Problem
I want to link up with somebody who speaks Mandarin and is willing to help me learn it, in exchange for my teaching them English.
Answers
Meetup has lots of groups. I am on their mailing list for Singapore. Today I see three groups. Their members include people who want to practise German, Spanish, Mandarin. I am not sure my language is up to this. I was struggling yesterday with French.
French
I evaluated a French speaker's speech at a French speaking club. I thought I understood. But it wsn't until I saw the text of her speech that I was sure I had understood.
When people speak fast and their voice drops at the end of a sentence as they run out of breath it becomes an effort for my brain to keep up with them. No pauses allowing you to catch up.
The same applies in English. A speech given at breakneck speed -now there's a phrase, breakneck , speed, which I would have trouble translating.
French in Singapore
You can also attend Toastmasters meetings in other languages and there are some bilingual clubs.
French speaking clubs in London, England and Singapore. The Singapore French club meetings are all in French (first Friday of the month - except that in January because people are away on holiday they are postponing their meeting until the following Monday. They meet at a community club, Cairnhill, near Newton MRT underground railway station.
What about London? I must sleuth to find some French speakers.
French in London
The London Toastmasters club specialising in French is bilingual at every meeting with either speeches in French and introductions in English or the other way around. They meet on a Monday at a pub.
If you can't travel or don't have time or want to practise every day, you can join an online language learning group which pairs you up with people who will correct your language.
Slovenia
The World Travel market is meeting in London this month. Last year I went to the Slovenia stand. They had lovely food. People in the tourist industry promoting their country at a show in London mostly speak good English. I remember thinking, how would I get around in Slovenia.
I also have in mind some trips to new countries, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine. Poland was a struggle. A tour guide spoke English. Whilst my husband was on business, I had to spend all day on a tour, or stay in the hotel.
Songs
If you like music, songs
Somebody I know goes onto Facebook a year before he visits a country and makes a dozen friends from that country. If you're in business in travel or wine, you will probably already have business contacts lined up. But maybe you want to socialise with somebody who isn't trying to sell you something.
Esperanto
I am learning Esperanto on Duolingo. It is much easier than any other language. I am able to link up with others who are learning.
At first I could not see the point of that. I thought: I don't really want to know that somebody else is more proficient than I am, or to boast that I am ahead of those starting out. I signed up for notifications of the Korean forum.
At first it was helpful. Conversations would go: Question How am I supposed to know the translation when they have not yet given us the multiple choice answer? Answer from another: 'you click on each word and the translation pops up.'
I would go outside the site to google translate when I got stuck. This was tedious. So the forum was helpful.
Then the forum inundated my inbox with updates. 'When is such and such an English translation not accepted.' 'Surely this is see you again not goodbye.'
I also found that on many sites the first person to contact you is not another learner but one of the organisers and in a different country. On travel and language sites with free starter courses they were trying to sell me upgrades. So I was wary.
Suddenly I got a light bulb moment. If I could find another Esperanto learner in my country, we would meet up and speak Esperanto. Hm. I am not yet ready for that. They do have a forum where you can translate simple sentences or answer simple questions.
I now realise it's not enough to be able to translate I am from America. I need to create a conversation about myself, I am ... I am from ... I need to practise that conversation until I can say my part without hesitation, and reply when somebody tells me their half. If somebody said in English, 'I am from America,' I would reply, without hesitation, 'I used to live near Washington DC.' I can understand and slowly translate a reply in a Duolingo test. However, if I speak in Malay or Esperanto, I have to know the word near.
So instead of just writing down vocabulary, my next step is to create sentences I would actually use, and practise them.
Mandarin
On the other hand, I learned to say ni how (hello in Mandarin, literally you good?? from hearing people say it at a Mandarin Toastmasters meeting. I heard them say it several times and picked it up. The duloingo reinforced it later.
Now I realise that the links to other learners on the Esperanto could be useful. I don't have to wait until I travel to the once a year Esperanto conference. I don't have to visit a country such as Bulgaaria where I don't speak the language and hunt down an Esperanto speaker near my hotel. I would speak to anybody in the world in Esperanto (or Japanese, or Thai, or Mandarin) on Skype, or chat to them through whatsapp.
Meetup
But if I do want to go out, I can look for a Meetup group.
Useful websites
meetup.com
Toastmasters international find a club
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my previous posts on learning languages and Duolingo and Toastmasters International clubs in the USA,UK, Singapore and worldwide.
