Creating Connections for International Students on College Campus: Languages Other Than English Conversation Tables
Abstract: International students, especially those studying in English Language Institutes at US universities, often struggle to create connections with local students and the host community. This paper describes a creative intervention to increase campus engagement for international students that simultaneously provided an opportunity for local students to exchange cultures and life experiences while learning and practicing a language other than English (LOTE). Weekly Non-English conversation tables led by international students at a mid-sized rural university created meaningful connections, which promoted student engagement. These connections fostered self-growth and intercultural competence in both international and local students, some of whom with very limited prior experiences with cultural diversity. The authors identify characteristics of the language tables that led to their success, including the location, facilitation, and promotion to provide a model for reproducing the intervention in other contexts.