Conversation Partner Appointments are quite popular among EAL writers, as they provide a one-on-one level of linguistic and cultural support that’s difficult to find, even in an academic setting. But these collaborative conversations are more than just a chance to practice—these appointments allow EAL writers to negotiate with another speaker of English. This act of negotiating meaning is a crucial factor in language acquisition (Leki, 2009). With that idea in mind, I’d like to talk briefly about one of the most important, misunderstood, and—frankly—overlooked facets of the Conversation Partner appointment: collaboratively setting an agenda.
Although Conversation Partner appointments are often seen as an open venue for practicing language skills, as an UCWbL Tutor, it’s vital that you work on setting an agenda consisting of 1 to 3 specific goals for each appointment. If your writer is hesitant, you can explain that these goals will help you and the writer stay focused and make the most of your time together. Setting and tracking agendas will continue to motivate the writer over time, and in the short run, having specific and agreed upon goals can build the writer’s confidence and allow them to speak more freely.
If your writer doesn’t know specifically what they want to work towards, think about asking them a few simple questions to get the ball rolling:
- What has been the most challenging thing about learning English?
- How does English differ from your home language?
- Every language learner wants to practice conversation—but what situations or contexts would you like to be better at conversing in?
It only takes a couple of minutes to go through these questions, and more often than not, you and your writer will find yourselves with the outline of an agenda! When I’m meeting with an EAL writer for a Conversation Partner Appointment who isn’t quite sure what they want to focus on—as so frequently occurs—I always turn to these sorts of questions to get a dialogue moving between the two of us.
Another idea is to review previous appointment letters in the writer’s profile to see if the writer has had any previous Conversation Partner Appointments. If so, these letters can be great resources in gaining information about the writer’s interests and skills, and could help you come up with ideas for your agenda—for instance, did the writer meet with a tutor last week to practice how to introduce themselves on the first day of class? Your appointment could be a great opportunity to try out what they’ve learned and practiced. Letters can be a great way to help writers set and maintain language acquisition goals over time!
I, like any tutor, know it can be tempting to jump into a Conversation Partner Appointment without setting an agenda. But next time you find yourself working with an EAL conversation partner, see how concrete and explicit you can get with the agenda you two set together—not only will it be beneficial for the writer in the long run, but you may be surprised how much smoother, substantial, and fun it will make the conversation!