[kairi9089]

The Speakeasy and Conversation Circle Program

Are you an ESL student looking for ways to improve your oral skills in English? Or could you be a Native English Speaking Person (NESP) interested in volunteering and helping students broaden their verbal skills?

If so, the Speakeasy and Conversation Circle Program may just be what you have in mind. By pairing a NESP and an ESL student, the program hopes to generate an environment for students to comfortably engage in open discussions and practice self-expression in a small group setting. The Speakeasy and Conversation Circle Program is made available through the Peer Helper Program under the Centre for Student Development and runs from mid-September to the end of March.

Topics of conversation may include but are not restricted to: current events, culture and customs, and entertainment. Participants are expected to meet on a weekly basis for one hour. Participation in the Speakeasy and Conversation Circle Program can be a rewarding experience as it provides a chance for active interaction with people from different cultural backgrounds and at the same time, offers opportunities for ESL students to improve their verbal skills.

If you would like to volunteer to be a NESP or are an ESL student seeking ways to improve your conversational English, please drop by during our office hours to complete an application form. Likewise, if you are a returning NESP interested in volunteering for the Speakeasy and Conversation Circle Program again, do come by during our office hours to fill in an application form. Please note that our webpage is currently under revision and not all information is up-to-date at the moment.

For more information on the Speakeasy and Conversation Circle Program, please visit us in MUSC Room 226 or email us at speakeasy.conversatio [email protected].

Speakeasy & Conversation Circle
Peer Helper Program
MUSC 226-226a

Office Hours:
Monday - 10:30 - 12:30 & 1:30-3:30
Tuesday - 11:30 - 12:30
Wednesday - 9:30-10:30 & 11:30-1:30
Thursday - 9:30-10:30 & 11:30-12:30
Friday - 12:30-2:30

Thanks for posting this!

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

Thanks for posting this!

Thanks for reading this too! Do come by our office if you're interested!

Definitely ! Also, do ESL students need to fill out an application (my roommate is interested as well). And she was wondering how the NESP/ESL matching works, or is it done randomly? Thanks!

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

Definitely ! Also, do ESL students need to fill out an application (my roommate is interested as well). And she was wondering how the NESP/ESL matching works, or is it done randomly? Thanks!

Hi Sara! Yup, ESL students should fill in an application as well. As for matching the NESP and ESL student, we will match them depending on their preferences. In the form, there are options to list down your preferences (eg. gender, interests, faculty, etc.). From there, we will ,match them based on the unmatched NESPs and unmatched ESL that are currently available in our lists.

For now, our application forms are only available in our office (MUSC 226) as there are some problems in updating the site. But once our site is up-to-date, there will be no need to drop by to fill in the applications (although we would love to see people popping in now and then XD). To be a NESPs, one has to go through a short interview (which is really no biggie as we just want to know more about each NESPs). There will be no need for an interview for an ESL student interested in the program, however.

I hope that helps clarify!

what about the meetings, when are they and what if their time doesn't work for me? can it be rescheduled or is it fixed?

and is it a one-to-one meeting or is it a small group?

Originally Posted by kairi9089

Hi Sara! Yup, ESL students should fill in an application as well. As for matching the NESP and ESL student, we will match them depending on their preferences. In the form, there are options to list down your preferences (eg. gender, interests, faculty, etc.). From there, we will ,match them based on the unmatched NESPs and unmatched ESL that are currently available in our lists.

For now, our application forms are only available in our office (MUSC 226) as there are some problems in updating the site. But once our site is up-to-date, there will be no need to drop by to fill in the applications (although we would love to see people popping in now and then XD). To be a NESPs, one has to go through a short interview (which is really no biggie as we just want to know more about each NESPs). There will be no need for an interview for an ESL student interested in the program, however.

I hope that helps clarify!

Thanks for all the information! I'll drop by next week for an application! Thanks again

Originally Posted by EngLufLuf

what about the meetings, when are they and what if their time doesn't work for me? can it be rescheduled or is it fixed?

and is it a one-to-one meeting or is it a small group?

Hi EngLufLuf! As for the meetings, the time/day is a mutual decision between the paired NESP and ELS person. And yes, I believe they are rather flexible (usually an hour a week at least) as they are not fixed. The meetings are primarily one-to-one (NESP/ELSP). However, we are working on having Conversation Circles whereby approximately 3 pairs of NESPs and ELSPs would get-together in a small group and engage in discussions upon a topic based on certain materials (short video clips, current events, newspaper articles, etc.) under facilitation by one of the Speakeasy & Conversation Circle Coordinators. This would only occur once a month at most, or even less frequent.

Hope that helps!