By Isobel
I’ve recently joined the Talkster team and wanted to share
some tips and information about the process! It’s so easy to fit in to your
day, is really fun and so interesting to talk to someone so far away who you’ve
never spoken to before and it’s great to feel like you’re helping someone to
improve something they so want to master. As a language student myself, I know
how frustrating it can be when it comes to the speaking part. Reading,
listening and writing are manageable, you can have a dictionary on hand and
look up every other word and grammar rule until you’re sure, but as soon as you
find yourself trying to articulate those thoughts on the spot it’s not so easy…
Having the chance to speak with a native of the language you’re learning is
really invaluable and not always easy to come by, but can help so much just in
an hour!
Even though it can seem quite weird that you have never met
and maybe haven’t had any prior contact at all before your Skype session, almost
quite bizarrely there’s always something to talk about with a complete
stranger. Not only is it great to feel like you’re helping someone else, but
for the English natives it’s great to have the chance to talk to Russians.
Although our cultures are so often regarded as polar opposite in many ways, and
you do get to find out some of the weird and wonderful ways of the русскиs (Like having cold remedies
(garlic and onions of course) explained to you) you can suddenly find yourself
chatting away about your favourite TV shows, hobbies, boyfriends, and new
year’s plans, as though you’ve known each other for ages.
In terms of how to prepare yourself for a session, you don’t
need to spend hours agonising over things to say or researching topics to
cover. The best way is to just give a quick 20 minutes to thinking about some
things you might like to find out about them, or things you’ve always wanted to
know but have never had the chance to ask a ‘real life’ Russian. Make a couple
of notes and jot down a few things to cover just so you always have some ‘emergency’
material, but you will often find that no matter how much you want to plan and
direct the conversation, it will just become so natural and flow from one thing
to another that you won’t even begin to cover half of the stuff you thought you
would! It’s also good to jot some things down as you’re chatting as it can just
help keep things going as smoothly as possible.
Some good topics
to have on standby:
-
Ask about their life in Russia:
o Where
do they live, why, who with
o Do
they work/study, what, where, why
o Have
they travelled in Russia? Siberia?(!)
-
Ask about their experiences of English/England:
o How
long have they studied English, where, why
o Can
they speak any other languages
o Have
they ever been to England
o What
stereotypes do they know about England//share some of yours about Russia
o Any
favourite English/American TV programmes or films//recommend some
-
Share some of your experiences about Russia:
o Have
you ever been, where, why
The level of English of your Skype partner can vary, and
there’s no more or less difficult option! With those with a better grasp of
English (some of them are really
good!!) you can talk about pretty much anything and the conversation moves
pretty quickly, with those who need a bit more help you just have to take
things a bit more slowly, be prepared to switch into Russian for a word or two
(have an online dictionary at the ready!) and choose your words carefully making
sure you don’t charge off chatting away like you would to another native!
Most importantly of all is to just enjoy it. As soon as it
begins any nerves will disappear and before you know it the session will be
over and you’ll be planning the next!
