①First, please read this whole page.
②Register your information by filling out the Language Exchange Partner Bulletin Board Registration Form.
※Unless you request to have your profile deleted earlier, your information will remain on the Bulletin Board until the end of the academic year.
③Once your information submitted in ② is confirmed, the International Office will post your information to the International Student Language Exchange Partner Bulletin Board and notify you by email. (Within 1-3 weekdays after submitting the Registration Form)
④Wait for domestic students to contact you. (Domestic students who register for access to the International Student Language Exchange Partner Bulletin Board will send emails to the international students that they want to exchange languages with.)
⑤When you get an email from a domestic student, think about whether you would like to exchange languages with that student or not. If you do want to exchange languages with them, introduce yourself and exchange messages until you decide how you would like to do language exchange.
※You are not obligated to become language exchange partners with all domestic students that contact you.
※If you do language exchange in person, please make sure to have your first meeting on campus.
⑥A survey will be sent to all users sometime during or at the end of the semester. Please answer the survey so the International Office can know how many users were able to do Language Exchange and if any changes need to be made. Rules and Notes
Please decide with your partner how often and for how long to meet. However, we suggest meeting once per week and splitting the time evenly between both languages.
International students may get a lot of emails from domestic students, so international students are not obligated to become language partners with all domestic students that contact them. International students do not have to accept requests if they feel they have received too many requests. For both international and domestic students, if you exchange messages or talk once and you do not think it will work for you, you are not obligated to continue with that person. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable please contact the International Office by filling out this Consultation Form.
If you wish to temporarily make your email unavailable (or make it viewable again after requesting to remove it), delete your profile from the bulletin board altogether, or edit something on your profile, please fill out this Language Exchange Profile Edit/ Delete Profile Form.
There is no deadline for applying, and the bulletin board will be updated on a regular basis.
If you do language exchange in person, please make sure to have your first meeting on campus.
Do not speak in a way that discriminates against your partner based on prejudice or stereotypes about their country of origin, nationality, culture, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or push your personal opinions regarding these on your partner.
Tips
１．When you respond to domestic students who email you about language exchange, consider including the following in your response:
Name
Where you're from
What language you are learning
What language you can help with
How you would like to do language exchange
Anything specific you would like help with
When and how often you would like to do language exchange
２．Sample topics: comparing the countries/places you are from, travel, favorites (music, movies, books, food, etc). You can also reference these topics for more ideas.
３．Think in advance about what format you would like for language exchange. Do you want to talk in one language for 30 minutes and then switch and use a timer to keep track, or do you want to mix both languages while having conversation and not worry about the time?
４．Be in charge of your own learning. Ask for explanations, don't be afraid to ask to repeat or slow down, and make an effort to speak so one person is not doing all the talking.
5. Focus on communication. Don’t correct grammar all the time or interrupt to correct, especially if the errors do not affect understanding. Ask your partner what they want you to focus on (grammar, pronunciation, how natural their speech is, etc).
6. By making a record of your language exchange each time, it can be easier to see results and plans for future meetings, and therefore become easier to keep up with your language exchange for longer. If you are interested, you can download a simple Microsoft Word document with a chart for making notes here. You can fill one out individually, or you can share a single document on Google Drive with your partner so you can view the same notes together.
Go back to the Language Exchange main page