The internet is an amazing resource for students to connect with native speakers all over the world.
Conversing with a language partner is a great way to increase your fluency and confidence with a
foreign language and help your partner with English at the same time. These two favorite websites
are a great supplement to classes at Let’s Talk Language School:
www.livemocha.com
Live Mocha offers Mandarin, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese,
Russian, and Spanish. You can register with this free online site and complete written, listening, and
speaking exercises at your own level. One of the best aspects of this site is that you can
communicate with native speakers in a number of ways. You can send written exercises and
recordings of your voice to your “friends” and ask them for critiques. You can instant message with
native speakers, and you can speak to native speakers online with Yahoo Messenger or Skype.
Skype and Yahoo Messenger are programs that allow you to call other people on the internet for
free. These programs are free and provide excellent sound quality, especially with a microphone. Go
to www.skype.com or www.yahoo.com . One of the features of these programs that make them
especially useful when communicating with your language partner is the instant message feature. If
you are not sure what your partner said, or if they used an expression that you want to remember,
ask them to type it in to the instant message.
www.language-exchanges.org
The Mixxer at Dickinson College is a free website for language learners to find a language partner. In
addition to speaking with a language partner on Skype, you can submit documents and ask native
speakers to correct your writing.
To become a member on the Mixxer, register with the site and provide some information (as little or
as much as you wish) for your profile. The more information you provide, the more interesting you
are to potential language partners. As my 21 year-old daughter Emily told me, “You have to sound
hip and fresh, Mom!” Once you are a member, you are free to contact other members, and vice
versa. According to the Mixxer, there are 20,643 members looking for a language exchange!
Here are some tips from The Mixxer for having success with a language partner:
Conversing with a language partner is a great way to increase your fluency and confidence with a
foreign language and help your partner with English at the same time. These two favorite websites
are a great supplement to classes at Let’s Talk Language School:
www.livemocha.com
Live Mocha offers Mandarin, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese,
Russian, and Spanish. You can register with this free online site and complete written, listening, and
speaking exercises at your own level. One of the best aspects of this site is that you can
communicate with native speakers in a number of ways. You can send written exercises and
recordings of your voice to your “friends” and ask them for critiques. You can instant message with
native speakers, and you can speak to native speakers online with Yahoo Messenger or Skype.
Skype and Yahoo Messenger are programs that allow you to call other people on the internet for
free. These programs are free and provide excellent sound quality, especially with a microphone. Go
to www.skype.com or www.yahoo.com . One of the features of these programs that make them
especially useful when communicating with your language partner is the instant message feature. If
you are not sure what your partner said, or if they used an expression that you want to remember,
ask them to type it in to the instant message.
www.language-exchanges.org
The Mixxer at Dickinson College is a free website for language learners to find a language partner. In
addition to speaking with a language partner on Skype, you can submit documents and ask native
speakers to correct your writing.
To become a member on the Mixxer, register with the site and provide some information (as little or
as much as you wish) for your profile. The more information you provide, the more interesting you
are to potential language partners. As my 21 year-old daughter Emily told me, “You have to sound
hip and fresh, Mom!” Once you are a member, you are free to contact other members, and vice
versa. According to the Mixxer, there are 20,643 members looking for a language exchange!
Here are some tips from The Mixxer for having success with a language partner:
- Be active, login, search for a partner, then contact them via Skype or email. Don’t be afraid to
contact more than one person. If that doesn’t work, be patient. - Once you find a language partner, agree in advance how often you’ll meet and how long you’ll
spend on each language. Try to keep your conversation dates; it’s very easy to loose contact
with your language partner. And if you find a good partner, one that can talk with you at times
that are convenient for you, hang on to them! Different time zones and work schedules can get
in the way of making regular contact with your language partner. - Don’t switch back and forth throughout the conversation. Stick with one language at a time.
Otherwise, the person with more advanced second language skills tends to dominate the
conversation. - Be super polite. You are from different cultures and it’s easy to have misunderstandings.
Maintain your sense of humor.
Podcasts
There are numerous FREE Podcasts for learning languages available for downloading.
Go to i iTunes , click on iTunes Store, click on Podcasts, and then click on Education.
As a Spanish student, I like Notes in Spanish and Insta Spanish. Send us your favorites!
If you don't have an iPod or MP3 player, you can listen to Podcasts on your computer.
iTunes - Podcasts - Coffee Break French by Radio Lingua Network
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/coffee-break-french/id263170419
Download past episodes or subscribe to future episodes for free from Coffee Break French
by Radio Lingua Network on the iTunes Store.
Here are some good web sites for listening.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/
http://www.newsinslowfrench.com/
http://www.newsinslowspanish.com/
http://www.radio-canada.ca/
http://www.rtve.es/
There are numerous FREE Podcasts for learning languages available for downloading.
Go to i iTunes , click on iTunes Store, click on Podcasts, and then click on Education.
As a Spanish student, I like Notes in Spanish and Insta Spanish. Send us your favorites!
If you don't have an iPod or MP3 player, you can listen to Podcasts on your computer.
iTunes - Podcasts - Coffee Break French by Radio Lingua Network
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/coffee-break-french/id263170419
Download past episodes or subscribe to future episodes for free from Coffee Break French
by Radio Lingua Network on the iTunes Store.
Here are some good web sites for listening.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/
http://www.newsinslowfrench.com/
http://www.newsinslowspanish.com/
http://www.radio-canada.ca/
http://www.rtve.es/
Links to Spanish learning resources on the web:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/
BBC Spanish Website - learning resources and advice for all abilities
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/spanish/
Spanish Steps - A short course to kick-start your Spanish - for work, holidays or just for fun
(Realplayer needed)
www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/lj/
News in Spanish:
www.bbcmundo.com
http://espanol.yahoo.co
Listen to Spanish audio texts and test your comprehension and other Spanish skills:
http://www.audiria.com/
Study Spanish grammar Barbara Nelson's award-winning web site by Colby professor, Barbara
Nelson: www.colby.edu/~bknelson/exercise/index.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/
BBC Spanish Website - learning resources and advice for all abilities
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/spanish/
Spanish Steps - A short course to kick-start your Spanish - for work, holidays or just for fun
(Realplayer needed)
www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/lj/
News in Spanish:
www.bbcmundo.com
http://espanol.yahoo.co
Listen to Spanish audio texts and test your comprehension and other Spanish skills:
http://www.audiria.com/
Study Spanish grammar Barbara Nelson's award-winning web site by Colby professor, Barbara
Nelson: www.colby.edu/~bknelson/exercise/index.html
Italian resources on the Web:
Davida recommends these Italian exercises from the University of Victoria Department of
Hispanic and Italian Studies:
http://web.uvic.ca/hispanital/italian/italian100
Davida recommends these Italian exercises from the University of Victoria Department of
Hispanic and Italian Studies:
http://web.uvic.ca/hispanital/italian/italian100
Resources for learning Mandarin:
Practice your Mandarin at the internet site developed by University of Maine, Farmington psychology
professor Marilyn Shea: Ting
Practice your Mandarin at the internet site developed by University of Maine, Farmington psychology
professor Marilyn Shea: Ting
Check out this great online dictionary which features definitions, translations, and common
expressions for many different languages. www.wordreference.com
expressions for many different languages. www.wordreference.com
Let's Talk . . .
Resources
Resources
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