In this inaugural episode I talk about creating opportunities for conversation for English Learners. As usual, I use my personal experience of learning Japanese and living in Japan as well as my observations from an ESL teacher's point of view.

My three main suggestions for creating opportunities are volunteer work, group activities, and public spaces. The beauty of these suggestions is that the focus is not on learning or practicing English; rather, English conversation (or even just listening) is a necessary part of the actual goal or environment. One major advantage of living in the U.S. versus living in Japan is that, in general, people here are more willing to make small talk with strangers, customers, etc., which provides ample opportunity for short conversations which may sometimes extend into longer ones.

As always, I encourage English Learners to be honest with themselves about their goals, priorities, and to not make excuses. At the end of the day, you are the one responsible for your progress as an English Learner. And perhaps more importantly, get off your phone, take out the earbuds, and use the world as your classroom!

Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UDh0MsT2P1TI9qcmDLpK0WlSYtpot4XY52mmo_yxZi4/edit?usp=sharing

Volunteermatch: https://www.volunteermatch.org/

Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/