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You have glanced through lists of email clubs, looked at the possibilities of tandem learning. You know that working with a native language speaker who wishes to learn your language in exchange is the next-best-thing to living in the country concerned. Maybe you have even found your ideal teaching partner.
The advice given by many of the best language exchange sites is to get yourself a web-based email address. Join "http://www.yahoo.com" for instance, or "http://www.hotmail.com" which you can access in Brazilian Portuguese for extra practice, if you like. They are both very easy to sign up for and use. Hotmail has an excellent system for filtering unwanted mail and runs checks on attachments before advising on downloads. Then, if you have not already done so, select one or two possible helpmates from the email lists. Unlike the days of snailmail when you could wait for months before realising your penpal was not going to write back, you will know quite quickly whether you have found a committed and conscientious learner like yourself. The first contact Keep it short. Keep it simple. Find out whether the person you have emailed really wants to reply and start a correspondence. Lay the ground rules Is this a simple pen friendship? In that case there are no ground rules. You may find however that your correspondent is working hard to learn your language. You have the cultural benefits of the correspondence but little new language learning of your own. Are you aiming to learn the language? In this case, you must state your aims and objectives at the start, at least in letter two. But not all at once, please. That's terrifying for even an experienced teacher. First guideline State whether you wish to write only in your native language, or only in the new language to be learned, or half in half. Ask your partner's opinion. Then stick to your decision. Second guideline Making mistakes is part of the learning process. But it is hard to correct tactfully every mistake your partner makes. So you must understand that it will also be hard for anyone to correct you politely. Decide together how you will do this. Perhaps ask for an explanation of one mistake your partner finds important. I would suggest that a maximum of three corrections for beginner or intermediate students would be enough to cope with. Perhaps up to five for an advanced student. Third guideline Work on your corrections and use your new knowledge in the next letter. Thank your new friend for helping with this. This will please him or her and encourage a similar response. Go To Page: 1 2 |
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