VOA慢速英语--Four Ways to Find an English Speaking Partner

 

Many VOA Learning¹ English users² live in places where it is hard to find someone to practice speaking English with. You may be one of those people. So you may have tried to find people online, even on our website or social media³ pages. And maybe you found a partner or maybe you did not.

If you have been unlucky in finding⁴ a partner, today's Education Tips is for you. On this program, we offer four tips to help you find someone who wants to practice speaking English with you.

Use Facebook

The first tip is to use Facebook.

You might already have a personal account⁵ on Facebook and use it to do things like share pictures and connect with friends and family. But maybe you have never joined a Facebook group.

Facebook groups are excellent for finding people who share your interests, including English learning.

You will want to make sure you join a group whose members are very active. When deciding on a group to join, keep in mind that groups with thousands of members may not be as active as smaller groups. So take some time to look around and then choose a group, or maybe a few.

Note that joining a Facebook group is not the same as "liking⁶" or "following" a page. Groups are designed to share information and opportunities among members.

After joining a group and spending time observing its posts, you will begin to see which members are the most active. If you notice that someone writes a lot of useful comments or questions, they are probably serious about learning English. Consider messaging them directly⁷ to ask if they would like to practice speaking English with you. You can practice through Facebook Messenger⁸ or video apps like Zoom⁹ or Skype.

Use Meetup.com

Our next tip is to use Meetup.com.

Meetup is a free website that helps people with similar interests find each other and meet in person. Users of the website can be found around the world.

Members of language Meetup groups often meet in public places, such as coffee houses. The coronavirus pandemic has led some groups to meet online, or in places where safe social distancing is possible.

There are thousands of Meetup groups around the world covering thousands of interests. You can also find speakers of every language imaginable. There are English-speaking Meetup groups on every continent.

Try a language exchange

Our third tip is to try a language exchange.

Language exchanges are unlike¹⁰ usual speaking practices. In a language exchange, a meeting is divided into practicing two languages.

Suppose for example you are a native Portuguese¹¹ speaker and you want to practice English. Your partner is a native English speaker who wants to practice Portuguese. You and your partner would speak English for one half of the meetings and Portuguese for the other half.

Many people that I know have improved speaking skills in their target language through language exchanges. However, other people have found the exchanges a waste of time.

There are steps you can take to ensure that you are using your effort and time wisely. For instance¹², decide on clear goals, choose the right partner, state your expectations and prepare for your meetings.

You can learn more about how to have great language exchanges in an earlier Education Tips.

Cast¹³ a wide net

Our final tip for today is to "cast a wide net." That means¹⁴ to try many different things to increase your chances of getting what you want.

Tell your friends, family and coworkers that you are serious about improving your English. Maybe explain your reasons for learning the language. Let them know you are looking for an English speaker to talk to. Ask around your larger community as well. The more people you ask, the more likely and quickly you will find a good practice partner. He or she may not live in your city – or even your country – but you can meet each other online.

Well, that covers our four tips for finding someone to speak English with. Good luck. And let us know if these methods, or others, helped you find an English-speaking practice partner.

Words in This Story

practice – v. to do something again and again in order to get better at it

tip – n. a piece of advice or useful information

opportunity – n. a situation or condition favorable¹⁵ for a goal

conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

3 media   

n.(medium的复数)媒体，新闻媒介，传播媒介

参考例句：

• The local media reported rioting across the country.当地媒体报道了全国范围的骚乱。
• His latest movie is being hyped up by the media.他新近的电影正被媒体大肆炒作。

4 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

5 account   

n.叙述；帐目；帐户

参考例句：

• She left out an important item in her account.她的账目漏掉了一个重要的项目。
• He has made several withdrawals from his bank account.他从银行账户上提了几次款。

6 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

7 directly   

adv.直接地，径直地；马上，立即

参考例句：

• I will telephone you directly I hear the news.我一听到消息，马上打电话给你。
• She answered me very directly and openly.她非常坦率地、开门见山地答复了我。

8 messenger   

n.报信者，先驱

参考例句：

• By the time the messenger reached him,the damage had been done.送信人赶到他那儿时，损失已经造成了。
• I'll order a special messenger to deliver the document.我会派专人把文件送去。

9 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

10 unlike   

adj.不同的，不相似的；prep.不像，和...不同

参考例句：

• She's very unlike her mother.她一点也不像她母亲。
• It's unlike him to be late;he's usually on time.他不是会迟到的那种人，他通常很准时。

11 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

12 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

13 cast   

vt./vi.(cast,cast)投掷；投射；抛

参考例句：

• You can cast your vote at the local polling station.你可以在当地的投票站投票。
• He cast off fear and decided to make a try.他去掉害怕心理，决定试一试。

14 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

15 favorable   

adj.赞成的，赞成的；有利的，良好的，顺利的

参考例句：

• The book received a favorable review.这本书赢得了好评。
• Each nation suppressed news that was not favorable to it.每个国家都扣留对它不利的消息。