How to Practice: Conversation Partner

Okay, so obviously, a key component to learning anything is practice. With learning a language, there's a lot you can do on your own as far as writing, reading, grammar, and general study goes. But by definition, a language exists so we can communicate. So how can you possibly exercise that when you're always by yourself?

Enter: OTHER HUMAN BEINGS. Generally, the most advantageous option is actually speaking with a native. Practicing with others learning the same language is helpful in its own way because you'll most likely find the same things strange or difficult, and you can share strategies, mnemonics, etc.

However, speaking with a native, you have little chance of learning things the wrong way, and you'll understand how people actually talk in that language. You'll hear colloquialisms, and it's really helpful to hear all the things you've been learning put to use. But what if you don't know anyone who speaks the language you're learning?

Enter: LANGUAGE PARTNER PROGRAMS!

In this blog, I'll be talking about Conversation Exchange.com. I can't say it's the best because I haven't tried any others. However, the fact that I haven't had to try any other services should speak for itself. CS is very straightforward, simple to use, and (most importantly) FREE! You can even search for partners without making an account.

The way CS works is simple:

• Choose your first language (in my case, English)
• Choose the language you're learning (Japanese)

And then CS will pair you up with someone looking for the opposite. You can then view all the profiles available, which contain age, gender, and whatever information the user puts in their profile.

You can also specify if you want a pen pal, a chat pal (AIM, MSN, iChat, Skype, Line, etc.), or to meet in person. This is enormously helpful for those of you who don't live in an area with any natives. I live in LA, so this is not at all the case.

If you do get the chance to actually meet up with someone or Skype, please take the opportunity. It's scary and we all feel insecure about our language abilities, but if you don't start speaking now, your studies will go nowhere. It's easy for me to fall in the habit of, "Oh, well, they want to practice their English, and my Japanese sucks, so I'll just help them practice." But what's the point? My recommendation is that you designate time so that you both must practice and hold each other accountable. Even if your time is only 5 or 10 minutes. Try to make at least 80% of the words out of your mouth in that language. And the more you do it, the easier it gets.

I've met two people off of CS so far, and it's been great! (Just met a new friend tonight--see below!) Even if I haven't practiced or tried to speak Japanese as much as I wish I would have, it's still super nice to have native Japanese friends because I can ask them questions, get recommendations for TV shows, movies, and music, and I can text/Facebook them, which is a lot less pressure than talking face-to-face.

One last thing about conversation partners: having people you write to, whether it's in text, email, Facebook, or whatever, is helpful, too, and here's why: if I don't know how to say what I want to say, I can go on my computer or phone or get a book to look it up, and this forces me to learn new words, phrases, and grammar. It also helps with kanji comprehension.

A side note: CS doesn't allow user photos. You can choose an image from amongst options like trees, clouds, etc., but you can't have a personal photo. In a way, this is nice because you can't judge by appearances, but I think a lot of people feel safer when there's a photo. I don't really have an opinion.

All in all, I'm super happy with Conversation Exchange, and I'm looking forward to connecting with more people! Let me know if you try it!