Turning the Tables: Using Non-English Conversation Tables to Create Connections for International Students, Campus, and Community

Abstract

International students, especially those studying in English language institutes at universities in the United States, often struggle to create connections with local students and the host community. Learners of non-English languages also struggle to find opportunities to practice languages that are uncommon in the surrounding community. This Practice Report describes an innovation where, instead of using English Conversation Tables to help international students practice English, professors “turned the tables” and allowed international students to become the experts, teaching local students their languages and cultures at weekly Non-English Conversation Tables held at a mid-sized rural public university. Through the Conversation Tables, both international and domestic students developed meaningful connections, deepening their on-campus engagement. These connections fostered self-growth and intercultural competence in both groups of students, some of whom had very limited prior experiences with cultural diversity. The authors identify the characteristics of the language tables that led to their success, including the location, facilitation, and promotion, to provide a model for reproducing the intervention in other contexts.