The Language Exchange

After studying Spanish for two years at evening classes, I still couldn't hold a proper conversation. I understood grammar rules and could write short texts, but when someone spoke to me in Spanish, my mind went blank. — choose for gap 1 —1. My evening class teacher was not happy that I had stopped attending her lessons2. I began to understand jokes and even express my opinions on difficult topics3. I found a partner through an online platform that matched people by language and level4. When I got home, I sent Lucia a message thanking her for everything she had taught me5. Lucia preferred to communicate by text message rather than speaking face to face6. I mentioned this frustration to a colleague at work one day7. But Lucia immediately put me at ease with her warm and patient manner8. I decided that Spanish was too difficult and switched to learning Italian instead She told me about something called a language exchange. The idea was simple. I would meet with a native Spanish speaker who wanted to practise English. We would spend half the time speaking in English and half in Spanish. — choose for gap 2 —1. My evening class teacher was not happy that I had stopped attending her lessons2. I began to understand jokes and even express my opinions on difficult topics3. I found a partner through an online platform that matched people by language and level4. When I got home, I sent Lucia a message thanking her for everything she had taught me5. Lucia preferred to communicate by text message rather than speaking face to face6. I mentioned this frustration to a colleague at work one day7. But Lucia immediately put me at ease with her warm and patient manner8. I decided that Spanish was too difficult and switched to learning Italian instead Her name was Lucia, and she had recently moved to London from Madrid. Our first meeting was at a café near the train station. I was so nervous that I almost cancelled. — choose for gap 3 —1. My evening class teacher was not happy that I had stopped attending her lessons2. I began to understand jokes and even express my opinions on difficult topics3. I found a partner through an online platform that matched people by language and level4. When I got home, I sent Lucia a message thanking her for everything she had taught me5. Lucia preferred to communicate by text message rather than speaking face to face6. I mentioned this frustration to a colleague at work one day7. But Lucia immediately put me at ease with her warm and patient manner8. I decided that Spanish was too difficult and switched to learning Italian instead She spoke slowly, used simple words, and smiled every time I made a mistake instead of correcting me immediately. That made a huge difference to my confidence. We started meeting every Tuesday evening. Over the weeks, our conversations became more natural. — choose for gap 4 —1. My evening class teacher was not happy that I had stopped attending her lessons2. I began to understand jokes and even express my opinions on difficult topics3. I found a partner through an online platform that matched people by language and level4. When I got home, I sent Lucia a message thanking her for everything she had taught me5. Lucia preferred to communicate by text message rather than speaking face to face6. I mentioned this frustration to a colleague at work one day7. But Lucia immediately put me at ease with her warm and patient manner8. I decided that Spanish was too difficult and switched to learning Italian instead I stopped translating every word in my head before speaking and started thinking directly in Spanish. It was a strange but exciting feeling. Six months later, I went on holiday to Spain for the first time. I ordered food in restaurants, asked for directions, and chatted with shopkeepers without any problems. — choose for gap 5 —1. My evening class teacher was not happy that I had stopped attending her lessons2. I began to understand jokes and even express my opinions on difficult topics3. I found a partner through an online platform that matched people by language and level4. When I got home, I sent Lucia a message thanking her for everything she had taught me5. Lucia preferred to communicate by text message rather than speaking face to face6. I mentioned this frustration to a colleague at work one day7. But Lucia immediately put me at ease with her warm and patient manner8. I decided that Spanish was too difficult and switched to learning Italian instead She laughed and said that the secret had never been grammar or vocabulary — it was simply having someone to talk to.