English Chat Structure

Each English Chat session will begin and end with a prayer. When we pray and ask God to bless us, He can help us with all of our righteous goals, this includes your desire to improve your English-speaking skills. 

If it is the first time meeting with an English Chat volunteer then the conversation will likely start with each of you giving a brief introduction. 

If you already know the volunteer, then you can get started quickly and spend more time on the conversation topic. 

During your first meeting with a volunteer they will most likely remind you of the purpose of English Chat and the expectations for the session. 

• You are expected to do most of the speaking in the English Chat session. This will likely mean that you will speak 80% of the time and the volunteer only 20%. This is very important to help you receive the greatest benefit from your sessions.

• The English Chat volunteer might interrupt you if they are unable to understand what you are saying. 

• Feel free to interrupt the English Chat volunteer whenever you can't hear or do not understand a word, sentence, or phrase.

• You don't need to be nervous. Volunteers will not be grading you on your English proficiency level. The main goal of these conversations is to help you practice speaking English in a friendly low-pressure environment where both your confidence and your ability can grow.

• Remember, it is very important that you practice speaking English on your own outside of your sessions as well. 

As the student, you are expected to select the topic you would like to talk about. We highly recommend that you identify the discussion topic in advance and indicate it in the "notes" section when you sign up for the session.

If you do not have a topic in mind, you could consider these topics:

• Something you've learned as a student at BYU-Pathway Worldwide

• Something you've learned recently at church

• Who is someone that has influenced you

• What life lessons have you learned

• Career development questions

• Your favorite food

• Explain what you do for work

• Describe your life goals

• Your daily routine

• Your family

At the end of each session, the English Chat volunteer will provide general feedback on your pronunciation, fluency, confidence, speaking pace, etc.

Remember that each session will most likely end with a prayer. If the volunteer asks you to say this prayer, it is a chance to ask God to bless you and thank Him for the help He has already given. 

We invite you to take the volunteer's feedback and practice what you learned (or use the resources provided on this website) before your next session. 

The key to improving your English speaking ability is to practice. For this reason, you are expected to speak for 80% of the English Chat session. 

The English Chat volunteer will ask follow-up questions to keep the conversation going, giving you plenty of time to practice and help you improve your English skills.