LiC - NICE Language Exchange

Hawaii is a place of many diverse languages. East Asian languages contribute a large percentage of it, one of which is Japanese. The NICE Language Exchange is a program at UH where students get the opportunity to practice speaking another language with other fluent speakers. The majority of the students speak English as well as Japanese, but other East Asian languages like Chinese and Korean are offered for those who are able to speak. I have been studying Japanese at UH for two years now and, along with 3 years of study from high school, was able to get by the basics of the conversations. The first half hour was done in only English. It gave the non-English speakers a chance to speak English with native English speakers. The next half hour was done only in Japanese (or another foreign language). Even after years of study, it was still hard to maintain a full conversation with the native speakers. They would have their own slang for words that made it slightly difficult to understand since what we learned was the equivalent to learning perfect English. It was quite an experience and I encourage those who are studying an East Asian language to participate as it is a good way to meet new people, as well as improve your skills in speaking.