Speaking portfolio 4

I had a conversation with my friend who lives near sky tower. We talked about our holiday plan and anything like general conversation in the city. It took about 3 hours. The main topic is our exams.

Overall, the conversation was going well compared to previous conversation that I had for this portfolio, but still I couldn't understand his story when the idiom, his speed and unknown words. I just tried to express my mind and say what I want. I just used some strategies for this conversation. I think it works well at the time. Trough this conversation, I learnt that of course it is good thing to know slangs and idioms but in the exam or in a formal letter. I also have to know some formal phrase or anything like that.

What cultural aspects or cultural differences did you notice in the conversation?

From his story, I noticed many different things between New Zealand and Japan. When we talked about future, I just asked him what you do after finishing your study. He said he was going to travel or working in the some country to get more knowledge and to experience many things. then, considering my surroundings, I noticed many Kiwi people is really relaxing about work. Especially young people, after finishing study, some people don't have job and just do what they want. For example, traveling, further studying. In japan, we normally get job after finishing study, and if people who is over 30 try to look for job, it is hard to find it because Japanese companies want to get young people.

How did your conversation begin and how did it end?

"Hi, bro. how are you doing? Everything's okay with you?"

"yea, and you? "

"I have to catch the bus for 10 mins later."

"okay, take care, see ya"

What were some vocabulary features you noticed in the conversation?

He said "my study is now dead end, it's nor gonna reach a crossroad."

When I asked him what its meaning was, he told me, my studying is not going well. I have no idea if I can do well in exams. Also I learnt some idioms from this conversation.

Did you use any specific strategies to help you overcome any language problem you had?

yes, I used. This time, I used not only body language but also trying to explain what I said. sometimes, he couldn't understand what I said. Normally, when I faced this situation, I say "oh, never mind." However, in this time, I used "I mean", "what I want to say is" like that. Also when I can't understand what he said, I used "you mean" "~~~, is it?" something like that.

Did the conversation flow well?

Yes, I think I had the best conversation in this portfolio.

Did you use any specific new vocabulary or chunks of vocabulary yourself in your conversation?

I used some idiom what I studied and what I learnt from my friends. Also, I used "um...." "you know".

Were there any other linguistic features that you felt caused problems with communication?

Sometimes my pronunciation was not good, so he couldn't catch what I mean. I practiced with him.