How to Find and Make the Most of a Language Partner - Go ...

A language exchange partner is someone who is a native speaker of the language you're studying and is also interested in learning your native ... Skiptomaincontent ReadytoLearnaLanguage? ExplorePrograms ByElainaGiolandoPublishedAugust28,2017 ShareonFacebookShareonTwitterShareonPinterest Assomeonewho'sstudiedmultiplelanguages,thekeytogainingfluencyis,intheory,verysimple:youjusthavetospeak.But,asanyonewho'sspenttimestudyingaforeignlanguagealsoknows,that'sexactlythemostnerve-wrackingandego-crushingpartoftheprocess! Oneofthebestwaystogetthecouragetospeak,regardlessofyourlevelofstudy,istoworkwithalanguageexchangepartnerwhocanprovideasafeandencouragingenvironmenttodojustthat.Languagepartnershelpyoupracticewhatyou'relearningintheclassroomandalsoexposeyoutohownativespeakersusetheirownlanguage. I'vehadlanguagepartnersinChinese,Spanish,Portuguese,andArabicandeachpartnershipbroughtmenewlinguisticandculturalunderstandings--andoccasionally,arealfriendshipthatevolvedalongtheway.Ifoundthatthekeytomakingthesepartnershipsmeaningfulwasbyenteringintotheminathoughtfulway.Hereareafewwaysyoucandothesame. WhatisaLanguageExchangePartner? Alanguageexchangepartnerissomeonewhoisanativespeakerofthelanguageyou'restudyingandisalsointerestedinlearningyournativelanguage.Inmostcases,youspendtimeconversingineachlanguage,withthenativespeakerhelpingandcorrectingthelearner.Ideally,yousetguidelinesbetweenthetwoofyouthathelpeachotherlearninthemostproductivewayforyourlanguagegoals. Languagepartnerscanmeetinpersonorvirtually,butI'vefoundin-personrelationshipstobethemostfruitful.Thisisprimarilybecauseyoucanalsolearninterestingnonverballanguage(haveyounoticedthatChinesespeakersusedifferenthandgesturesfornumbers?)andvisitplacesinyourcityrelatedtothecultureofthelanguageyou'relearning.WhenIstudiedArabic,I'dhappilyagreetomeetatshishacafesandlearnedathingortwoaboutgoodteainadditiontonewvocabulary. WhereCanIFindaLanguageExchangePartner? AsimpleGooglesearchforlanguageexchangepartnersandthecityyou'relocatedinshouldyieldanumberofresults.Ifyou'relocatednearauniversity,youcangotheold-fashionedwayandputupflyerswithyourinformationtofindinternationalstudentswhoareinterestedindoinganexchange.Otherwise,thereareavarietyofwell-establishedtoolsforlanguageexchangeonline.Ifyou'relocatedinamajorcity,you'llhavebetterlucklandingsomeonetomeetface-to-face,butinalmostallcasesit'spossibletodovirtualexchanges. ConversationExchange.I'veusedConversationExchangeforyearsandalthoughthewebsiteitselflooksalittleantiquated,thecommunityisactiveandpeopletendtoberesponsivetomessages.Somepeoplehavenotedthatit'seasiertofindspeakersofEastAsianlanguagesonthissite. Italki.Thishasbeenrecommendedbyseveralpolyglotbloggerswhouselanguagepartnershipstostrengthentheirlanguageskills.LoginwithyourFacebookaccountandsearchfora"teacher"basedonwhichlanguageyouwanttoimprove. TandemPartners."Tandem"isanotherterm,morecommonlyusedinEurope,fordescribinglanguageexchange.ThiscompanyisoriginallyfromGermany,butyoucansearchinEnglishandthereareofferingsacrossEuropeandNorthAmerica. Meetup.Meetup.comallowspeopletocreateeventsofallkinds,languagelearningbeingonlyatinyfractionoftheofferings.Youcanjoingatheringslike"RussianSpeakersinColumbus,Ohio"or"EuropeanLanguagesExchangeinNewYork."Fromthesegroupgatherings,youcanmeetnativespeakersofyourtargetlanguageandinitiateaone-on-onepartnershipifheorsheisalsointerestedinthatkindofarrangement. WhatMakesaGoodLanguagePartnership? Tobebrutallyhonest,notalllanguageexchangesareuseful.Exchangesshouldbefair,purposeful,andhaveacertaindegreeofcompatibility(sharedinterestsandagreed-uponguidelines).Whilebothpeopledonotneedtobeatthesameexactlevel,itcanbedifficult,forinstance,ifbothpeopleareeithercompletebeginnersorifonepersoniswaymoreadvancedthantheother,resultinginthetendencyforbothpeopletospeakinonelanguagemoreoften. Languagepartnersdon'thavetobefriends,buttheyshouldgetalongandhavecommoninterests.Bothpeopleshouldbepatient,goodlisteners,andinterestedinhelpingsomeoneelselearn.Poorlanguagepartnersforgetthatit'samutualexchangethatrequireshelpingtheotherpersonanddedicatingafairamountoftimetobothlanguages. Iftheexchangeslidesinthatdirection,it'simportanttosaysomethingormovethatpersonintothecategoryof"friend"versuslanguagepartner.Infact,itmaybebettertostudytogetherifyou'refriendlywithoneanothermorethanactualfriends,whereitmightbehardtosetguidelinesandstaysomewhatfocused. WhatareGoodGuidelinesforMakingSureBothPeopleBenefitinaLanguagePartnership? It'sgoodtosetthetonefromthebeginningbygettingtogethertodiscussgoalsandideasforthelanguagepartnershipbeforeeitherpersoninveststoomuchtimeintoit.Doyouhavecompatiblegoalsandideasforhowtostructuretheexchange?Evensuggestingthatyou'dlikesomestructuretotherelationshipcanweedoutflakyorincompatiblepartnersfromthebeginning. Someimportantquestionstodiscussare: Howlongshouldwemeetfor?Howoftenshouldwemeet?Havingalonger-termpartnerandaregularmeetingtimehelpskeepbothpeoplecommitted. Canwebothcommittosplittingthedesignatedtime50/50foreachlanguage? Areweinterestedinperhapssettingtopicsforeachsessionsowehavedirectionandinspiration?Thisisagreatwaytointroducemoredepthintotheconversationsinsteadofskippingfromtopictotopic.Italsoensuresthatthetopicgetscoveredinbothlanguages. Howoftendoeseachpersonwanttobecorrected?Howdoesheorshewanttoreceivethosecorrections?Howcanwemakesureourpartnerfeelscomfortablemakingmistakes? Doeseachpersonwantthetimededicatedtotheirtargetlanguagetobeentirelyinthatlanguageorwilltheyneedtorevertbacktotheirnativelanguagetodiscusssomequestionsorfinergrammarpointssometimes? Whatdowedoifonepersonfeelsfrustratedortiredorstrugglestokeeptheconversationgoing?Howcanwemakesurewecreateasupportiveandsafeenvironmentforlearning? It'simportantthatbothpeoplecometothetablewithideasandgoalsforthelearningarrangement.Youhavetoknowwhatyou'rehopingtogetoutofalanguagepartnershiporyoucanbecomeeasilydistractedordisappointed. LanguagePartnersareNotLanguageTeachers Ifyou'reabletoprovidestructuretotherelationshipandmeetonaregularbasis,it'shands-downoneofthebestwaystobecomeafluentspeakerofanotherlanguage.Butremember,languagepartnersarenotlanguageteachers. Conversationexchangeshouldbeusedasacomplementtoamultifacetedlanguage-learningapproach,whichshouldprobablyincludeformalclassroominstruction,consumptionofbooks,movies,andothermediainthetargetlanguage,andplentyoflisteningandspeakingpractice.Onceyou'vegottenenoughofabaseunderstandingofthelanguage,it'sanexcellentwaytopracticewhatyou'velearned,butit'snotanidealwaytobeintroducedtocomplexgrammar,forexample. Whilenotamonetaryinvestment,youarespendingyourtimemeetingwiththispersonwiththehopeofadvancingyourlanguageskills,sosettingafewguidelinesandfindingtherightpartnerupfrontwillgoalongwaytowardsmakingbothpeopleproductiveandhappyspeakersofanewlanguage.