The University Writing Center (UWC) has conversation appointments for students who wish to practice speaking in person and online.

Oral communication, in addition to our writing-focused appointments, remains a core part of our writing center practice and serves our mission of helping Texas A&M students grow as mature communicators.

Students can select ‘conversation appointment’ as an option when booking a consultation with the writing center online scheduling system Cleopatra.

Consultants can guide the conversation based on the student’s input and feedback, but many students choose topics of interest to them—including occasionally learning more about the nuances of Aggie traditions.

Other students have used conversation appointments as additional practice for job and application interviews, a service also offered by The Career Center.

Notably, emphasizing the speaking component of the writing center’s service was also a chief effort of Dr. Valerie Balester, who retired last June as the UWC’s Executive Director and Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs.

Current UWC Executive Director Nancy Vazquez shares in that vision of providing a comfortable space for all students’ exploration of English whether spoken or written.

“When you’re working in a low stakes one-on-one environment with a peer, improving your English becomes easier and more accessible,” Vazquez said. “Our consultants enjoy talking to people and also benefit from practicing their rhetorical skills in a different way.”

Appointments for any communication concerns can be scheduled now until the end of the current semester.