5 min freeLanguage exchangeLanguage exchange, rehearsed out loud
2
people run this conversation
10 min
The shortest conversation
A language exchange where your half of the hour is always there. A partner who waits while you look for the word and never corrects it.
A2 · basicB1 · working
Who you will be talking to
Language exchange, with 2 of these 2.
In whichever order helps. The first 5 minutes with a free partner cost nothing, so you can talk to two of them before you choose.
5 min freeLanguage exchange
5 min freeLanguage exchangeWhat actually happens
Five things people say before they start.
One of them is usually the real reason. What sits underneath it is what actually gets scored.
/01
“You stopped and waited to be given the word.”
Talking around a missing word
The thing, you know, you use it to open wine. Describing a word you do not have is the skill that keeps any conversation alive.
/02
“You said it is complicated and changed the subject.”
Explaining your own country
What people eat for breakfast, how long they live with their parents, what a normal Sunday is. Easy to know and surprisingly hard to explain.
/03
“You agreed with everything he said.”
An opinion with a reason
The topic of the week wants your view and an example from your life, not the textbook answer.
/04
“He knows everything about you and you know his job.”
Asking back
A tandem is two people. The half-hour goes best when you are as curious about him as he is about you.
Not the situation you need?
Bring the real thing: the job description, the date on the letter, the words the school used. Everyone who runs language exchange will work from what you actually walked in with.
How a first conversation worksWhat it costs
One price a minute, whoever you talk to.
A harder conversation simply runs longer. The shortest way to rehearse language exchange is 10 min.
You pay for the seconds you talk, and the minutes come off a balance you already hold. Nothing renews, and you are never sent a bill. Plans and refunds.
A2 · basic
6 min
is how long a conversation at this difficulty runs
The gentlest door in the catalogue: a patient partner who knows what learning feels like.
- Minutes of talking in total
- 36
- What that costs here
- $16
- The same minutes with a tutor
- $300
- You do not spend
- −$284
At $50 an hour, rounded up to the 60-minute booking nobody will sell you less than.
Your first 5 minutes
What 5 free minutes are for.
01
Start with the first meeting
Introduce yourself beyond your name and your job. Owen for English, Andrés for Spanish.
The terms, in full
- Free
- 5 minutes
- No card asked for
02
Do not ask for the word
Describe it instead. He will understand and carry on using the right one, once, without pointing it out.
Paid for out of your free minutes
- Talking around a missing word
- Explaining your own country
- An opinion with a reason
- Asking back
Questions
What people ask before they start.
Nearby
What people open next.
The rest of Social first, then everything else at the same difficulty.
All the situationsA friend, on a call
B1 · workingB2 · confidentC1 · advancedThey ask how your week was and then wait. The four seconds after the question are the whole exercise.3 peoplefrom 6 minJust talking
B1 · workingB2 · confidentC1 · advancedA flatmate at the stove, a friend from an online group, a traveller at the hostel. Nothing to decide, everything to say.3 peoplefrom 6 minSomeone from your courseB1 · workingB2 · confidentA month in the same room, twice a week, and nothing said but hello. Today you are walking the same way.1 personfrom 6 min
B1 · workingB2 · confidentC1 · advancedThey ask how your week was and then wait. The four seconds after the question are the whole exercise.3 peoplefrom 6 minJust talkingB1 · workingB2 · confidentC1 · advancedA flatmate at the stove, a friend from an online group, a traveller at the hostel. Nothing to decide, everything to say.3 peoplefrom 6 minSomeone from your courseB1 · workingB2 · confidentA month in the same room, twice a week, and nothing said but hello. Today you are walking the same way.1 personfrom 6 min