Language-Exchange Meetings: The Second Year of developing ICU Language Tables

This report is about the second year of the ongoing voluntary project on language exchange meetings, ICU Language Tables. It was established in autumn 2016, and from autumn 2017 to spring 2018, volunteer student coordinators, the author of this report as an instructor of English for Liberal Arts (ELA), administrators, professors, and instructors collaborated on this endeavor. Based on the author’s reflection and students’ responses, this report will first present an overview of the second year, extra-curricular speaking programs in universities in Japan, and language-exchange meetings. Then, five issues from the author’s perspective and five themes from participants’ perspectives revealed in surveys and interviews will be discussed. Though the project addressed issues raised in the preliminary study, to further create a desirable environment, dealing with ongoing and new issues, attention to participants’ needs, and support for diverse students are crucial.