Annalisa_CP1

Yesterday I met my conversation partner, Elvire for the first time. She is from the Ivory Coast and her primary language is French. Elvire has been here for two weeks now. She wants to improve her English in order to study engineering or geology at a university in the US. At first, our conversation was a little halting. It took a few minutes to get accustomed to her accent and for me to slow down my own talking pace. After that, the conversation went along somewhat smoothly. There were times when I wished that I could remember my beginning French classes back in high school. For example, when scheduling another time to meet, she did not quite understand the word 'library'. Since Charles was nearby and also her conversation partner, I asked him if he knew how to say the word in French. Thankfully, the words are similar in French and Italian! (Thank you, Charles) Most of our conversation was in the form of question and answer, which is understandable since we met as strangers and that's usually how one goes about getting to know people. As I asked questions, I found out that we both like the singers, Beyonce and Rihanna. She told me that she listens to them and tries to understand what they're saying. It's a really great idea, in my opinion, because it's easier to become familiar with a language through your own interests, such as music and other forms of entertainment. I'm really excited to meet Elvire again and I look forward to learning more about her!