Having a chat partner is great, but knowing how to make the most of this relationship can be the key to major breakthroughs in your language learning

Lately I have spent a lot of time at night chatting, calling, and video-conferencing with Brazilians who are eager to practice their English as I practice my Portuguese. Along the way I have kept some notes regarding ‘best practices’ for language-learning online chat practice.

Practicing with an online chat partner has two main phases or components: Preparation and Execution. Here are some really useful tips for each part.

Preparation. Most chatters just jump right in and talk about whatever comes up. There is nothing wrong with that approach, but many language learners can be nervous or timid (myself included!), and it can help a lot to have some conversation-starters. Here are some ideas for topics to research a little bit and then bring up when chatting:

• Sports: is there a local team your partner roots for? How are they doing this season?
• Hobbies: how do you talk about your hobbies in Portuguese? What vocabulary helps you describe your leisure activities. Talking about something you like to do is always a good idea.
• Geography: What is the area your partners lives in like? How do you describe the town or city in which you live? This is a fantastic exercise, and is a great window into larger conversations about cultural differences.
• Questions: Write a list of questions you want to get the answer to, and see how well you understand these answers.

Execution. When it is time to jump on Skype, MSN , AIM, Ning or whatever client you prefer, here are some tips to perform better and *have more fun:*

• Relax. Do the ‘ten deep breaths’ thing, stretch your body, sit in your favorite chair. Do whatever it takes to put yourself at ease.
• Do it on your terms. Go into the study and close the door. Give yourself privacy to concentrate and speak naturally, especially on voice or voice/video chats. Treat yourself, this is a great exercise worthy of your personal time.
• Start out by speaking English slowly. This is a great tip, take it from me. Speaking your native language will allow you to acclimate yourself to the environment, and will remind your brain that ‘hey, if I get lost and don’t know how to say something, I can always speak English.’ Again, it is important to enunciate and speak slowly and deliberately.
• Correcting your partner. It is important to correct each other, so use these guidelines:
  • Type the correction starting with an asterisk (*) to denote that it is a correction. This is very natural and quickly becoming standard practice.
  • When voice chatting, use the text chat to drop corrections in. This is really teh absolute best way of chat practice. Your chat buddy can see your corrections and keep going, and can even review them later!

Other than these tips, I recommend, as always, practicing by taking difficult phrases and repeating them a great number of times by yourself (the car is perfect for this) and also visualizing speaking another language. If you are bored in the car, pretend someone just asked you a question in Portuguese and try to answer. Then try again, starting from the beginning. Flashcards are very helpful as well. Practice makes perfect, the key is to put yourself in the situations that really allow you to progress quickly.

To meet Brazilian chat partners, go to this site full of Brazilians learning English, sign up, and introduce yourself. You will be well-received.