Find an English Conversation Partner

In the past, many students could practice English with penpals - they could send letters to people all around the world. With the Internet, we now can have keypals - we can send emails to international friends from around the world.

Here is some advice to help you succeed with your online language exchanges:

1. How to start a conversation when speaking English online

When you want to speak to somebody, start by asking "Yes or No" questions. Use questions such as "Do you like to blah blah blah?" or "Can you blah blah blah?" or "Have you ever blah blah blahed?".

Remember your goal. You are trying to find the other person's interests. Think about things you enjoy and try to find some common ground with the person you chat with.

2. How to keep a conversation going

Listen carefully. In that way, you can get to know somebody as an individual, not just as an online speaking partner. When you know them well, you will have more to talk about.

Ask follow up questions. After you listen, use what you hear to learn more about that person. Especially use "open ended" questions, such as "What do you like most about blah blah blah?" or "What was the most interesting experience you've had while blah blah blahing?".

Share your own experiences to show you have similar interests and attitudes. If you only ask questions, you will sound a bit like a policeman! Let other people know about you, too.

3. Basic Guidelines for Online English Conversation Exchange

Be patient. Do not try to find one best friend right away. Instead, meet many people so that you can see who you really enjoy talking to and who enjoys talking to you. That way, you can really build a friendship that will last a long time.

Be polite. Avoid controversial topics, for example politics and religion, at least at the beginning. Later, when you know somebody better, you can start to talk about their opinions on such topics, but even after you know them, you should do it slowly and carefully!

Be careful. Don't give any personal information on the Internet, especially your address and telephone number, but even your real name. If somebody bothers you, do not respond to them. Most chat rooms even have an "ignore" button so that you don't have to listen to an annoying person. That "ignore" button is very useful, so use it!

Ielts Speaking Tasks

IELTS researchers have found that students perform 12 different tasks during the IELTS Speaking Test. The first two are easy - giving personal information and giving non-personal information. Here are the other ten, which you must practice:  1. Expressing a Preference

 I prefer A to B because... 

 If I have a choice, I will... (a real possibility) 

 If I had a choice, I would... (not a real possibility, just wishing)

 For me, A is much more attractive / interesting / preferable than B because...

 I would much rather do / have / eat / listen to / blah blah blah A than B...

2. Narrating

 When I was a high school student, I went to Guizhou to visit some friends.

 After I graduated from high school, I ... 

 During my visit to Guizhou last year, I... 

 Last year during the Spring Festival, I went to Guizhou to visit some friends. (Also use "Whenever" or "While")

3. Comparing and Contrasting

 A is much better / worse than B. 

 A is not nearly as good as B.

 A is not quite as important as B.

 A is almost as tall as B, but not quite.

 When I compare these two items, it's clear that...

4. Suggesting

 Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly

 One possibility that I can think of is...

 Another idea to think about is...

5. Expressing Opinions

 It seems to me that...

 This is only my opinion but... 

 After a lot of thought, I have come to the conclusion that...

 I've never thought about this question much before, but it seems to me that...

6. Justifying Opinions

 The reason I believe this is...

 The most important evidence supporting my belief is...

7. Speculating

 I'm not sure what might happen, but one possibility is...

 It's hard to predict the future, but I suppose it / we might...

8. Analyzing

 There are several points to consider, first of which is...

 We can break this question down into several parts. First...

 Let's look at this step by step. To begin with...

9. Summarizing

 Altogether, there were... 

 In the end, they had to...

 When we consider all the factors...

 Considering all of these ideas, maybe the best thing would be to...

10. Conversation Repair

 Maybe I'm not making myself clear. I want to say that... 

 What I mean to say is...

 What I'm trying to say is...

 Another way to put it is...