Making an arrangement to meet with a conversation partner Hello L, XXX cafe is open on 4th of July the same as usual. To be honest, they didn't reply to the message, so my husband called them to ask. I still feel very nervous when making a phone call. That's something I need to change. Salmon with a dill sauce! It really sounds delicious! I love salmon with dill. I often make smoke salmon even we live in the apartment. I made a special box for smoke cooking. Let's meet up at XXX cafe on this Friday at 10 am. C

How I would like to proceed our conversation exchange <This is a part of a message I wrote to my conversation partner..> Speaking of exchanging conversation, I was thinking about the same as what you wrote in the message. I need to prepare a topic for conversation at my current speaking level. I also would like to make a small speech for a couple of minutes sometimes. After that, I want to have Q&A time or I would like you to give me feedback. I forgot telling you about this. Sometimes I use strong words and very often repeat the same verb in a short time. If it sounds rude, ridiculous or stupid to you, please correct me. (My intentions are good, but I just don't know other suitable expressions. I want to say sorry in advance.) Let's have a conversation next week! Please let me know what time is the best for you since you are busy and I have flexibility in my schedule.

An email message for my friend I haven't seen for along time Hello N, Thank you for telling me a good story about you today. It was very nice meeting you. I hope that you fixed the problem and went back home not too late. Actually I had a lot of things I wanted to tell you about, but I couldn't. When I write a message like this, I've never used a dictionary. When it comes to having a conversation I can't explain well what I want to say. I think I sometimes give up on finishing what I try to say. That's something I need to change. Recently I started to expose myself to speaking English. I mean being forced to talk in English for 2 to 3 hours a week. Next time we will meet up my speaking should be improved. I'm looking forward to seeing you again :) Keep in touch, C

Thank you mail after first meeting with a conversation partner Hello L, It was nice meeting you and your daughter today. What manual dexterity she has! Thank you for bringing me a new word, dexterity, today! International district would work for us. We can meet somewhere Capitol Hill, too. I like walking. I think you want to focus on reading and writing rather than speaking fluently. If so, there are several books I recommend. I'm going to send detailed information to you later. Have a nice weekend, C

Teaching Japanese in English #2 I went to a coffee shop in Capitol Hill to see a conversation partner. She is a working mother taking a class at university. She's been trying to get a degree related to Buddhism. We were talking about Kanji reading. She asked me how she knows when to use On-reading or Kun-reading. I told her that there's no simple way to explain it, but tried to give her some small tips to make a better guess. http://japanese.about.com/library/blqow44.htm