13-Five Tips for Great Language Exchanges

Harry Qiu began learning English as a young boy in Shanghai, China.Over the years, he became fluent, and later came to the United States forcollege.

Qiu now attends Dickinson College in the state of Pennsylvania,where he studies international relations.

There, he is learning two more languages – Russian and Japanese. Andthrough the school, he gets to talk one-on-one with native speakers on Skype.For example, when he meets with his Japanese partner, Qiu helps his partnerpractice English. His partner helps him practice Japanese.

Doing a language exchange can be an excellent way to practice thelanguage you want to learn.

Doing a language exchange can be an excellent way to practice thelanguage you want to learn.

We call this a language exchange.

Such exchanges can be one of the best ways to improve yourconversation skills. Qiu says they have given him the chance to experience thedifference between real life conversation and classroom learning.

Colleges and universities are not the only places offering languageexchanges.

Today, there are many websites and apps designed to connect languagelearners around the world. Popular sites like Conversation Exchange, LingoGlobe, Easy Language Exchange and The Mixxer offer an almost endless number ofpartners to choose from.

But doing an exchange without knowing what to expect can sometimeslead to wasted time. So today, we have five tips for how to have a greatlanguage exchange.

Tip 1- What to askyourself

Experts say the first step is ask yourself some important questions.

Todd Bryant is a language technology specialist who runs The Mixxer,a website with more than 35,000 active users. The free service began atDickinson College. But it is meant for people around the world looking forpractice partners.

Bryant says the most important question to ask yourself is why youwant to learn the language.

People who have a serious reason for learning a language are usuallymore dependable exchange partners. These reasons can include, for example,moving to another country or using the language for work. Less serious reasonsmight be wanting to meet new people or use the language for an overseasvacation.

Another question to ask yourself, Bryant says, is how much free timeyou really have.

"And then also think about how much time you're willing tospend on this so you can then find a good match. ‘Are you willing to spend anhour or two more per week to do this?'"

In addition, consider your preferences. Are you looking for speakingpractice or do you prefer written messages? If you are seeking speakingpractice, would you rather have video meetings or meet in person?

Knowing your preferred method will help you choose the right websiteor app. Some websites, for example, list people's cities, so you can easilymake plans to meet partners in person. Others do not.

Tip 2 - Find the rightpartner

Now, you are ready for tip 2 - finding the right partner.

As I said earlier, many of these websites can have hundreds ofpartners to choose from in the language you want to learn. So how can you limityour search?

Bryant says, when reading profiles, look for some important signs.

"People who have been on the site and have been active and havea reason to learn the language are much more likely to be good partners thanpeople who have been on the site for a week and don't really have their profilefilled out and haven't been active and are learning six languages."

Another thing to keep in mind is that it is better to find at leasttwo exchange partners. People lead busy lives and one person may not beavailable every week.

Tip 3 - State yourexpectations

Once you do find a person who seems like a good fit, be clear aboutwhat your expectations are in the first email. That's tip number 3.

Explain to the person things such as how long you'd like meetings tobe and how often you'd like to meet. And, for example, if you plan to meet inperson, say if you are fine with noisy places or only quieter places.

Bryant says expressing expectations in advance will give thepartnership a higher chance of going well. But, he notes, avoid being toorigid. For example, if you're hoping for Wednesday nights every week, you'llhave better luck if you state other times that also could work for you.

Greg Scott is a Japanese-to-English translator based in Australia.He wrote for Lingualift.com about his early days of learning English . In thestory, he noted that it was easier for him to have unplanned Skype meetingswith his exchange partner because of his busy work schedule. But this plan wassomething both partners agreed on.

Tip 4 - Come prepared

Now, let's say you have secured a partner and your first meeting isin a few days. You are ready for tip 4: prepare ahead of time.

Before each meeting, prepare some questions on a topic of yourchoice. That will give you the chance to look up related words as well as thinkabout your own answers.

Preparing topics ahead of time will also help you avoid havingnothing to say at your meetings, notes Bryant.

"Otherwise, you might find yourself 10 minutes in and you'vealready gone through the ‘What do you do for a living?' and ‘if you like totravel' kind of questions and you have nothing else to say."

Or, you'll find that you keep talking about the same things at everymeeting, which you want to avoid.

Tip 5 – Focus oncommunication

Now we move to tip 5 – focusing on communication.

One thing to keep in mind during meetings is that the main goal isconversation practice. So i t's important to let your partner speak freely,even if they make mistakes.

Bryant recommends giving only one or two corrections after eachpiece of dialogue.

Qiu says he corrects a partner only if the person is struggling tothink of a word or cannot finish a sentence.

"If they are trying to speak fluently, you don't really want todisturb that tempo...so you just definitely keep them speaking."

Qui's advice to people who want to try a language exchange issimple: Don't be afraid to make mistakes!