Conversation Practice

[mteric]

After studying Korean for a while, it is becoming clear that something is missing from my studies. I have been learning vocabulary and grammar and I practice reading and writing a lot, but I don't often get the chance to speak with anyone else. Whenever I do get the chance to say something to a Korean person, I tend to become shy and forget everything I've studied! I think this is because I do not practice having conversations in Korean. Does anybody know where I can find someone to practice speaking with?

감사합니다!

[tonygr]

After studying Korean for a while, it is becoming clear that something is missing from my studies. I have been learning vocabulary and grammar and I practice reading and writing a lot, but I don't often get the chance to speak with anyone else. Whenever I do get the chance to say something to a Korean person, I tend to become shy and forget everything I've studied! I think this is because I do not practice having conversations in Korean. Does anybody know where I can find someone to practice speaking with?

감사합니다!

My advice... get Skype! During my studies is has proven to be a very crucial program for practicing speaking and listening. There are a lot of people on this forum board willing to help, so after you download Skype visit this post:
http://www.koreanclass101.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=72

People, including myself, have posted their Skype ID to speak with each other.

Next, you will want to join some language exchange sites. There are tons of them out there and I can't name them all, but here are a few:
http://www.hanlingo.com
http://www.livemocha.com
http://www.lang-8.net
http://www.italki.com

So far, I found those to be the best. Make some friends with native Korean speakers and exchange their Skype address and....

You'll be well on your way.

Good luck!

[John]

After studying Korean for a while, it is becoming clear that something is missing from my studies. I have been learning vocabulary and grammar and I practice reading and writing a lot, but I don't often get the chance to speak with anyone else. Whenever I do get the chance to say something to a Korean person, I tend to become shy and forget everything I've studied! I think this is because I do not practice having conversations in Korean. Does anybody know where I can find someone to practice speaking with?

감사합니다!

If I knew where to get help with speaking practice I would be fluent by now....hope you can find someone.

[mteric]

Thanks tonygr for your help! I will install Skype and check out those sites you mentioned. I actually have used lang-8 before, but it was more useful for writing. Anyway, thanks again!

[cheri]

Alternatively, you could try a bulletin board like Craigslist. In major cities, there are tons of foreign students looking for language partners. You might also try contacting ESL programs in your local area. They often have programs that pair people up.