Language Exchanges

I might be repeating what I wrote about in my last post but anyway...
I find a great way to practice the language you are learning is to get a language partner in that language. Here is UL , you can do this through Language Exchange programme which is run by the Languages centre every here.
I basically went to the meeting which was organised, wore a tag to indicate my nationality and then went looking for someone I could potentially have a language exchange with. It was a bit daunting at first but after a few minutes it was easy to find people for the major languages. After meeting a french girl, we chatted for a few minutes and realised we had some common interested and then decided we would do an exchnage together.
We met once a week, for about an hour and generally spoke half of the meeting in french, and the other half in english. It was sometimes hard to think of things to talk about but this is not a big problem. Rather than always meeting in the cantine or at the library , you could go for a walk with your exchange partner, cook them dinner at your house, meet for a drink in the pub or even go to a party together. You can correct each other so it is mutually beneficial system. It is also useful to ask the exhange partner to have a look at your foreign language assignments and essays, and vice-versa. They will be able to correct your errors of expression and grammar. And when you correct their assigments in return, this can be a great insight into the mistakes that are common for students in the two languages.

Meeting these foreign students also gives you an insight into the life of an Erasmus student and their experiences in a country which speaks a language foreign to their own.

Although, some students might think a language exchange is not very appealing , I would say its a great idea. It will only be as fun or as worthwhile as the thought and time you put into it.