Over the past few years at school, I've been fortunate enough to assume a leadership role in a decade plus old recurring event/organization: Kaiwa Hour (Japanese Conversation Club). Initially, I was drawn to this 'club' (it will become clear why I put quote marks like this below) because it had many features I hadn't found in other organizations I had been part of. Namely, it allowed for free conversation. People were given an opportunity to just interact with each other at a place they all voluntarily agreed to be at. Radical, no? đ
Another person asked me about starting a similar organization (a language/conversation club) and what has/hasn't worked for Kaiwa Hour, which led me to write up a short description about what my organization does. There were many ideas in that description that can be helpful for people seeking to make communities/opportunities/good-things in general, so I've decided to share that here.
With only small modifications from an e-mail I sent out, I present...
Kaiwa Hour (Japanese Conversation Club)
Kaiwa Hour is primarily driven by the interests of those attendingâJapanese students and non-Japanese students (includes American, Chinese, Korean, etc.). Our main way of organizing meetings is not organizing, outside of trying to maintain a consistent time and place. In this way, we try to keep things as simple as possible and let the creative energy of people who come to our events decide what they do (or donât do). The leadershipâs main function is simply to keep this âmarketplace of conversationâ going, protect basic safety (make sure nobody is blocking the door, intervene if there is any real trouble like actual threats being issued,âŚ), and of course give potential members and other curious people someone to contact (this is what weâre doing here!).
For instance, last year, one of our leaders held some relatively large social events (BBQ parties) while I reached out to a smaller number of people interested in playing Mahjong. Others planned gatherings for Karaoke, hotpot, trips to the exciting city a couple hours away. None of these events were âofficialâ functions of Kaiwa Hour, but they did grow out of friendships people were able to make while connecting at our meetings. We encourage (but do not require) people that make such events to extend their invitations broadly to welcome new friends that want to get more connected.
The advantages of doing things this way are many, but to name a few:
- Kaiwa Hour provides an opportunity for unstructured interactionâwhile this might be scary at first for many students, there are surprisingly few places where this sort of communication can happen. Those that stick around do so because they choose to and want to contribute to conversations, not because they are forced to.
- There are no membership feesâall we need is a classroom to meet in, which the EALC (East Asian Languages & Cultures) department graciously provides
- âMembersâ choose their own commitment levelâin fact, we donât really have âmembersâ. We have familiar faces that show up week-after-week, who people come to recognize as parts of a community.
- Itâs simply easier (and less expensive) to run this way; last year we spent a whopping $0
As we donât really have âmembersâ, we donât need to have anything like a ârequired language levelâ. Unsurprisingly, students that want to be there (whether they are just beginning or have been studying for years) continue returning, while those that truly donât care so much fall way. Many non-Japanese students are not taking Japanese class, yet are motivated self-learners (at least a few are also simultaneously learning other languages, such as Chinese). We welcome those affiliated with EALC, as well as RĹnin (masterless Samurai).
We don't do any 'language policing', ensuring students speak either Japanese/English or both. Consequently, we have many attendees who never speak Japanese, never speak English, or never mix the twoâKaiwa Hour does not promise to make attendee's language skills better. However, we also have attendees who actively seek to improve their language skills every meeting and they are, of course, are rewarded by their efforts. Kaiwa Hour's job is simply to give these opportunities for productive exchanges.
In the past, other leaders have done things like lead ice-breaker games or put people into groups. Now, we donât do this so much. Sometimes, people do bring gamesâfor example card games, pen and paper games, games with hands and clapping, and so forth. But, we neither ask nor expect them to do this. It simply happens when the people that like this sort of thing show up and invite others to play.
In summary, we take a pretty âfree marketâ approach to Kaiwa Hour meetings, providing minimal structure to allow people to do what they want. There is no coercionâeverything is optional. Consequently, each personâs experience at Kaiwa Hour is their own responsibility. Those that continue to attend, tend to sooner or later realize that Kaiwa Hour is a place they
choose to be, and consequently put in the initiative and effort to make it a good use of their time.
(Image source:
http://10mtv.jp/pc/content/tag_detail.php?movie_tag_id=9)
Labels: Japanese, language, learning, markets
