Professor starts group, tries to bridge the language barrier at URI

By: Chris Curtis

Posted: 2/26/08

02/26/08 - While studying overseas, the language barrier can be an almost insurmountable obstacle. In higher education, effective communication is vitally important to academic success, and mastering the local language can be frustrating for non-native speakers.

Now, foreign students studying at the University of Rhode Island will have a new opportunity to hone their English skills.

Dr. Luz Rodriguez, director of the English language studies program, has organized the new "Conversation Partner Program," which seeks to unite American students with international students studying abroad at URI.

The Conversation Partner Program held an informational session yesterday at the University Club. Among the approximately 30 attendees were representatives of various languages, including French, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese.

The program calls for students to partner up and schedule meetings at their own convenience to practice the English language. At the end of the semester the participants will submit a log of the date, duration and topic of each conversation.

"It's not as structured because ... it's volunteer," Rodriguez said. "I don't want to impose a lot, I know students are already burdened with academic work."

Rodriguez said she hopes the program will be equally beneficial to both native and non-native English speakers.

For native English speakers, participation in the program is strictly voluntary, although there is the possibility that it may be able to fulfill the service learning component of some foreign language courses, said Rodriguez. Other potential benefits that Rodriguez sees for those who participate include the opportunity to develop leadership skills, to learn about other cultures and to make friends.

Rocco Volpe, a freshman from Connecticut, agreed with Rodriguez's assessment of the opportunities available.

"I'm interested in politics and international relations so I think this fits in pretty well with what I'm in, and it's an opportunity to meet new people and talk about other cultures and leave the comfort zone of our culture," Volpe said.

Non-native English speakers will be given the opportunity to practice their oral communication skills, especially in such problem areas as idiomatic expression and colloquialisms through interaction with native speakers.

Rodriguez said this is an interaction that many international students might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience.

"Some international students only have access to English in the classroom, and then when they finish their classes they go back to their own groups, their own community, which is understandable--you want to be comfortable with your surroundings," Rodriguez said.

Kana Sonoda, a Japanese foreign-exchange student, said she is enthusiastic about the opportunities afforded by the program. Sonoda has studied English for six years and is still working to overcome the language barrier. The junior English major said she still has difficulty communicating in class.

"Even if I have knowledge of the field ... I cannot express my thoughts, my ideas, because of my poor English," Sonoda said.

Kristina Randriamanivo, on the other hand, a super-senior exchange student, from the University of Orleans in France, said the language barrier has not been a significant problem for her.

"I don't say that I understand everything, and when everyone is joking around and laughing that I'm into it all the time, no, but it's all right, I'm not lost," Randriamanivo said.

Rodriguez made participation in the program mandatory for her oral communication classes, and, while all international students currently involved are her own students, she is hoping to attract others.

Rodriguez saw the high level of attendance at yesterday's information session as an affirmation of the program's worth.

"I am extremely happy because to me this is a great success," Rodriguez said, "I really hope that this keeps growing and that we reach more and more international students and of course domestic students as well," Rodriguez said.

Those who wish to be involved with program should contact Rodriguez at lrodriguez@uri.edu.