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| Adult services librarian Cortni O’Brien and Paul Cram |
The Columbia Heights Library recently announced the addition of a Monday night Conversation Circle meeting.
Conversation Circle is a program for new English speakers to practice their language skills with other native and non-native speakers in an informal gathering.
Similar to the Thursday afternoon meeting, learners will meet weekly with an English-speaking library volunteer to meet new people and practice everyday-conversation sills.
The Monday evening profram will be hosted by library volunteer Paul Cram – who some in the community may recognize from his work as an actor in local commercials and movies.
“It is fairly basic in that anybody that is willing to take an hour to come and speak in English is welcome,” said Cram.
“Learners come and we just have a conversation. It is nothing too crazy or complicated.”
Cram says conversation topics are light and open.
“I am a big fan of getting to know people a little bit but also letting the conversation go where it will,” said Cram “It is kind of fun to talk about current events or whatever is on peoples mind. It can be a really fun experience.”
Meetings are open to those who wish to sharpen their English dialect or start completely from scratch.
“If somebody knows zero English at all they would be totally welcome,” said Cram. “I think that there is a lot of benefits to even listening to people speak in English. At the end of the day, what I think is so cool about the conversation circles is that it is a place where you can mess up. It is a space where we are all trying and learning. People can just come sit and listen if they want. It is a no-pressure, stress free kind of an environment.”
Vefore volunteering to host the Monday night Conversation Circle, Cram volunteered for the library’s Buddy Up and Read program. The program matches readers with volunteers who provide one-on-one mentoring for adults who are looking to improve their reading skills.
Cram says his Buddy Up and Read partner recently stopped coming because she felt confident as an English speaker.
“She got what she needed out of it and went on to become a small business owner,” said Cram. “I thought that was so cool. It was a cool thing for me to see her confidence in English grow to a point where she can go and become a small business owner.”
Cram was then left without a Buddy Up and Read partner and decided that instead of finding a new partner, he would host an evening Conversation Circle.
“I think there are a lot of people, like myself, that are not available during the day to go to a conversation circle,” said Cram. “I think most people are working, so we figured an evening meeting would be a good idea.”
The Monday night meeting begins Nov. 19, and will continue meeting on Monday evenings from 6-7 p.m. in meeting room 132. No registration is required.
The Columbia Heights Public Library is located at 3939 Central Ave NE in Columbia Heights.
Article by Sam Lenhart, sam.lenhart@ecm-inc.com, published Friday Nov, 16, 2018 in the Sun Focus