Reflective Entry 2

On Sunday the 8 May 2011, I went to church. I met a kiwi lady and talked with her. We talked about 10 minutes. Our conversation is about the background of me and the events happened recently.

We had a relaxed and informed conversation. This lady is about 60-year-old and her name is Jenny who is very kind. When we were talking, she kept her speed slow and made me understand easily. We had eye contact when we were speaking, and she was smiling. We use some body language and gesture for encourage the conversation Such as nodding. She used a lot words to encourage the conversation, such as “yes”, “right”. As a result, I could understand well and we had nice conversation. The conversation began when the church finished the service; the lady came to me and said, “Hello, Emmet. It is lovely to see you here. How is your study going?” I replied back, “It is lovely to meet you too. I am doing alright, and I still work hard on my English. How are you?” To that she replied, “Very well, thank you”. Our conversation ended with hoping to meet again on next Sunday. I said,” I am very happy to be here.” She said to me,” keep coming to the church, and you are important for us, hope to see you next time.”

When we were talking, she used a lot question tag sentences. Such as what a beautiful day today, is it?  The weather becomes chilly, does it?  She also used the “um” “well” during the conversation. When I said something, she always nod and said “yes”. She used “fortunately” when we talked about the storm and tornado. She used “could” “could be” a lot when we talked. Sometimes she talked a bit unclear. During our conversation when I found something difficult to follow, I guessed the main idea and repeated again. If I was right, she would say “yes” and then she explained, otherwise she would say “not really” and then she repeated it. Also, if I did not catch the main idea, I would say” sorry, could you repeat the last sentence, please?” As for me, I used some phrases to flow the conversation well, such as “is it?” Also, I asked questions after she talked to show I understand what she talked about. She always uses “yes” to keep the conversation flow, and also encourage me to talk. In addition, during the conversation, I used the common words which I used to use. I did not use a lot new vocabulary. I tried to use new words, such as “terrific” which I learnt in English movies. I used fillers and hesitation devices during the conversation. I used “um” “ah” “well” to show to others that I was not finish, and also it gave me more time to think about the words that I was going to use. Also, I used the fillers such as “I mean” “you Know” “I guess” to help me to speak my opinion. Sometimes, when I unsure about the word, I used “you know” to make the conversation flow.

In the further study, I need to extend my vocabulary and also I need to focus on my grammar and pronunciation.