So many learners here are looking for language exchange and especially English is very much sought after, so one might think that it should be easy to find some language learning buddy and especially for native English speakers it looks easy. But the reality is that many learners insist on only doing exchange with native speakers, preferably with a certain accent and turn down every non-native no matter how proficient they may be. Native English speakers often feel that the exchanges are one-sided and that they’re just being used as free teachers. And of course, people have ideals regarding gender, age, nationality or other characteristics of their potential language partner. And in the end, lots of people fail in their endeavour of finding their ideal partner.
What’s your idea of your ideal language partner? Did you find them or are you still desperately looking for them? Or did you change your mind and started an exchange with someone who’s quite the opposite of what you looked for but actually it turned out great?
I’ll tell you about my experience.
I have a non-native partner on Italki. We just talk in only English. I don’t know his languge and he doesn't know my languge. So I can’t call it exchange session but we sometimes talk for two hours in only English. How did we become friends? We found each other in a thread on the discussion forum. We didn’t use ‘request partners’ in the first place. I had another non native partner and I wanted to continue the session but time difference stopped us. We failed to meet many times.
I think the level is key. If both are intermediate levels and they are having native lessons other than exchange sessions then, I think it’s fine to have non native partners. English is spoken world wide so listening to various English is enjoyable. Usually native speakers understand my poor English because it’s their languge. But making yourself understood to non native is quite challenging and your pronunciation should be always accurate. It’s hard work sometimes It’s impossible for A-level learners. So at least, B-level is needed, I think.
I have friends of native English speakers on Italki too, but we didn’t become friends by ‘request partners’. On the notebook section, correcting each other made us friends naturally. We’ve been friends for three years.
That‘s a very good question.
I am Chinese and also a crazy language learner, pretty much interested in English and Spanish. From my part, I don't think it really matters whether the teacher is native or not. I can learn a lot from both of the groups.
While I am being taught by a native speaker, my pronunciation and accent and maybe fluency can improve promptly. At the same time, I am able to know more about the language's culture and history. Speaking in their first tongue is surely easier for the teachers, so that they may be more confident to correct me if necessary.
However, non-native speakers also have their gift. They have already gone through the way that I am about to experience. So they know what situation I may face, what mistake I may make, and what difficulty may be there waiting for me. There's less likelihood that they would get impatient, because they themselves could have done worse than me if they were at my level. That is why they are more experienced, perhaps, than the natives. In this case, I don't necessarily agree that native language teachers are always the better ones.
Oh of course, whether or not the teacher is native is relatively unimportant, if he or she is better-looking and more attractive to me, making me want to see him/her more, and definitely want to learn more, and improvements would be made greater. Haha.
Exchanging with fellow learners is definitley more fun since we don't have to switch languages all the time.
