Learning Spanish? Priority no.1, a language exchange partner.

I am trying to learn Spanish and the main reason is to be able to speak to Spanish speaking people (I live in Spain). I guess it is the same for most of you. So why do we sometimes get so hung up on the grammar books and practice CDs, forgetting that the best way to do something is to practice it. So that means actual practice of speaking Spanish with a native Spanish speaker.



Spanish is the world's third most spoken language so there is a high chance that wherever you live there will be a native speaker who is eager to learn your native language (especially if that language is English). A language exchange is a proven method of getting one-to-one practice at speaking and listening to the language. If you actually live in a Spanish speaking country then it should be easy to find potential language exchange partners via friends or through the internet. As I said, English is usually in high demand so you possess a valuable commodity to exchange. Even within your own country you would be surprised as to how many native Spanish speakers are living there, and if you live in an average sized town, you should be able to find someone fairly easily. After all, they are living abroad themselves and will probably be eager to practice your native language. Again, the internet is your friend here.



Now, I think that finding a good language exchange partner is a bit like dating. If it is not working out after 1 or 2 tries, then it's probably best to drop this one and look for somebody else more compatible. Ideally you should get on well, be able to understand each other's way of speaking and not run out of things to talk about after 10 minutes.



A regular intercambio (as they are known here in Spain) is an invaluable resource for improving your Spanish, and it will be easier to find and keep them if you yourself get a reputation for being a reliable language exchange partner in return.

After living in Barcelona since 2006, and having had many language exchanges of varying degrees of success, below I lay out my top tips for getting the most out of the whole experience.



1. A regular schedule helps to keep the momentum going. Once a week worked for me, and you can always have more than one intercambio if you have more free time.

2. Try to meet somewhere comfortable and above all quite. Outdoor cafés are good. The background chatter is much less intrusive and there will be no loud bar music.

3. Don't go on for too long even if things are going well. I think about 30 to 40 minutes each is a good period. If you get bored or frustrated it means that you are less likely to want to do it again.

4. When it is your half of the time, don't be shy. Do the majority of the speaking. Even if your level is low you can make a stab at describing your week´s activities. A friend of mine always used to bring lists of English grammatical points that she wanted to check. This kept her on course and used her time well.

5. Conversely, when it is your partner's turn, give them lots of encouragement to speak if tehy need it. Try to keep the conversation going with easy questions if they get tongue tied, but don't use up their time by giving a long resume of your own activities. Try to speak at a level that matches their English ability.

6. Use a pen and paper to note down any useful expressions or words that your partner mentions. I promiose that otherwise you won't remember them later. You have in front of you a native Spanish speaker! Don't waste this valuable opportunity to extract knowledge from their brain.



Over the years I have probably had more than 20 different intercambios and a lot have gone on to become friends. If this happens to you then you have struck the mother lode as it will bring you to a deeper appreciation and understanding of both the culture of the country that they are from and for the Spanish language in general, which is one of the reasons that we are all studying so hard, isn't it?



If you would like to read more Spanish learning tips, techniques and follow my own progress with learning Spanish, have a look at my www.spanishexamples.com site.