How to Find a Language Exchange Partner and Get Fluent Now

Finding an In-person Language Exchange Partner ... In my experience, a friendly introduction message to a Couchsurfer, with an offer to meet over coffee and ... Quickquiz:Whatisthemainreasonthatpeoplelearnaforeignlanguage?Answer:Quitesimply,totalk!Literally.Thoughreadingandwritingareimportantcomponentsoflanguagelearning,whatwealldreamof istospeakfluently,totraveltoa countrywhereourtargetlanguage isspokenandsoundlikealocal.Ifyourdreamislikemine,keeponreading,becausetheclearestpathtofluencyis findingalanguageexchangepartner.I’llexplainthebenefitsoflanguageexchange,tipsonhowtogetthemostoutofyourlanguageexchangesessions,andofcoursehowtofindpartnersbothonlineandoffline.Sowhatareyouwaitingfor?Scrolldown!Download:ThisblogpostisavailableasaconvenientandportablePDFthatyou cantakeanywhere.Clickheretogetacopy.(Download)TryFluentUforFREE!BenefitsofHavingaLanguageExchange PartnerPositiveSocialMotivationLearningalanguageonyourowncanbetough.Ashardasyoutrytolistentoaudiolessonsonline,useflashcards ortakeadvantageof onlineresources,itcanbehardtokeepyour motivationhigh.Traditionalcourses,withtheirfocusonexamsandgrades,aren’texactlyalow-pressuresolution.Sohere’safun,positiveoption:alanguageexchangepartner.Meetingupwithafriendlyface—someonewhoonlywantstoseeyousucceedandcanprovideabarometeronyourlanguagelearningprogress—isagreatwaytonotonlyreducethelonelinessoflanguagelearning,butprovidesomepositivemomentumaswell.TrainingYourEarOneofthebiggestchallengesfacingnewlanguagelearnersistrainingyoureartohearthenuancesoflanguageandaccent.Sittingoveratextbook orlisteningtoaudiotapesisjustnotthesameaslivingandbreathingalanguage.Sinceyoucan’tjustgotothecountrywherethelanguageisspoken,whynotfindsomeoneinyourtownorcommunitytospeakwith?Non-verbalLanguageSomethingyou’llquicklyfindoutisthatthere’smoretolanguagethanjustwords.Facialexpressions,handgesturesandinflectionsareallunwrittenpartsofalanguage,andthereisnobetterwaytolearnthesethanone-on-onewithalanguageexchangepartner.Moreover,understandingtheseaspectsofalanguagecanmakelearningvocabularyeasier.Soweknowthatthebenefitsofhavinga languageexchangepartnerarehuge.Buthowcanyou makethemostofyourmeetings?GettingtheMostoutofYour LanguageExchangeSessionsWhenyou’reheadingtoyourveryfirstlanguageexchange,thebutterfliesmighthit.Ibarelyknowhowtospeakthislanguage!Whatarewegoingtodoforanhour?Firstofall,don’tworry.Languageexchangeissupposedtobefun—stressingoutisnever agoodwaytolearnalanguage.Herearesometipsonhowtogetthemostofyourlanguageexchangesessions,andhavefundoingit!WarmUpwithFluentUTogetyourmindthinkinginyourtargetlanguagebeforeyoumeetwithyourlanguageexchangepartner,spend5-10minutesonFluentU.FluentUtakesreal-worldvideos—likemusicvideos,movietrailers,newsandinspiringtalks—andturnsthemintopersonalizedlanguagelearninglessons.FluentUisdesignedtogetyoucomfortable witheverydaylanguage, bycombiningallthebenefitsofcomplete immersionandnative-levelconversationswitheasy-to-readsubtitlesandFluentU’s highly-effective“learnmode.” Thisisalsoaphenomenalwaytoimproveduringtheweek,betweenmeetingswithyourlanguagepartner.StayonScheduleThisiskey.Youshoulddefinitelyhavesometimetogettoknoweachother,andhavefriendlyconversationinyourmutual,bestlanguage.Butthen,getdowntobusiness.Setupareasonableschedule:30minutesinthelanguageyou’retryingtolearn,30minutesinEnglish(orwhateverlanguageyourpartnerwantstolearn)isacommonandgreat waytodividethetime.It’seasytogetofftopicandwastetime–don’tletthathappen!MeetRegularlyThelongeryouwaitbetweenmeetings,thelesslikelyyouaretorememberwhatyoulearned.Irecommendmeetingonceaweek,withonceeverytwoweeksthebareminimum.Anythinglessandyouwon’thavetimetotrainyourearandlearn.Don’tBeAfraidtoMakeMistakesRemember,you’renotbeinggraded!Mistakesarepartoflearning—infact,theyarethebestwaytolearn.Can’tthinkofaword?Trytodescribeitusingthelanguageyou’relearning.Yourpartnerdoesn’tunderstandyou?Tryspeakingitoutslowly.Here’satip:Smilewhenyoumakeamistake,andbeginturningfailureintolaughter.Thenyourfearswillfadeandyourmindwillopentothetrialanderrornecessaryfordeeplanguagelearning.Likethesayinggoes,it’sbettertohavetriedandfailed,thantohavenevertriedatall.PracticeBetweenMeetupsIrecommendbringinganotebookwithyouand,withoutdistractingtoomuchfromtheconversation,jotting downanydifficultiesyou’rehavingornewwordsyou’relearning.Then,whenyou’rebackhome,practicewhatever youfoundmostdifficult.Itcouldbepronunciation,ormaybeachallengingverbtenseorconjugation.Thebestpart?Whenyoushowuptoyournextmeeting andimpressyourpartnerwithhowmuchyou’veimproved!HowtoFindaLanguageExchangePartnerNow,Iknowwhatyou’rethinking:Thebenefitsareallswell,andI’m itchingtoputthosetipsintoaction,butI don’tknowasinglepersonwhospeaksFrench(orRussian,orwhateverlanguageyouarelearning)!HowcanIfindalanguageexchangepartner?Don’tfret.Weliveinamulticulturalera,withpeopleofallethnicities,nationalitiesandlanguagestraversingtheworldforglobalizedopportunities.Chancesarethattherearepeopleinyourcommunityorcitywhospeakthelanguageyouwanttolearn,andwouldbeinterestedinhavingthechancetoimprovetheirEnglishthroughlanguageexchange.Ifnot,thereisanalternative:avirtuallanguageexchangepartner.ThoughtoolslikeSkype,youcanreapmostofthebenefitsofanin-personexchangethroughmanyonlineresources,accessiblewhereveryouhaveaninternetconnection!FindinganIn-personLanguageExchange PartnerHerearethebestwaysandresourcestofindyourselfalanguagepartnerwithwhomyoucanmeetface-to-face:Craigslist: Theworld’stopclassifiedsitehasasectionfor“ActivityPartners”whereyoucanbothpostarequestforalanguageexchangepartner.UniversityMessageBoards: Doyoulivenearauniversity?MostAmericanuniversities,nomatterhowbig,smallorremote,haveinternationalstudentsfromallaroundtheworld.Postanadattheuniversityeitheronlineoronbulletinboardsoncampus.Forums: DoesyourtownorcityhaveaforumonasitelikeInterNations?Ifso,doasearchorputupapost.Meetup: Meetupisawebsitededicatedtoorganizingsmallgroupget-togethersaroundsharedorcommoninterests.Theyhavenumerouslanguageexchangemeetupsincitiesallacrosstheworld.Thisisespeciallyusefulforpopularlanguages—likeChinese,Spanish,French,German,orJapanese—butmaynotbeasusefulifyouarelearningamoreobscureorlesspopularlanguage.LocalLanguageCenters: Similarly,theremightbealocalculturalcenterthatofferslanguagecourses,orprovidesavenueforlanguagelearning,inyourcommunity.AllianceFrancais(French)andGoetheInstitute(German)aretwocommonones.Googleisyourfriend!Couchsurfing: Couchsurfingistheworld’slargesttravelsocialnetwork.Thoughitsfocusisgettinglocalswithextraspaceintheirhomestohosttravelers,thesitealsohasawidehostofeventsincitiesallaroundtheworld.ThebestpartaboutCouchsurfingis,afteryouregisterandcreateanaccount,youcansearchforlocalsinyourareabythelanguagetheyspeak.Thisisfantasticwaytofindlanguagepartnersinmoreobscureorlessspokenlanguages.Inmyexperience,afriendlyintroductionmessagetoaCouchsurfer,withanoffertomeetovercoffeeandexchangelanguage,willusuallywork(thoughyoumighthavetosendmessagestoafewprofilestogetaresponse).I,forone,wasabletouseCouchsurfingtofindanIndonesianlanguageexchangepartner,alanguageforwhichtherearenearlynoexchangegroupsintheUnitedStates.FindingaVirtualLanguageExchangePartnerHavingtroublefindinganin-personpartner?Doyouliveinaplacewithoutalargeuniversityoradiverseimmigrantpopulation?Oristhelanguageyouaretryingtolearntooobscure?Don’tfret.Weliveinaninterconnectedworld,wheredistancenolongermattersasitoncedid. Thewebisconnectingpeopleallaroundtheworld,andthereareseveralsiteswhereyoucansetupaprofileandfindavirtuallanguageexchangepartnerandgainnearlyallthebenefitsofin-personexchangefromthecomfortofyourhome.Hereareafewofthemostpopularoneswithrecommendationstohelpyoudecidewhichisbestforyou!italki:Thisismypickforthebestoveralllanguageexchangesite.Itislarge,welldesigned,easytouseandhasagooddiversityoflanguagesandmembers.YoucanlogindirectlyusingyourFacebookaccount,whichwillsaveyoutimeasyouwon’thavetofillinasmanydetails,andthenyoucansearchfora“teacher”basedonyourlanguagelevelandwhichconversationskillsyouwanttoimprove.ExchangeLanguage.com:Thoughnotquiteasuser-friendlyasitalki,thissitetendstohavemorememberswhospeakEuropeanlanguages.Theregistrationprocessisfairlystraightforward,butbecarefulwhensearchingthroughprofilesthattheuseryouarecontactinghasloggedintohisorheraccountrecently.ConversationExchange: Thissitehasanolderlayout,butisstillveryreliablewithanactivecommunity.Youmakeaprofileandwriteaboutyourself,thenyoucanbrowsetheprofilesofotherusersbasedontheirtargetandnativelanguages.Therearethreepossiblemodesofinteractionthatyoucanlookfor:face-to-faceconversation,correspondence(penpal)andtext/voicechat.IrecommendcheckingthissiteoutifyouarelearninganAsianlanguage,astheyhavealargenumberofprofilesfrompeopleinEastAsia.TheMixxer:ForthoseofyouspecificallylookingforSkypevideoexchangepartners,theMixxerisagreatoption.ItisafreeeducationalsiteforlanguagelearnershostedbyDickinsonCollege,andisdesignedspecificallytoconnectlanguagelearnersaroundtheworldtohave videoexchanges.Theyalsohavelessonsplansandotherresourcesthatyoucanusetoimprovelanguageskillsandplanoutyourexchangesessions.LiveMocha:Thissiteblendslanguagelessonswiththeabilitytofindlanguagepartners.Afteryouregisterandputyournativelanguageandthelanguageyouwanttolearnontoyourprofile,LiveMochawillautomaticallygiveyoualistofpotentialpartnersthatmatchyourneeds.Thisisagreatoptionforthoseofyouwhowantamorecomprehensiveoption.Reddit:Forthoseofyouwholovemessageboardsandchatforumsanddon’tmindabitofmess,checkoutReddit.Therearesubredditsfornearlyeverylanguageintheworld,makingitagreatplacetopostandfindapartner,especiallyfor obscureorlesspopularAsianandAfricanlanguages.Registrationissimpleandforumsareopentoall,aslongasyoudon’tpostspam.Location-specificSites: Manycitieshavetheirownregularlanguageexchangeeventsorpartner-findingsites,like loquoinSpainorGoLingoinMontpellier,France.UseGoogleandFacebooktofindoutifyourcity(oracity/countryyouplantovisit)hasitsownsiteforfindinglanguageexchangepartners,oritsownweeklylanguageexchangeevent.MultipleLanguagePartners:DoubleYourLearningIfonepartnerissogreat,whynothavetwo?Ormore?HereIurgeyoutomovewithcaution,assometimesmoreisnotnecessarilybetter.Meetingingroupsofthreecanmeanlesspressure,andyoucantrainyoureartodistinguishbetweenmultipleaccents.Thedownsideisthatthere’slesstimeforyoutospeak,andtheconversationtendstogototheleveloftheonewhospeakstheworstofthelanguage,whichcanlimityourabilitytoimprove.Sothinkcarefullyaboutwhatyouwanttogainfromalanguageexchange.Ifyoufeelthatjustmeetingwithonepersonwouldbebest,thengoforit.Ifyouthinkthatmeetinginagroupisbetter,thenfollowthatpath!Here’sanotheroption: meetingtwopeopleseparately,one-on-one.Thiswillallowyoutohavemoreexposure,perhapslearndifferentaccents,butalsomeansmorecommitmentonyourpart.Sowhatareyouwaitingfor?Getoutthere,findalanguagepartner,andfasttrackyourlanguageskills!Download:ThisblogpostisavailableasaconvenientandportablePDFthatyou cantakeanywhere.Clickheretogetacopy.(Download)AndOneMoreThing...Ifyoudigtheideaoflearningonyourowntimefromthecomfortofyoursmartdevicewithreal-lifeauthenticlanguagecontent,you'llloveusingFluentU.WithFluentU,you'lllearnreallanguages—asthey'respokenbynativespeakers.FluentUhasawidevarietyofvideosasyoucanseehere:FluentUAppBrowseScreen.FluentUhasinteractivecaptionsthatletyoutaponanywordtoseeanimage,definition,audioandusefulexamples.Nownativelanguagecontentiswithinreachwithinteractivetranscripts.Didn'tcatchsomething?Gobackandlistenagain.Missedaword?Hoveryourmouseoverthesubtitlestoinstantlyviewdefinitions.VocabularylistforCarlosBautesong.YoucanlearnallthevocabularyinanyvideowithFluentU's"learnmode."Swipeleftorrighttoseemoreexamplesforthewordyou’relearning.FluentUHasQuizzesforEveryVideoAndFluentUalwayskeepstrackofvocabularythatyou’relearning.Itgivesyouextrapracticewithdifficultwords—andremindsyouwhenit’stimetoreviewwhatyou’velearned.Yougetatrulypersonalizedexperience.StartusingtheFluentUwebsiteonyourcomputerortabletor,betteryet,downloadtheFluentUappfromtheiTunesorGooglePlaystore.Ifyoulikedthispost,somethingtellsmethatyou'llloveFluentU,thebestwaytolearnlanguageswithreal-worldvideos.Signupforfree!FrequentlyAskedQuestionsaboutFluentUSearchPopularPostsCategoriesBeginningLanguageLearning(84)FluentU(20)LanguageLearningResources(227)LanguageLearningTips(192)Uncategorized(7)Enteryoure-mailaddresstogetyourfreePDF!WehateSPAMandpromisetokeepyouremailaddresssafeClose