Korean Job Discussion Forums

[grandpa]

How do you make language exchanges work for the long term? Do you set rules and have specific meeting places (i.e. only coffee shops)?

[giraffe]

1.If you're a guy, meet others guys .. not girls...
2.Meet people who barely speak your native language ( english) which forces you to speak the target language ( korean).
3. Try to meet people in your age group who you have alot in common with. You can eventually become good friends with them.

The Big thing is if you're really interested in learning the language DO NOT MEET with girls if you're a guy especially if you're single. Nothing good comes out of it in terms of language learning. If you're interested in the dating aspect go for it but your chances of language exchange helping you are less than 1% if you go down that road =)

just saying.

Generally speaking , I think language exchange doesn't work well in most cases. However, if you're lucky enough you'll meet the right person and setup the right setting and make it work.

[Drew345]

Be very strict that only target language is used during that language's time. (or else it will drift toward too much English)
Unless you want to be friends, avoid social activities, which will no doubt be done 90% in English.
Avoid groups, which will become either English or Korean that is way too fast.
Do it on skype.
Make each person prepare their own material they want to study. You bring your Korean lesson, they bring their English stuff. This way you are not preparing a class for them. (Sogang books have decent Korean speaking activities)
It can work, but it is mostly for building your confidence and getting a little practice with what you learn in the classroom. I don't think it is best for learning new material.

[Paddycakes]

Generally speaking, are guys getting a lot of One Night Stands out of language exchanges.

If the K-girl says shes "Open Minded" in her profile, is that code for she's looking for a ONS.

Or does it mean something else?

[Adventurer]

[laynamarya]

Find someone who is similar to you, especially in age and gender. Having similar ability levels and some similar interests also helps. Bring your own materials that you want to learn, and have your language partner do the same. At the beginning of each session, decide how much material you each want to cover. Stick to that, and your time frame as much as possible.

My current language partner and I meet at the same place every week (occasionally twice a week). We chat for an hour (mostly in Korean), study Korean for an hour, and study English for an hour. We bring our own books and give each other homework.

When we were both taking lessons elsewhere in addition to the exchange, we were making faster progress, but things are going pretty well this way.

[OBwannabe]

[alongway]

We recently did this thread didn't we?
People have so many agendas for this, I just found effort vs reward never panned out and sought other methods. It seems to be way more effective for simply making friends or dating.

[edwardcatflap]

I'd say it doesn't matter so much whether they're male or female but these days I'd only do a language exchange with another qualified teacher. And I mean qualified in teaching their own language to foreigners

[some waygug-in]

I agree with Edward. I can't remember how many useless, time-wasting,
so-called "lessons" I had with well-meaning, but clueless language coaches.

[toby99]

Don't do one with the opposite sex unless you're just looking for a roll in the sack.

[furtakk]

They only started becoming useful for me when I got to the point where I could hold my own in a conversation. I never bothered with preparing material or books though. It could be useful at a lower level, but you'll have to put in a lot more work/prep to keep the time equal.

I've done them with both guys and girls. As long as you keep it platonic you'll be fine.

[Joe Boxer]

Language exchanges never made sense to me. Unless the Korean is:

1. hot and puts out
2. an actual Korean language teacher

Otherwise, just pay someone for their time. Anyone can help you with basic conversation. You shouldn't have to pay more than $15.00/hour for a conversation class, or help with homework.

Think about it; most English teachers can get $50 for 1-1, so it's not equal.

I pay a really nice Korean lady $15.00 per hour for conversation practice. She can't speak English, so it's perfect. One problem, though, is that because she isn't an actual Korean language teacher, she can't teach grammer very well. So, I just rely on her for conversation practice, and help with homework.

[KimchiNinja]

There's no real point to these things. The girls are all trying to scam free English lessons and when you get something for free you don't take it seriously.

[zombiedog]

Frankly, they don't. they always breakdown in frustration, in my experience. These days I just pay a Korean for private lessons. 30,000w per hour. I'm much happier.