Speaking More English in Real Life: Part 1
Episode #7 of the course Speak English fluently: How to create your successful English study plan by Sabrina Rose
We all know that to get better at something, we have to practice it. That means that you can’t just read a book about how to play the guitar to be able to really play the guitar. You have to take some time and actually practice playing the guitar. Speaking English is the same way. It’s another skill we can practice and get better at with time.
…and one of the best ways to practice speaking English is to find a language exchange partner.
What’s a language exchange partner? It’s someone you meet up with regularly to teach your language to in exchange for them helping you learn English (or another language).
You can learn together (and laugh at each other’s mistakes!):
I won’t lie to you, though. It might not be easy to do this. It might actually be VERY difficult for you.
But if you really want to speak better English and reach the level of fluency you need in order to see your dreams come true, I know you can find a way to make it work. In the “Steps to take today” section below, we’ll work through how to start the process of finding a language exchange partner online.
Steps to take today:
Step 1: Choose your website
My personal favorite website for finding language exchange partners is italki. I want to give you a couple of other websites where you can find people to talk to in English here and here too.
Choose one of the online communities or forums from the links above to start looking for a language partner. Don’t take more than 4 or 5 minutes to decide which site to use. Just pick one for today.
Step 2: Be very specific about what you are looking for
Be very specific. The more specific the better. Tell people about yourself. Tell them what days and times you might be available. I’ve posted on italki.com before to find Japanese language exchange partners. I’ve met some amazing people this way! Here is an example of a post I could write to find a language partner:
Hi! I’m Sabrina, a native English speaker from California. I am 33 years old and I have a three-year-old daughter. I am looking for a female Japanese friend to meet on Skype every week for 30 minutes or one hour, hopefully on Wednesday afternoon CST. If you are a native Japanese speaker living in the States, this could work out great! I want to use our time to talk exactly 50% in English, and then switch and speak 50% in Japanese. I like talking about traveling, meditation, consciousness, human relationships, outer space, technology, art, and Japanese food! Send me a personal message if this sounds like what you are looking for.
Look how specific I am! This will bring the right kind of people to me, as they already know what I am looking for and they already know a little bit about me.
Get out your notebook or journal and draft your post. Add the following details:
Name:
Age:
Interests:
Availability:
Language(s) you speak and can teach:
Language you want to practice:
Step 3: Publish your “looking for a language partner” post.
Okay, this is the hardest step, I won’t lie. Actually hit “publish” on your post and wait for responses.
Excellent! You have taken the first steps toward finding people to talk to in English.
Tomorrow we will talk about some other (mostly free) alternatives to having a language exchange partner.
Until next time,
Sabrina
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