Last summer, seven students from the English for Speakers of Other Languages program met weekly after class at The Empanada’s cafe near Wolfson Campus to practice their conversation skills.
Today, what began as casual chats has transformed into the Small Talk Conversation Club.
“I feel very grateful to have this opportunity to provide support to my other colleagues who, like me, are English students…” said Vice President Mariel Mirena. “This greatly improves our confidence when interacting on a day-to-day basis; that is what we need.”
Founded by David Park, a student in the English for Academic Purposes program who hails from Korea, the organization now has 54 registered members.
It’s diverse—featuring students from Colombia, China, Italy and Russia, ranging in ages from 20s to 60s, with professional backgrounds that include law, education, medicine and fashion.
Meetings begin with students asking and answering questions in English. Then, participants are given worksheets that guide them on the day’s activity and the grammar rules they should follow.
“I feel a sense of accomplishment when someone who was really unconfident when they first came to the meeting suddenly gains confidence,” Park said. “It is also clear that I am learning a lot through this myself, so these things seem to be the driving force that allows me to continue this group.”
The club meets often—Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m. are reserved for students in the EAP and Intensive English programs.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, students who are part of ESOL and the Refugee Entrant Vocational Education Services Training Program meet at noon.
On Saturdays at 12:30 p.m., family members and native speakers are invited to join intermediate learners.
All meetings are held in the World Languages lounge on the sixth floor of the 1000 building.
“On the first day, everyone arrives with the fear of expressing themselves in English,” Mirena said. “As the sessions go by, they develop their skills acquired in the classrooms and lose the fear of having a conversation.”
When he first entered Miami Dade College, Park noticed his peers in the ESOL program were not getting personalized attention because of the large class sizes.
So, the 55-year-old connected students from all ESOL levels to converse with each other. At first, people could join through invite only.
“In the early days, I tried to keep the group size minimal,” Park said. “As the number of participants increases, the opportunity for each person to speak decreases, which weakens the original intent.”
But after realizing how many students were interested, he opened the doors to people from different English-learning programs.
“It’s very important for students to be able to practice English in a non-threatening environment,” said Maureen McCarthy, an associate professor in EAP who serves as one of the club’s advisers.
The group aspires to bring the club to other MDC campuses.
“I hope that the conversation club continues to expand and provide an inclusive environment for any student who is facing challenges with communicating in English,” said Lucas Katz, ESOL program manager who co-advises the club with McCarthy.
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Talk About It: Two students from the Small Talk Conversation Club at Wolfson Campus review a worksheet to guide them on the day’s lesson at a recent meeting. LUCAS DUARTE/THE REPORTER
