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Are there any websites I could find someone Japanese to practice talking to, kinda like a pen friend? Or should I just try my luck messaging people on Lang-8?
Has anybody else got any Japanese friends and how did they get them? I feel as though i need someone to be able to talk to in Japanese to help my own Japanese (and maybe someone else’s English???). Oh and btw going to Japan is definitely not an option, any time soon at least.
AnonymousUse Lang-8, add people who correct or better yet, comment on your journals. Comment and correct other peoples journals and keep and eye out for people who specifically write about or state they want a language partner.
I haven’t posted an entry in ages and still get a lot of skype, facebook and friend invites. It’s not hard.
http://www.japan-guide.com/penfriend/ is a really great one as well. It’s kinda based around wanted ads which you can reply to or post your own, so it’s great if you’re looking for a friend for a specific reason. Just make an ad explaining you want a Japanese friend to talk to for practicing spoken Japanese, and that you’ll help them with English. Or you can simply reply to an ad posted by someone else. You can even filter the ads so you can find someone of a specific age or location. There’s even a option for whether you want a penfriend or someone to hangout with in Japan. I met a Japanese friend on there last year and since then we’ve done plenty of videochats and exchanged pictures, and this past Christmas we did a snack/gift exchange. She even picked up a few of my mannerisms so if you encounter a Japanese girl that speaks English like she’s from Philly, there’s a good bet…
If you can afford to take some time off from work/have a place for the student to stay, there’s an organization called People Link that flies Japanese high school students over for varying lengths of time. I just had a student this last November for three days, and he was the bomb. I couldn’t believe how much my vocab/processing time for spitting out sentences improved, because he knew very little English. It was great, we’d just be huddled over his expensive-looking computer translator, taking turns typing things and learning new words. It was the best. I’m even hosting another student next month for a week! I should also mention that People Link pays you varying sums based on how long you’re hosting them. I’m getting paid 150 for next month. o.o;;
I’m not sure where you’re located, but I’m in Western MA… not sure if People Link is a nation-wide thing.
Their website hasn’t been updated since 1998 and looks like the old Amanda Please website, but here it is: http://peoplelink.org/
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