a new environment in a different country where there is no sense of familiarity. The Language Cafe is a safe space for students to make some friends and good connections in college, helping them feel more at home in the John’s community.
We’re hoping to make the Language Café a regular event during term times and look forward to seeing more Johnians benefit from these sessions!
Attendees of the language cafe have had positive things to say. “On a quiet afternoon, it is very warm and comfortable to share holiday experiences, interesting life stories and cultural differences with a few friends. I believe that Language Cafe is an effective and harmonious way to integrate international students into local life. Thank you for holding this sweet event”, writes Yanzhao Zhen.
“The Language Cafe helps me feel comfortable expressing myself… (the native English speakers also) reassure us that language is for communication (and) not to worry about being advanced or making grammar mistakes”, Lucy Lu agrees.
Alex Masi-Fleytas, meanwhile, describes the Language cafe as “perfect as a stress free way to get more practice with conversational English” while also being “a chill afternoon for those who just want to get to know more Johnians.”
John's Chronicle 