Hey guys, WBD here! In the last post about Benny Lewis, many of you told me you downloaded Skype, but didn't know what to do next. Many of you asked me, what's the best place to find a native English language partner? What's the best strategy for actually starting a conversation?     嗨大家好，我是王霸膽，上一期給大家分享了一些關(guān)于本尼·路易斯，然后小伙伴都告訴我已經(jīng)下載好了Skype，但不知道接下來(lái)應(yīng)該怎么做。一些小伙伴問(wèn)我，哪里最容易找到地道的說(shuō)英語(yǔ)的伙伴？如何開(kāi)展一段有營(yíng)養(yǎng)的對(duì)話？

    So today I'm going to recommend a couple websites and apps that I've used over the years to find a language partner, and also give you tips on how to find the perfect language partner.    所以今天我要給大家?guī)讉€(gè)網(wǎng)站和apps，我自己也用了很多年用來(lái)尋找語(yǔ)言伙伴，然后再給大家關(guān)于如何找到完美的語(yǔ)言伙伴的小竅門。

Stay tuned for the first episode of my 王霸膽公開(kāi)課: So You Really Wanna Learn English, eh? It's almost done!

敬請(qǐng)期待《王霸膽公開(kāi)課》的第一課：你是真的想學(xué)英語(yǔ)嗎？（馬上就做好啦~）

1. Hellotalk: One of the biggest language learning apps. You can find native speakers around the world to chat with. Free. 最大的語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)類app之一，你可以找到世界各地的母語(yǔ)人士進(jìn)行聊天，免費(fèi)喔~！

2. Speaky: Just like Hellotalk, but more web-based. Free. 和Hellotalk 差不多，但更網(wǎng)頁(yè)式，同樣免費(fèi)~！

3. Tandem: Unique language learning community with high standards for members. Free. 獨(dú)一無(wú)二的對(duì)成員有著高標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)社區(qū)。免費(fèi)！

4. italki: One of the earliest language learning communities. You can meet language partners, share your writing to get corrected, and also find inexpensive community tutors to help you practice. Free w/ paid features. 最早的語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)社區(qū)之一，你可以在這里找到語(yǔ)言伙伴，分享你寫的東西讓他們幫你修正，而且還可以找到便宜的社區(qū)導(dǎo)師幫你進(jìn)行練習(xí)。（免費(fèi)，但會(huì)附有付費(fèi)內(nèi)容）

    Now that you've found a source to meet native speakers, how do you start a conversation? Native English speakers who are active on these websites get dozens, if not hundreds (thousands?) of friend requests and messages each day. Against these odds, it seems almost impossible to connect with them. But if you follow my advice below, you can greatly increase your chances!

現(xiàn)在你已經(jīng)找到了找到母語(yǔ)人士的資源啦，如何開(kāi)始一段對(duì)話呢？這些網(wǎng)站上活躍的英語(yǔ)母語(yǔ)人士每天接受到幾十，成百（上千？）的朋友請(qǐng)求。想要聯(lián)系到他們，幾乎是困難重重的，但是如果你采取我接下來(lái)的一些建議，你的機(jī)會(huì)就會(huì)大大的增加喔~

These tips are all taken from my personal experience using these language learning communities.

這些建議都是源于我自己在這些語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)的一些經(jīng)歷。

How to (Actually) Chat with a Foreign Language Partner

如何真正意義上的去和一個(gè)外國(guó)伙伴聊天

• First impression is key, so say something unique. Don't ask 'Can I be your friend?' and don't ask 'Can you teach me English?' We constantly hear that, and it's just plain annoying. 

• 第一印象是關(guān)鍵。所以，說(shuō)點(diǎn)特別的東西吧。不要問(wèn)“可以做個(gè)朋友嗎？”，或者是“你可以教我英語(yǔ)嗎？” 每當(dāng)我們聽(tīng)到這些，都會(huì)覺(jué)得有點(diǎn)無(wú)趣甚至是厭煩。

• Don't involve your ego. If they don't reply, just try someone else. Just like dating～

• 不要太玻璃心。如果他們不回復(fù)你，那就找其他人，就像約會(huì)一樣～

• Finding a good language partner is a numbers game. You might strike out 100 times before hitting a home run.

• 找一個(gè)好的語(yǔ)言伙伴就像買彩票，也許你要出擊100次才能贏回一次。

• Ask before you video chat! Don't assume that I'm sitting there waiting to talk with you. More likely I'm busy doing something, and when your video chat interrupts that, I'm not going to be happy.

• 視頻通話前要先詢問(wèn)對(duì)方意愿！千萬(wàn)不要覺(jué)得我就坐在這里等著跟你聊天，而且有可能我正在忙一些事情，然后你的視頻就彈出來(lái)打斷了，我當(dāng)然會(huì)就不開(kāi)心啦~

• Use an attractive picture of yourself. I want to know who I'm talking with, so don't use a cartoon image or any other random picture. Choose a clear, attractive picture of yourself to show off your best side. 

• 用一張你自己最好看的照片。因?yàn)槲視?huì)想知道我聊天的對(duì)象是怎樣的，所以不要用卡通圖片或者就只是隨機(jī)的挑一張圖片，要選一張看起來(lái)清晰、吸引人并能展示出你最好的一面的照片。

• Don't send a voice message as your first message. Strangers don't send voice messages to each other. We're not that friendly yet, and I'm not going to listen to it. You've got to break the ice with a fun text message first. 

• 發(fā)第一條信息的時(shí)候不要發(fā)語(yǔ)音。陌生人之間是不會(huì)這樣做的，畢竟我們之間還不熟，所以我也不會(huì)去聽(tīng)。你應(yīng)該是先發(fā)一條比較有趣的信息去展開(kāi)交談。

• Remember the saying, 'Trying the same thing and expecting different results is madness'. If you've tried starting a conversation with multiple people and still aren't successful, then you're doing it wrong. 

• 要記住這句話：“總是做著同樣的事情，卻期待著不同的結(jié)果是很傻的。”如果你已經(jīng)嘗試著開(kāi)始和很多的人進(jìn)行對(duì)話但卻沒(méi)有成功，那一定是方法不對(duì)。

• Try to find common interests. Read their user profiles and try to tailor your message to them. People love talking about their interests (and themselves!).

• 試著找出共同愛(ài)好。看下他們的用戶資料，再看看發(fā)怎樣的消息合適。人都喜歡談?wù)撍麄冏约旱南埠茫ㄟ€有他們自己本身）

• Send a multi-lingual message. Most of the messages I receive are either all English or all Chinese. Why not separate yourself from the herd by sending a multi-lingual message like this: 'Wow, your Chinese is so 屌! Do you know what 屌 means?'

• 發(fā)送一條有多種語(yǔ)言的信息。大多數(shù)我收到的信息要么全是英文，要么全是中文。為什么不嘗試下這樣從這樣的群體里脫離出來(lái)呢？下次試試這樣發(fā)信息：“哇~！你的中文好屌喔！你知道屌是什么意思不？”

• Don't make it too long. Whenever I see a long paragraph of text, I automatically skip over that person's message. Just like a good article, you've got to hook me from the beginning or I'm gone. 

• 信息不要太長(zhǎng)。每當(dāng)我看到長(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)的信息，我都是自動(dòng)的忽略這個(gè)人的信息，就好像是一篇好的文章，你要在開(kāi)頭就能吸引我，不然我肯定是不看啦。

Here is a great example of an opener that I would definitely respond to:

下面是一個(gè)我看到開(kāi)頭就一定會(huì)回復(fù)的例子：

Hey, I see you're interested in XXX. I'm interested in that too, would you like to do a language exchange and talk about XXX in Chinese with me? I'm learning English =)

嗨，我看到你對(duì)XXX很感興趣，正好我也是耶，你愿意和我做下語(yǔ)言交換，用中文聊下XXX嗎？我在學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)。

    I hope these pointers can help you find a language partner to practice English with. Remember, these are REAL people, so treat them as such. Chinese people are some of the most active users on language learning communities, and many native English speakers are used to receiving the exact same messages from Chinese people. If you want to find a language partner in 2016, you've got to express your individuality. 

    我希望這些指南能夠幫你找到一個(gè)語(yǔ)言伙伴來(lái)練習(xí)英語(yǔ)。要記住，他們也都是真真正正的人，所以如我所說(shuō)的那樣去對(duì)待吧。中國(guó)人是這些語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)社區(qū)最活躍的用戶之一，所以很多的英語(yǔ)母語(yǔ)人士已經(jīng)習(xí)慣了中國(guó)人給他們發(fā)一些一模一樣的信息。如果你想要在2016年找到一個(gè)語(yǔ)言伙伴，你就要展示出你的個(gè)性。

Good luck, and go learn some English!

祝你好運(yùn)~趕緊去學(xué)英語(yǔ)吧！

WBD