Intercambio's - your experieneces or suggestions
Well I went to my first ever intercambio last night and it was a lot better than I thought it would be. There were approximately 20 people of varying nationalities, although the majority were either English or Spanish. They were all of mixes abilities and a few beginners like me.
Although I have only been studying Spanish since May, I managed to have a conversation with most people I spoke to and made myself understood. I also understood most of what was being said too, but in a couple of cases, didn't necessarily have enough vocabulary to express myself when responding. It was good, but I had a bit of a headache at the end from all the concentrating and it was very noisy with 20 or so people all talking at once!
However, I am conscious that my knowledge of Spanish is pretty limited to past and present at the moment and as the same people tend to go, I don't really want to have the same conversations again next week. Any suggestions from people that currently do intercambio's as to how I can keep it more interesting yet still learn? Or do I just keep plugging away with the same old stuff until I have learned a bit more?
2 Answers
Hello MissM. I used to go to one of these meetings about once a month in Birmingham (England) and found them to be great! I have 2 pieces of advice ...
1) Prepare a "script". You know what you're going to be talking about (greetings, pleasantries, hobbies, family etc) so work on this with your teacher
2) Buddy-up! Find a friendly English group member (who preferably speaks better Spanish than you). This way you can attack/defend as a pair. When you run out of steam - he/she can take over. And you won't feel like such a social outcast of course!
If I think of anything else I'll add it later. Have fun!
I agree with patch. I'd suggest you prepare something for next time. As you said, you lack the vocabulary, and that will probably be the case for a while. You can begin preparing by thinking of something that you'd like to talk about/share in English. Then, you can learn some of the basic vocabulary for that subject and prepare some things to say about it. If you want to make it fun, try learning a short joke to go with this. Another idea is to prepare a question about a subject that you know about in English. Then, you will already know the correct answer and can listen for it and variations when you get a response. (You will always have your knowledge, but the challenge is to be able to express it in another language.) Also, I'd suggest learning how to say, "Will you please teach me a new word/phrase?" You could ask the first person you talk to for a new word, then get the following people to give you examples using that word. And finally, I have a piece of advice that seems totally counterintuitive: Use a few words or phrases that you still haven't totally mastered WRONG on purpose. (I do suggest you do this with a native speaker, though.) The conversation that comes from doing that could help you understand it a bit more. If you spend a few days ahead of time thinking about this and preparing, you will likely be less nervous when it's time to meet. As a result, you will feel more comfortable and your conversations will be easier.
Good luck.
