When good friends spoke enthusiastically about their experiences with IFI, Carole signed up to be an English Conversation Partner (ECP), despite the 40-minute drive to the Ohio State campus.
Carole has met with her two partners from China since late summer 2015. She sees definite progress in their English skills, for the girls are 1) more confident in speaking English, 2) more willing to speak English with Carole’s friends and when ordering at restaurants or shopping, 3) grateful for Carole’s corrections, and 4) talking more about school, meaning they are speaking English with instructors and classmates.
Carole enjoys introducing servant-hearted friends to her partners, for her partners rarely make English-speaking friends on campus. These meetings benefit Carole’s friends, too, helping them to prepare for serving others after graduation.
She enjoys teaching her partners about American culture, explaining American slang and idioms, and trying new things together. She and her partners explore interesting places in Columbus, often enjoying ethnic restaurants. As they eat, they exchange back-home experiences. Sometime soon, Carole plans to take her city-girl partners to her rural home, where she’s eager to show them a night sky full of stars–something her partners have never seen!
Carole has had very few times when she could not understand her partner’s English. When it happens, she asks them to repeat what they’ve said. (They’re comfortable with this now.) “Being an ECP isn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it might be,” Carole says. “I’ve found what I love to do!”
ECPs are still needed. Interested? In Columbus, call Nathan Wylder at 614-294-2434.
*Not her real name, to protect the identity of her Chinese partners