Post 4

Can't find my 4th blog post anywhere ;_; wonder what happened to the edit of the "Real life example" post.. So anyway here it is:

I have a Vietnamese friend in my FST course. He is not good at English, which makes it quite a challenge to interact with him sometimes (for comparison, Kelvin's English is better :) ), especially in the first year of our studies, when it was the first time I spoke to someone who has a Vietnamese-accented English. I at that time, found his pronunciation unfamiliar, and still do sometimes, and had to listen very carefully when talking to him. He also has trouble finding words to express himself. In view of this, I would repeat what I think he is trying to say to make sure there was no misunderstanding.

All in all, it takes quite an effort to interact with him. Why go through all that trouble? That is because my past online interactions with people of Vietnamese descent gave me the motivation to talk to him face-to-face, to make friends with him and to learn more about Vietnam. (He was the one of the first few people I "targeted" in our class. :P)


While it was tiring, it was also a good experience. I learned a little more about Vietnam, and also practiced interacting with someone not well-versed with English. I learned that (1) I have to speak slowly and clearly; (2) I have to listen carefully and give my full attention; (3) I should repeat what I think he/she is trying to say to me to affirm mutual understanding; (4) I have to be patient and give him/her time to put their thoughts into words. Interacting with him definitely prepared me to work closely with foreign students, like Aoyun and Kelvin.

I hope he, and all other foreign students find it a good experience in their interactions with other students from different parts of the world, because for me, it definitely is a good experience.