The fifth meeting with Adil

On Tuesday April 12, I met with Adil once again. The meetings have been getting better every time, and the meetings are a lot less awkward. After last meeting, I was concerned if the language barrier would be an obstacle again. This time, though, we had no trouble.

Our conversation started with Adil talking about the TOEFL test and his hard work to complete his studies. This time, though, he made it clear how important our conversations our to him. He told me how much he enjoys talking to me because it helps him with his English and helps him understand people speaking English better. He told me that in his class that not many people can speak English well so he really relishes the opportunity to meet with me. Listening to Adil talk about how much he enjoys our meetings made me feel like I was doing something special. I felt like I was really helping someone out. I now appreciate these meetings a lot more. These meetings are much more than a class requirement now. 

In the first couple of meetings, I struggled with how much Adil talks about himself. The conversation usually starts with me asking a question, and, then, he talks for a long time. After he talks, I will ask a few more questions, hoping he will clarify what he is saying or expand on what he is talking about. I am beginning to appreciate my journalism days when I had to interview people because the conversation is similar to an interview sometimes. After he talked how important these meetings are to him, I now understand why he talks so much. It is not that he wants to talk only about himself. Rather, this is his way of practicing English. By me asking him questions, he understands how to speak the language better, which helps him in his classes and eventually help him in the business world

Hoping to improve his English even more, he asked the school to extend his scholarship for another six months so he can continue to work on his English. Lucky enough, the school approved his request. He was very excited to tell me his big news.  According to Adil, getting an extension can be very difficult. It took one student he knows at another school two months to get an approval for an extension. It took Adil one day. He thinks he got an extension because how hard he works. He told me his learning process of writing everything down on a piece of paper after reading or hearing something. By doing this, he says he can memorize things very quickly. This may sound easy, something everyone should do. However, he is reading a lot of different material and listening to many lectures.  He is constantly writing. He has filled many notebooks up with purely notes in the past couple of months.  Because of this, he has improved, and the school has noticed his hard work. I was happy to hear that he got an extension. I now feel even more important in his continued efforts to learn English because learning a language is much more than taking notes. It may help him write English well, but he still needs to learn how to communicate orally.

I am excited for my last few meeting with Adil and look forward to meeting with him because the meetings have a new importance to me. I am glad the conversation partner is a part of this class because it is a unique experience I probably wouldn’t have had if I didn’t take this class.