On Both Ends: the Unique Experience of a Virtual Colloquy
By: The Seeds Publication
Tags: Language, Globalization, Communication, Schools, English

On Both Ends: the Unique Experience of a Virtual Colloquy

Hear the experience of a student delegate in the virtual colloquy headed by the English Area. The SEEDS Publication 4 days ago·3 min read

I t started with waiting. Dry runs, extensive reviews, and exhaustive rehearsals had all been completed, and all that was left for the Ateneo Hearter delegation was to wait. The pixel landscape of the virtual meeting only amplified our eagerness, nervousness, and excitement in our anticipation.

Suddenly, by the signal of a teacher, cards with Chinese characters and IDs populated the screen. Immediately after, the meeting was filled with the deafening pitch of microphone feedback. Although awkward, it was the birth of a connection, the bridging of a link. It is moments like these that bear one of the hallmarks of the global world and, in a deeper sense, the human condition of interaction.

This was the start of a three-day event the school’s English Area headed. The goal? A virtual colloquy about conversational English between upper secondary students from our school and St. Aloysius Technical School in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

Picture of the Virtual Colloquy (Photo Credit: Therese Napuli)

What was left then was to start and, as stipulated by the program, the Hearter delegation immediately began to converse with the Taiwanese.

Something rather profound and striking happened. With the goal of the colloquy clear in our minds, we spoke with all the fluency we could manage to muster. No words were sliced, no speech was swallowed, no cadence was dropped, and no air was left dead.

This, in the minds of the Hearter delegates, was the very miracle of conversational English: clear and fluent speech modulated and polished to a sparkle, and they expected as much from their counterparts. When the time came for the Taiwanese to respond, though, hesitancy and confusion was very evident in their voice.

This moved the delegation into a scramble, took us by surprise. The event’s administrators had told us that English was a foreign language to them, like Chinese is to us, but we had little idea of their actual proficiency. With the unanticipated delay of comprehension, we sought to be even more engaging and fluent. When conversing with them, ad libs were cautiously put in place to make their responses seem equally sophisticated.

By the start of the second day, before the Taiwanese delegates were to re-enter, we made it a goal to understand the circumstances of our counterparts.

This prompted us to be more concise and slow in our speech and to possess an attitude that was more patient in awaiting their answers. We saw dead air as “processing time” instead and made it a point to engage them in non-verbal games to get to know each other.

From the second day onwards, the colloquy found itself tinged in warm friendliness. It became evident that the strategy of understanding was key in developing a connection. The active mingling of both delegations became significantly more commonplace.

It may not have been evident then, but the decision to change the very en garde atmosphere was a manifestation of what is truly at the very heart of communication.

We have become so engrossed with the impression of distinction brought by impeccable fluency and grammar while failing to realize that communication is an act of connection. It is as reflective as it is logical, and it is as sympathetic as it is cognitive.

We must remember that the success of communicating hinges on the strength of a mutual and inclusive connection. This is especially important when our expressions today have been limited to the bounds of a screen, the shifting of digits, and the display of pixels.

As budding stewards of the constant evolution and breakneck dynamics of our globalizing world, the unique experience of the virtual colloquy proved that reflective connection is paramount in effective communication.

Written by: Dominic Carpio