| Activity Information | |
| Recommended Audience | International Students, Study Abroad, General, Community Members, ESL |
| Length of Time | 30 minutes |
| Resources | Chairs, tables, timer/clock |
| Number of Participants |
10-30 |
| Source of Activity | Cory Owen |
| Purpose | Interaction, ice breaking, introductions, practicing language skills, intercultural learning |
Overview
Much like speed dating, we used "speed friending" as a way to break the ice with our Conversation Partner program at our matching event. We set up the room with tables in the center of the room and chairs all around. As students came in (regardless of if they were foreign or native), we had them seated and eating snacks.
Once everyone arrived, we explained the "speed friending" rules and we used a timer to keep each of the conversations to a certain amount of time. (Note: we had a larger group so to ensure that everyone got to mingle, we kept our time limit to two minutes, though up to five would be ideal.)