Chatterbox Language Exchange returned for the first time in 2023, and after multiple iterations of the event’s activities, I think we’ve finally settled on a permanent structure for all of the events going forward!
So I’ll be picking a theme for Chatterbox every month (February’s was TRAVEL), and creating a list of useful vocabulary in Japanese and English for event participants to use. After you’ve registered and found your seat, the first round will be free conversation in English. We encourage you to use the language from the vocab list to guide your conversations, but feel free to stray from the topic if the conversation takes you there. Change your seats and repeat the activity in Japanese!
In the second round, we’ll ask you to stand up and speak to someone you haven’t yet spoken to! There are no guidelines for this round, simply mingle and get to know someone new!
In the third round, we’ll sit you down again in a new group, and give you a simple task or challenge to complete as a team, using the target language! This month, we gave you a world map and asked you to have a quick conversation about as many countries as possible, coloring in the map as you go.
This new structure is a lot looser and gives you a lot more flexibility to use new language in natural ways, and also gives you many opportunities to meet someone new. There was a lot of energy behind this month’s event, and I got the opportunity to meet new people, so I’m looking forward to seeing how Chatterbox grows over the rest of the year.
If you had fun at this month’s event, please tell your friends about this event and share the photos 🙂
I’m looking forward to seeing you all again at next month’s Chatterbox Language Exchange!
– Matthew
