Job Discussion Forums

[Marcoregano]

I also posted this in the main discussion forum, but maybe some of you 'Spain' people might have local input...

Just wondering how well language exchange lessons work, and what's the best way of going about it, and so on.

When I up sticks and move to Spain it would be a great help to do language exchange in the area I'm moving to - not only do I need to improve my Spanish, but it would also help me meet local/s or neighbour/s and assist in picking up the tricky local dialect.

But, how to meet the right people? And how long should lessons last - is it best to alternate ie. I teach English one day and s/he teaches me Spanish the next - or do half and half the same meeting? And what's best to use as study material?

Thanks for any helpful comments or advice...

[Moore]

There is a significant culture of this in Spain, at least in Madrid where I live.

They work very well, and are a fine way of meeting locals quickly.

Just a couple of things to note: there is an element of people who do them (both boys and girls) to meet potential boyfriends/girlfriends, which may be a good or bad thing depending on your personal circumstances, but meeting in a public environment, such as an Irish pub, ensures a level of safety and handy get-out excuses.

Also (fairly obviously) it is essential to meet someone whose level is pretty much similar to yours, if not the conversation tends to get pretty one-sided.

The best thing to do is a mixture during one one-hour session: it's difficult to stick to any pre-set rules without feeling a bit false: the right person will naturally illicit your Spanish, just like you do with your students in class.

There are also "intercambio nights" in a few bars during the week, which have the advantage of giving you the option of talking to someone you like the look of, but do tend to fill up with rather odd regulars with fairly questionable motivations for going so often.

In terms of meeting the right people, the worst case-scenario is sitting through one hour with a bit of a dull person, and then you never have to contact them again, but mostly intercambio partners in Spain tend to be young, sincere and personable types.





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...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona and Berlin... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona or Berlin in one hit with our c.v. sending service... www.lingobongo.com

[sheikh radlinrol]

[spiral78]

I got caught a few weeks ago in a typo that looked really ignorant too (writting). Of course, I know better! It was one of those suspicious sticky keyboards in the internet cafe (which I rarely need to patronize, thank god).

I reckon our friend Moore knows well the difference between 'illicit' and 'ellicit!'

At least, I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt! Especially since our friend the sheikh's already done the job of ribbing him about it

[Moore]

Oh crap: never even noticed that - am also a translator so I'm supposed to carefully proof-read anything I write. That one was dumb, but I have to admit I have always had a blind spot for "ceiling" and (shamefully) "believe" even after well over a decade of teaching: I think spell-checkers have a lot to answer for (or to be grateful for!)




________________________________________________________________________
...Jobs and language exchanges in Madrid, Barcelona and Berlin... www.lingobongo.com

...send your c.v. around ALL the schools in Madrid, Barcelona or Berlin in one hit with our c.v. sending service... www.lingobongo.com

[gracias]

err would that be "elicit" Mr Spiral ?

[spiral78]

quite likely