How to do language exchange online? (Day 33)
It is Saturday today. I woke up at around 10:20 am because I had a language exchange practice with a nice Japanese lady.
Find someone who can commit to regular practice
We knew each other on a matching app for business people in Tokyo when I posted a request for Japanese and English exchange.
We decided to meet online every Saturday, oh, yes, we have not met each other in person because of coronavirus.
Start with daily conversation
In a one hour practice, for the first 30 min, we chat about daily life or talk through some topics. For example, we talked about writing today.
Do you like writing? What do you want to write about if you can?
We do like 50% in English and 50% in Japanese. When encountering certain expressions that we have no idea about how to say in English, we will Google them right away.
Co-edit an online note
Actually, compared to face-to-face language exchange, we found that with an online note which we can co-edit, it becomes much easier to communicate ideas and help each other understand a word or phrases much quicker.
We can share a screen or photos, as well as typing new words for reviewing later. I quite enjoy such efficiency.
What is more, when looking at the note, it gives me a sense of accomplishment or a sense of progression.
Use real contents
Since English is not our native language, it is dangerous if we only talk and make sentences by ourselves. Usually, we end up with English sentences that are not natural at all.
To solve the problem, for the next 30 min, we read a short passage of English from podcasts that provide transcripts. Like this:
First, we read the transcript sentence by sentence, and we pay attention to every single word.
Today’s guest is Josh Bernoff, bestselling author, prolific blogger, and of course, the person who wrote the book I just described, Writing Without Bullshit. Welcome to the show, Josh.
We search words we don't know or are interested in to find out more sentences that use the words.
Prolific blogger
- Prolific songwriters
- Prolific artists
- Prolific thinkers
We also talk about the best way to translate it in Japanese:
Prolific =《イ》〔ブログ作者などが〕頻繁に情報を発信する
Bullshit - クソ、ダメなもの、如何しようも無い
Lastly, let me end today's writing with a quote:
"Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going."
Rita Mae Brown
Through language exchange, I met so many fun and nice people in Japan, and it turns out to be more than just practice, it is a key to new worlds that are owned by people who live totally different lifestyles.
I truly appreciate.
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The cover image is from Unsplash.