Miguel Derett - CP#1

October 29th, 2018.

My first conversation partner meeting was my initial meeting with my partner. It was an introductory meeting, as I got to know a bit about him and he got to know a little bit about me as well. My conversation partner’s name was Randy Cantillo, he is from Colombia. I explained to him that I understand Spanish, and that I can speak it to a proficient degree as well. I told him that while we should focus on English only, he could resort to Spanish if he had absolutely no idea about a certain word or phrase. I thought that this was okay to mention because Randy was my conversation partner and not my tutee. I wanted Randy to feel comfortable speaking English with me. I believed that having the alternative of using his native Spanish would put him at ease slightly. I do think that it did manage to do just that, as we seemed to connect a bit more after I mentioned that I also knew Spanish. What also allowed the conversation to progress easier was when I mentioned that I was also learning a new language. I mentioned to him that I was studying French and Japanese. His eyes seemed to light up as he then understood that I was going through a similar learning experience as he was. Furthermore, he mentioned that he was also learning French. He mentioned that he has a great passion for the French language and French culture as well. In the end, our shared knowledge of Spanish, our similar struggles in learning a new language, and our mutual love of the French language and culture allowed us to connect rather easily. Ultimately, I thought it was a promising start to our conversation meetings.    

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