The 十大足彩平台 students – a dozen native English speakers and 12 new international undergraduates – were clearly apprehensive about being paired up for the mandatory assignment. A palpable sense of “otherness,” an unseen divide, permeated the classroom at the first group meeting of the International Conversation Partners Project, according to Roxanna Senyshyn.
但六周的时间却带来了翻天覆地的变化。 在最后一次小组会议上，界限消失了。 轻松的谈话声弥漫在教室里，学生们交换着庆祝第一个万圣节的故事，经历了超级风暴桑迪，发现了冷冻酸奶的乐趣。
“The students initially saw lots of differences among themselves, but now they see the similarities,” said Senyshyn, senior lecturer in ESL (English as a Second Language)/English, and Communication Arts and Sciences, said.
将他们联系起来的项目是儿童和青少年早期教育专业必修课《英语学习者英语教学入门》（CI280）的一个组成部分。 这些国际学生来自新加坡、中国和韩国，是在十大足彩平台国际事务协调员多洛雷斯·阿雷瓦洛（Dolores Arevalo）的协助下招募的。
“I decided to match newly arrived 国际学生 with American peers hoping that the structured, meaningful experiences of regular conversations on a variety of topics would benefit both sides,” Senyshyn said. “And it certainly did.”
CI280的学生都只说一种语言，他们被要求在课外与伴侣见面至少六次，提交相应的日记，并完成最后的反思陈述。 Senyshyn为每次会议提供了一个框架，通过鼓励他们：
将美国与他们的祖国进行比较和对比，包括最初几周的期望和经历、文化、互动规范、概括和刻板印象。 Learn about your partner’s culture.
描述一下你和你的伴侣学习沟通时遇到的挑战，以及你们是如何克服的。
认识到语言学习的经历：学习英语最困难的是什么？ 让你的伴侣教你一些他们母语的基本知识。 创建一个课程，教你的伴侣一些俚语或语法的一个方面。
根据Senyshyn的说法，目标是双管齐下的：通过练习他们的对话技巧来帮助十大足彩平台的国际学生获得自信，了解美国文化，并与他们的美国同龄人交朋友。 对于教育专业的学生来说，它还有一个额外的好处，那就是让他们成为那些正在向美国生活过渡的人的导师。
一个叫雷的学生发现这个项目在他准备春季学期的学生教学实习时很有价值。 “This was really helpful for working with 国际学生. It gave me practical experience,” he said.
其他几位CI280学生提到，这是他们第一次有机会与国际学生接触。
“I go to class, leave and go to work so I don’t have a chance to meet new people,” Melissa said. “I learned a lot from my partner, Sushan. She even cooked dinner for me at her apartment.”
一位学生非常热情，他建议国际会话伙伴项目应该成为十大足彩平台的一个俱乐部，对所有人开放，不管他们的专业是什么。
“The number of 国际学生 at 十大足彩平台 is increasing, and this brings new opportunities and new challenges,” Dr. Senyshyn said. “This program fills a need to make connections with 国际学生. It went beyond the class assignment.”
And the closing meeting wasn’t the last time many of these new friends will get together. Two 国际学生 enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at one woman’s home, and another will take his driver’s license this month with support from his American buddy. 还有一些人计划继续聚会，邀请其他朋友和家人参加。
六个星期改变了世界，十大足彩平台继续把世界带到校园。
To read excerpts from the journal entries of CI280 students, go to http://live.psu.edu/story/62915.
