Who Knows?

 

Anggalung From Bali (Black Cardigan), Nisa From Bintaro ( Khaki Hijab), Tiwi From Bogor (White blues)

"I still remember vividly the first time I decided to visit the website, episoden.com. I was outdoors, with some noise, accompanied by my best friend Mona (my bicycle, wink). Having just had an argument with my mom, I needed someone to talk to, and there I was, following the recommendation of Taka from Japan, whom I met on speakingclub.com back in 2022, the very platform where I embarked on my English speaking journey. I'm grateful that I joined Episoden in August 2022, before they implemented many strict rules. Ahahaha. Because, hypothetically speaking, if I were to join Episoden nowadays, the host might say, 'Fari, could you please relocate to a quieter area? Thank you.'"

EPISODEN

Whenever people ask me, "How do you think you've progressed in English after practicing here on Episoden?" I'd like to say Episoden is more than just a platform for learning English; it's a place to enhance my communication skills. In a normal session lasting 7 minutes, it's tricky when we engage with random people, many of whom we meet for the first time. With different backgrounds, it's quite challenging to initiate an interesting conversation. I'm grateful for my spontaneous personality; most of the time, my brain provides me with interesting topics. However, I often find myself struggling when the conversation doesn't flow well due to either my condition or my feelings toward the other user, like when I feel, "I can't talk with this person." Moreover, there's a sense of pressure when conversing with someone who has a higher level of English proficiency, sometimes causing me to forget how to articulate in English.

Episoden is a tool; practicing English here can be interesting and can certainly lead to progress, but it depends on how we engage in conversation. It's not just about asking questions; it's also about understanding our intentions based on a quick observation of our speaking partner. "Is it appropriate to ask this question?" is a crucial consideration. Trial and error are necessary, as essential as smiling while we talk. If we aim to expand our vocabulary in a specific topic, we should bring up subjects related to that topic. I remember a time, about six years ago, when I struggled to communicate with people; tears would often well up every time I tried to speak. This continued for about a year until I dedicated myself to extensive practice, eventually overcoming this hurdle. On Episoden, I discovered my strength in communication; I can adeptly introduce topics relevant to the diverse backgrounds of my conversation partners, whether they're older, the same age, or younger. These experiences have bolstered my confidence in face-to-face interactions, though they didn't yield instant results.

One mistake I made on Episoden was asking a new user about their perspective on common conversation starters. Typically, users initiate conversations with questions like, "How are you?" or "How was your day?" or inquire about one's profession or place of residence. When I curiously asked a new user about their thoughts on these questions, they responded uncomfortably, stating that such questions are commonplace and often don't require serious answers, similar to saying "Hi." Personally, I view language as intertwined with personal experiences; even when conversing in English, interpretations can be influenced by cultural backgrounds rather than strictly adhering to native English usage. This perspective may seem stubborn, but when I ask someone, "How are you?" I genuinely want to know about their well-being. If not, I prefer finding alternative questions. From this exchange, I've learned to play along when people on Episoden ask these repetitive questions, offering brief responses and steering the conversation toward new topics whenever possible. With only 7 minutes per session, discussing the same topics repeatedly can hinder progress, leading to complaints about stagnant English improvement on Episoden. However, the solution isn't to merely relay on Episoden; it's about preparing ourself before engaging in conversation.

Preparing doesn't necessarily mean creating a question list through research (though that's an option). Rather, it involves knowing what topics you'd like to discuss, based on your curiosity and interests. We're not as different from each other as we may think. Personally, I enjoy listening to podcasts and am quite contemplative; I often bring up topics inspired by my consumption of various media to Episoden. When I lack ideas, conversations often feel "empty." This suggestion may not apply to everyone, but for those who need it, it can enhance the Episoden experience. Peace.

I have been using Episoden for 1 year and 8 months regularly up until now. I have witnessed numerous changes on Episoden itself, with the team putting their best efforts into making the platform run better day by day. I am truly grateful for the existence of Episoden. As Taka told me, Episoden has become a part of our daily activities. It's not just a platform for practicing English; it's something more than that. We each have our own definition. It's about meeting people, making friends, sharing stories, learning from each other, experiencing a bit of conflict, and mixing all sorts of feelings.

Anggalung

Before Episoden became populated with Indonesian users, I met her. In the beginning, when I joined Episoden, we rarely discussed serious topics. Instead, we enjoyed playful banter (jokingly) about the twins from Myanmar, Thandar and Thiri. Suddenly, we became friends, and we still are to this day. We even met once at Tebet Eco Park in Jakarta when she was here to attend a Korean concert. It felt awkward for the first 5 minutes, but then we got along like old friends. Ahahaha. Even my younger sister befriended her. Despite our differences in beliefs, Anggalung is a good and caring friend. She is a patient listener. I still remember how happy my sister and she were while playing on the swings at the park and how patiently she listened to my stories. That's precious.

Nissa and Tiwi

We met on Episoden when there were many Indonesian users present. I rarely invite people to my house, but yesterday we met. We talked for almost 6 hours. Like with Anggalung, I felt awkward for the first 5 minutes. I was shy. Nissa, Tiwi, and I are around the same age and share several things in common. I know I will learn from them. We discussed various topics, and they provided insights on things I couldn't see clearly. My younger sister told me they are sincere people and she's happy that I have good quality friends, knowing that my friends are always good due to my natural elimination system, my superpower, ahahaha. I will follow my intuition in deciding to make friends. Thanks to God, I feel grateful for that.

Tiwi said, 'Finally, we met because of Episoden. What a great power Episoden has.' I couldn't agree more. I am so grateful to Mr. Yang and the team.

From Speakingclub and Episoden, I have made friends with people from different nationalities. Even though I haven't met most of them in person, they are my friends. I don't want to underestimate online friendships. When I decide to make a friend, I don't distinguish between online and offline friends. We are all friends, simple as that.