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Topics to talk about during a tandem meetup

Shobi
Shobi Learning Vietnamese 3 months ago
I'm curious to hear how you all come up with topics to talk about in the beginning before you've gotten to know the other person. Do you plan a list before you meet up or have a call or just improvise?

7 Replies

Kaffee
kaffee 15 days ago
A forum is a fanatastic space to get to know what the other person is keen on. Additionally, one can use topics from a textbook or find interesting (controversial) youtube videos or articles. 
Kaffee
kaffee 15 days ago
Hello @Shobi, I see you are a cofounder of linguar, I would find it amazing if it were possible to comment blog posts :) They seem thought-provoking and could be a start to discussions (langauge exercise). Is it possible? 
Shobi
Shobi 15 days ago
hi kaffee, thanks for the feedback! 
i was mainly thinking of using these discussion groups for that purpose, did you find anything interesting you'd like to talk a bit more about? 
Kaffee
kaffee 14 days ago
I understand, it's a good idea to use discussion groups for that purpose. I'm in general very interested in forums and discussion groups, but this site seems a little inactive (?). I had been using a forum, which unfortunately was turned off, and then I put up my own forum, but no one wanted to use it in the long run! Well, technically it can't hold a candle to this one, the lay-out isn't easy to cooperate, especially on mobile devices, but I think that the people are rather the problem. They don't want to use forums and write anymore. But how is one supposed to learn a language without exercise? 
Kaffee
kaffee 14 days ago
I read the post "How to become fluent in a language" and have similar observations regarding language learning. Listening to music is for me a way to hear how it's spoken, how emotions are conveyed, what it can sound like. Unfortunately, during 12 years of studying English nobody told me TH is not pronounced like D or F, and I pronounce it falsely. I had never heard any difference. Especially the D-like TH is a challenge. To answer your question, I am interested in an exchange about language studying challenges and how to cope with them. I don't have any other motivation or opportunity to use English actively. 
Shobi
Shobi 13 days ago
That one is really hard! How did you eventually figure out that you were pronouncing it wrongly?
Kaffee
kaffee 12 days ago
Someone finally told me.