What is a Language Partner?

Practice sessions with a Language Partner are an essential part of the Self-Directed Language Acquisition Program. Learning a language is all about learning to communicate—and that takes practice. A Language Partner is an educated person who speaks (and, in most cases, reads) the language you are learning. Your Language Partner will help you learn to communicate by helping you practice what you are learning on your own.

Language Partners are not teachers! They will not organize your learning for you. They will not explain grammar. They will prepare topics for practice and help you learn appropriate vocabulary and structures, based on what you are studying on your own. If you are learning to read and write, they will respond to questions and verify your comprehension of texts during part of the practice sessions.

Your Responsibilities as a Language Learner

You are responsible for establishing your learning goals and creating learning plans to meet your goals.  You are responsible for letting your Language Partner know both your goals and, less abstractly, what you are planning to learn each week.  If you are meeting with a Language Partner in a small group, you should negotiate learning plans with your fellow learners.  Your goals for individual practice sessions should focus on communicative tasks and the cultural behavior appropriate to them.  Encourage your Language Partner to help you practice pronunciation through repetition and to create scenarios in which you can practice fluent speech.  You may also ask your Partner to verify your listening and reading comprehension.  If you are learning to write, your Partner may help you practice that skill.

Your primary responsibilities in the Learner-Partner relationship are:

  • to make sure that each practice session fits into your learning plan;
  • to be prepared to practice vocabulary and structures you have already studied;
  • to communicate regularly with your Language Partner about your goals and plans.

Guidelines for Practice Sessions

1 – 4 students will participate in each practice session group. Each practice session group has two 50-minute sessions each week.

  1. Communicate with your Language Partner about the topics, vocabulary, and structures you are learning, so that s/he can prepare practice activities.
  2. Make sure you know the topic of each session and prepare the vocabulary and structures you need to learn to communicate about that topic.
  3. Use only the target language in the practice session.  You may need to use English to gather cultural information, but this should be limited to five minutes during each session.
  4. Participate enthusiastically in the practice activities.
  5. Listen and learn as your Language Partner corrects mistakes. Learn to learn collaboratively with your peers.
  6. Do not ask your Language Partner for linguistic or grammatical explanations.
  7. Do ask your Language Partner for verification of your comprehension.
  8. Do ask your Language Partner about appropriate cultural behavior in the language you are learning.
  9. At the end of each practice session, reflect upon your own participation and what you have learned.

Sign Up for a Language Partner

Complete this questionnaire to sign up for a language partner.