There are plenty of people in the world who want to learn English, and there are plenty of people who want to learn other languages, like Spanish, French or Arabic.  Instead of paying for costly language instruction programs, why not set up a partnership where you can each teach the other your native languages?  Trading languages with another person can be much cheaper (depending on the terms you both work out), and you’ll pick up on English slang and speaking patterns much more quickly than you will with traditional course materials.

The hardest part about trading language instruction with another person is finding that person in the first place!  Fortunately, there are many different resources you can use to find interested partners.  First, check in your local area for volunteer-based English as a Second Language (ESL) programs.  Contact the directors of these programs to see if they have any teachers or students that might be good language partners.  You can also check with foreign language teachers at local high schools and colleges – they may grant students extra credit for working with you outside of class.  At the very least, you can post flyers in your local library or grocery store asking potential language partners to contact you.

Once you’ve identified a potential language trading partner, it’s best to organize a meeting to lay out the terms of your partnership.  These terms can include anything from how often you plan to meet, to how formally you’ll plan your lessons, to whether or not any money will change hands.  You may want to set up casual meetings where you’ll get together once a week at a coffee house to practice speaking each other’s language, or you may want to rent out a classroom for the formal study of grammar and sentence structure.

Given the range of different possible setups in a language trading partnership, it’s important to find someone that you get along with and whose personality you enjoy.  If you’re a laid-back, care-free type of person, pairing up with a straight-laced, studious partner may not be the best, since neither of you will get what you want from the partnership.  If things don’t feel right with the first potential partner you meet up with, don’t be afraid to say “Thanks, but no thanks” and move on to other prospects.  You’ll both be happier if you wait to find partners that are a better fit.

Once you’ve chosen a partner that you think you’ll work well with, it’s a good idea to get a feel for that person’s level of proficiency in your native language.  Do they have some experience and just want to polish up their speaking skills, or have they never spoken a word of your language in their life?  Getting a feel for your partner’s skill level will help you to develop lesson plans for your future work sessions.

For example, if your partner is totally new to your language, you might want to start out with some simple verbs or vocabulary words.  Eventually, you can progress to more complicated lessons, like working out a short story or practicing conversation skills.  As you move on throughout your partnership, try to keep a gauge of how your partner is progressing and modify your lessons to accommodate him or her.  The lessons will go much more smoothly if you take the time to respect each other’s challenges with learning new languages.