Language Exchange!?

Have you ever been to a language exchange? What is it and how does it work? Let's talk about the pros and cons this time.

"GO AWAY~~"

First of all, yes, we need to explain what "exchange" is because obviously there are still some people who either don't know or pretend that they don't know the meaning of it. To exchange means both or all parties offer something to one another. It is as simple as that. If you were thinking that language exchange means free learning/teaching, you cannot be more wrong.

It is usually called an "event" instead of actual learning/teaching. Everything is open to possibilities and ANYONE can do this. Well, anyone with something to offer can do it. Events like this could be in cafes, bars, a designated meetup space such as a rental meeting room. Other than that, since it's a "language" exchange and not a "skill" exchange, people tend to look for foreigners. Our stance on it? It's up to chance and the motives of participants.

For those of us who "came online", there isn't much learning happening in the conventional classroom, either in schools or cram schools. Tests aren't pushing us no more and there are no more entrance exams to prepare for. Socializing becomes more relevant and that's when we look for a partner or partners to practice/learn with. We are 100% supportive of this notion. We believe in practicality. You learn best when you use it; you learn even better when you're trying to teach it.

Besides making new friends from other countries, another important aspect of it is learning the culture. You can't learn to speak without getting to know how the locals have, think, and feel. Take "memes" as an example. You may just take them as idiotic but what it can reveal, is humor, inside jokes, and trends. Interacting with someone of foreign background, no matter in birth or in overseas studies definitely increases the exposure to diverse cultures. After all, we learn to speak and speak we must.

It sounds all good then? Sorry, we wish it were that simple.

Look closely. What may look beneficial can be a potential threat. It is precisely because language exchange is a very open-minded concept, there are practically no rules or whoever made them first. You may be looking for a language partner and thought about making a new friend but the same ideas may not apply to your new "(pay)pal". OK, that's a bad joke...

Money has a way of complicating things. We're not here to say you can't take/pay fees but you must set it up first. No one's gonna help you because you're in the self-learning territory, meaning you should be a responsible and mature adult whether you are or not. Money may be complicated, but as the saying goes, money gets it done. It's just a matter of taking or paying. No hard feelings.

What can be worse than money problems is relationships. It's not just romantic ones which many might fancy such experience. Things become out of hand when it gets personal. It would be wise to take the journey of new learning very slowly and decide along the way if you want it to become friendship or something else.

CobraCamp 法艾迪

Andy has had a few good language partners over the years but the bad ones were not important enough to be remembered. His first partner was someone from Saint Vincent, who came to NTNU to study. Andy wasn't any good in Chinese but for someone who's got no knowledge in Chinese... it's good enough! Besides, they both speak English. It isn't really much of "exchanging" but it was fun and that's the most important element. Many years later, Andy actually bumped into him on the MRT on the way to a job interview and found that he has become some sort of fitness YouTuber, sponsoring products. Of course, Andy had to support him again 🤣. Another one is from New York. Similar to the previous one, she came to learn some Chinese while working and found Andy through a website for language exchange. They met again during a quick stopover trip in NYC and if it wasn't for her, Brooklyn would have been left out!

Mahagony from NYC

There are other stories but we hope you understand that no matter how good or bad they are, they are still stories in other people's lives. Just because something you like happened to someone, doesn't mean it would happen to you. We need to warn you about this obvious truth. Bad things, terrible things can happen but that's just part of life. You take a chance, learn who you are, and be better next time. Or don't.

What do you think about language exchange? This week, we have a guest from Europe!

#discussion