The Conversation Exchange - English

Scott Engering at "El Museo Geominero" in Madrid

For over 5 years, I have been informally teaching English to my friend Aurora in Madrid but, because I was learning Italian at the time, I never considered learning Spanish and I was happy to help her with English - it is a very complex language.

Now, I have language partners all over Spain, in 14 of the 19 autonomous provinces  - and from Colombia too. Most of them are professionals, very often teachers, who have a good grasp of the English language and many are studying for their Cambridge Exams.

Although we have never considered using textbooks, with my students preferring to discuss various practical subjects, I use the resources that I have developed in a formal classroom situation to address the various points of grammar that arise during the conversation.

Having discovered the problems of learning Spanish, I empathise with my students and know the difficulties that they might encounter when trying to express themselves. I have been told that my patience – especially with pronunciation and explanation of phrasal verbs - is greatly appreciated.

The Conversation Exchange is not just there to help with listening and speaking, because reading and writing is an essential element of the learning process too. To date, I have assisted language partners with such diverse projects as the text to be used for the displays in a new Museum of Gastronomy in Segovia and in translating and writing publicity material for formal Language Workshops in Murcia...

The Conversation Exchange - Spanish

The Conversation Exchange

Very shortly after I had finished my one to one lessons with Irene, from Almeria, I decided to try and learn some Spanish, not least because I was hoping to teach and lead another group of students from the Canary Islands, in Sheffield, later in the year.
 
I decided to throw myself into learning Spanish using the Conversation Exchange. It's very easy to use. Just write a brief profile that highlights your native language, the language that you want to learn and briefly describe your interests - and away you go.

Although I could quite easily search quite specifically for a potential language exchange partner, anywhere in Spain, I have just let the Spanish speaking world approach me.

With a vocabulary of one line phrases that had previously enabled me to eat, drink, sleep and travel, and with very little grammar, I struggled to express myself at first. Using a Teach Yourself Spanish book that I had bought ages ago, without the audio resources, watching films and listening to the radio, I soon improved and, before long, I was able to construct more complex sentences.

Not having the structure of formal lessons, or a strict syllabus and homework to complete, I found that the best way is to create a strict timetable with my language partners. This has paid real dividends and, 10 months later, I have finished my Teach Yourself Spanish book and I now possess a good grasp of the language.

As an English teacher, it has also been a really valuable experience...

A Day Out in Barnsley...

At The Civic in Barnsley

During our lessons, Irene’s confidence in speaking and listening to English improved considerably and, on one memorable occasion, she enthusiastically announced that – when left entirely on her own in the office - she had successfully negotiated a telephone call.

As an English teacher, I also learned a lot from our lessons. Having had an extended period of time, in which to get to know Irene and her interests and to discuss her strengths and weaknesses with the English language, I was able to devise a schedule of work that suited her exact needs.

Football

Our last day out started at Sheffield railway station at 10.30. Although Raul had also been invited, Irene mumbled something about not being ready on time and so we both shrugged our shoulders and got on the train. 

We were both surprised to discover that the train was full of football supporters at this time of day, but this just added to the experience of being in South Yorkshire.

Picasso in Barnsley

Barnsley, like Doncaster, is a bustling market town with historic connections to the coal mining industry and without obvious tourist attractions. The main commercial centre is dominated by ugly concrete buildings; however, walking up the hill past the old Town Hall, there are some really interesting things to see – especially if you take a few diversions along the way and spend enough time to look up and around.

Returning to Sheffield railway station, our lessons ended and we gave each other the customary hugs and kisses in the Spanish way. The best thing that I can say is that I looked forward to each lesson as though I was meeting a good friend and I felt sad when saying “goodbye” to Irene - but that is another story...

Rotherham

Geological Maps in Imperial Buildings

Resuming at Sheffield University, we studied the topic of directions again, using a few maps that I had brought with me, as well as a copy of the Highway Code. Having driven in mainland Europe on the ‘wrong side of the road’ in a right hand drive car, I could empathise with Irene and Raul, when they lost their sense of direction.

Now into our 4th week, our lessons followed their natural course and we both decided that the idea of compressing our remaining weekend lessons into a Saturday day out was a good one.

Herbs in the Walled Garden at Clifton Park

A change of routine freed up the Sunday for more leisure time and it also gave Irene the opportunity to visit Rotherham, which she would otherwise be unlikely to see during her stay.

I doubt very much if Rotherham is at the top of any list of tourist attractions but, with a little bit of local knowledge, the town can be viewed in another light. With Raul working this time, Irene arrived on the X78 bus and we met at the Chapel on the Bridge.

The Chapel of Our Lady on Rotherham Bridge

Our first port of call was Imperial Buildings, to drop off my contribution to an ‘open art’ exhibition that was being held on the day; although not my own work, I thought that everyone would be interested in seeing geological maps of Catalonia and Bavaria - I also knew that it would add a bit more colour to this event.

Walking up Doncaster Gate to Clifton Park Museum, we looked at the Rhinoceros Vase and explored other aspects of Rotherham’s history, before taking a quick tour of Clifton Park and heading off back into the town centre via the market. There, yet another variety of the South Yorkshire language is used and, when talking with some of my friends, Irene had to listen to us all when we spoke very quickly...

The Rhinoceros Vase at Clifton Park Museum