SPEAKING BOOTCAMP A crash course in speaking fluently and communicating better with native speakers
Map of the course 1. Beat your fear of speaking 2. Exactly how to find your ideal language partner 3. A step-by-step guide to speaking fluently and interacting with native speakers 4. Techniques for learning new words and memorizing vocabulary 5. The skills you need to survive in any situation
The system Beat your fear Finding people to talk to Speaking sessions Learn the new vocabulary New, relevant vocabulary Flashcard system
Some technical points Power cuts and blackouts continue Backup calls are ready I ve moved into a new apartment internet untested! Sound can cut out even with the best connections. It s just the internet buffering. Thanks for your patience!
Module 1 recap How to beat your fear of speaking: Your expectations will determine how you feel The fallacy of expecting to be fluent Why this results in fear and anxiety How this kills progress dead Why we should focus on the process rather than the product How finding the right person to speak to can be transformational
Module 2 Finding your new best friend exactly how to find your ideal language partner
Module 2 aim By the end of this call, you will know exactly where to look for language partners and how to select the best ones! be ready to have your first session have a blueprint for doing so with no pressure I will have failed if you feel unable to follow my blueprint for your first speaking session no pressure!!! J
What we ll cover Services and options for finding language partners Knowing what you want Tactics for finding good people Paid vs free exchange vs tutor Step-by-step: how to hold your first session without fear How to know if they re right for you or not When to move on
Why should you be looking for a language partner anyway?
Recap: The key to beating your fears Remove the social lottery Create an environment that you re comfortable in Start speaking regularly inside that environment And don t stop!!!
GeOing it in perspective Of every 100 people you meet, how many become friends? Of every 10 people you meet with shared interests, how many become friends? Is it rational to expect every speaking partner to be a good fit? Is it rational to expect your first speaking partner to be a good fit? Expect it to take a few tries (3-5 people)
Part 1: How to find them
Your options People who will be willing to talk to you even as a beginner Type Language exchange partner Informal tutor Teacher Comments Free More time consuming Other person may be inexperienced Needs to be carefully managed Conversation- based Inexpensive, but not free Time- efficient You can lead the interaction Conversation- based Expensive Time- efficient Usually expects to teach and lead
Resources Locally Colleagues Friends of friends Local hospitality industry Language school notice boards Local papers or community forums Meetup.com Google: language exchange [area] You might be surprised what this one turns up
Finding people locally Sometimes the best opportunities are in front of your eyes Look around But don t rely on it
Resources - Online italki.com Conversationexchange.com (also for local area) Wespeke.com Verbling.com Tandemexchange.com Mylanguageexchange.com Livemocha.com Languageforexchange.com
Using italki.com to find exchange partners and informal tutors Use this link: iwtyal.com/italki
italki.com
= professional teachers! J Native speakers making a bit of extra cash by helping foreigners to learn their language Just ordinary people Willing to talk to you Patient (they re geoing paid) Happy to chat Also happy to answer questions/ correct you as required
Option 2: Look in the community for language partners Option 1: Buy italki credits (10 credits = US$10)
Meet my Arabic teacher, Sara
US$8 for an hour 30-minutes trial lesson US$3
Should I pay for a tutor?
Is $8 a price worth paying for 1 hour speaking your target language? Consider: 1-on-1 (not class) How much is a private lesson at your local language school? (<$50/hr) You don t even have to leave the house If you met an exchange partner in a café, how much would you spend on drinks? How much have you spent on lattes this week?
The choice is yours Can get exact same outcome from a language partner as with tutor May come down to a time vs cost decision But remember Learning to speak fluently relies on regularity
Olly s history of language partners in 60 secs French = 1 (he found me) Italian = 1 (friend s mum) Spanish = 1 (I found him in a pub) Portuguese = 1 (friend of a friend) Japanese = 10+ (conversationexchange.com, italki.com) Cantonese = 5 (mostly italki.com) Arabic = 1 so far (italki.com) F2F online
The importance of profiles
Let s say you re learning Ukrainian. Which of these two potential language partners would you be most interested in meeting?
Your profile Write a full, honest profile of yourself Talk about your language level Say what you re looking for Give any extra, relevant information You will be contacted by people wanting exchanges I usually ignore them, but hear them out A full, honest profile increases quality of interactions
Example profile 1 Hi, I m John. I m a school teacher from South Africa. Nice to meet you! I m learning Spanish right now because I m planning on travelling to Spain in the summer. My Spanish is really bad!! I ve actually been studying for about 2 years, but I can t really say much. I d like to have 1-2 lessons per week with a tutor, but I m really shy, and I m quite nervous about talking over Skype, so I need someone who is very supportive and can be patient with me (I have trouble understanding even very simple things!). If you think you can help me, please let me know!
Example profile 2 Hi, I m Olly, nice to meet you! I m looking for an informal tutor to help me improve my Cantonese. I can already speak quite well, and conversationally I m fairly fluent, but my vocabulary is still quite basic and I can t express myself in a very natural way. I m looking for an informal tutor who I can speak to 2-3 times per week. I need someone who can listen to my Cantonese and suggest ways to speak more naturally. As I want to focus on speaking, it s important for me not to use any English in the lessons even if it s hard! If you think you can help me, please get in touch!
Important: You re entering into a society of sorts. Don t be overly influenced by other people s agendas (i.e. requests for exchanges) You will receive requests for language exchanges. Think: Do you stop and talk to everyone who wants your attention in the street? Social networks are just like real life.
How to find people Be proactive! Browse tutors and/or language partners There may be many people use your gut Male/female doesn t matter
Write to them personally (Re-)introduce yourself Make contact Bare all ( I m shy, can you help me with? ) Set expectations ( I m a complete beginner ) Wait for reply!
Example message Hi Maria, how are you? My name s John, and I m a school teacher from South Africa. I m looking for a tutor to help me with my Spanish, for 1-2 lessons per week. I m learning Spanish because I m planning on travelling to Spain in the summer. To be honest, my Spanish is really bad!! I ve been studying for a long time, but I can t really say much. Is that OK for you? I m really keen to improve, but I m also quite shy, and nervous about talking over Skype. If you think you can help me, please let me know! Best, John
Hi Maria, how are you? My name s John, and I m a school teacher from South Africa. I m looking for a tutor to help me with my Spanish, for 1-2 lessons per week. I m learning Spanish because I m planning on travelling to Spain in the summer. To be honest, my Spanish is really bad!! I ve been studying for a long time, but I can t really say much. Is that OK for you? I m really keen to improve, but I m also quite shy, and nervous about talking over Skype. If you think you can help me, please let me know! Best, John Surfacing your concerns right from the start
Part 2: How to talk to them
A bit of perspective How many speaking sessions will you have whilst learning your target language? beginner P R O C E S S fluent speaker Does it maoer if the first 2 or 3 are no good? But what s at stake if you don t have your first few sessions?
A bit more perspective beginner Learning to speak fluently happens here fluent speaker Your first session It s about geoing the ball rolling Progress not perfection Does it maoer if you speak L1 or L2? Is anything more important than just geoing started?
Session 1 is the most important of all. Not because you ll learn anything special. But because it s followed by 1000 more.
A question for you You know how important session 1 is. But you may be nervous. What would it take for you to feel confident enough to do it?
My advice Use English! This should eliminate the pressure It s not cheating! Remember expectations. Who said you have to talk in L2 from the start? What s at stake if you don t get started Remember: PNP (progress, not perfection)
My fool- proof formula for your first speaking session 1. 30 minute trial session (or 1hr exchange) 2. Prepare 1. 10 questions about your target language OR 2. 10 things you d like to be able to say about yourself OR 3. 10 difficult situations you ve found yourself in 3. Run the session in English, asking for help with these things 4. Session goal: come away with 8-12 new words/ phrases written down
What do you think? Can you do this? Do any fears remain?
How do you know if they re right for you? You enjoy the session (80%) They re respectful They encourage you to use L2 They respond to you in L2 when you use L2 They don t ask you questions about English They write things down for you (chat box on Skype) that s about it!
If it doesn t feel quite right That s fine! Arrange another trial lesson Don t get frustrated until you ve tried at least 5 people! It took me 8-9 tries in Japan Remember is it rational to expect the first person you meet to be right for you?
Conclusion We ve covered Services and options for finding language partners Knowing what you want Tactics for finding good people Paid vs free exchange vs tutor Step-by-step: how to hold your first session without fear How to know if they re right for you or not When to move on
Module 2 homework Take action! Follow the steps in this session Sign up to italki: http://iwtyal.com/italki I ll be sending you $20 of italki credit Write your profile Contact some people Schedule at least 1 trial session Pull the trigger! Remember PNP!
The system Beat your fear Finding people to talk to Speaking sessions Learn the new vocabulary New, relevant vocabulary Flashcard system
How did I do? By the end of this call, you will know exactly where to look for language partners and how to select the best ones! be ready to have your first session have a blueprint for doing so with no pressure Questions?
Congratulations! Well done for making it through the second call Remember PNP Thank you!