How To Find Skype Speaking Partners For IELTS Candidates

How To Find Skype Speaking Partners For IELTS Candidates

How To Find Skype Speaking Partners For IELTS Candidates – PDF Download

Skype can be a great way to practice your English speaking skills. Unfortunately, trying to find Skype speaking partners is not so easy. In this post I will give you a few rules to follow that will make finding a speaking partner on Skype easier and more effective.

Using Skype to find speaking partners is very popular, the aim of this article is to make you more effective in finding suitable speaking partners. In my research I have seen lots of people posting their Skype names on Facebook pages and in forums. I think some of these students could be more productive in the way they look for Skype speaking partners. I hope these ideas can help those students more easily and effectively find Skype speaking partners.

This is a 3 part series:
Part 1: How To Find Skype Speaking Partners For IELTS Candidates – You Are Here
Part 2: What To Do In Your Skype English Lessons For IELTS Candidates – Click Here
Part 3: Where To Find A Skype Speaking Partner For IELTS Candidates – Click Here

What do you want from your Skype practice?

Be clear about your goals. Will you focus on pronunciation, vocabulary, sentence or paragraph structure, fluency, rhythm or intonation? If you are clear about what particular speaking skill you are focussing on you are more likely to see results. For each Skype conversation you might focus on 2 or 3 of the skills mentioned.

You will need to find Skype speaking partners who can help you with those skills. You should let them know the aims of each conversation and ask them what their aims are.

If you want to use Skype just to chat with someone for fun without any specific study goals then these ideas are not for you. The suggestions below will help serious students manage their time, find Skype speaking partners that are suitable and improve specific areas of their speaking skills.

Who do you want to practice with?

The mistake I see many students make when trying to find Skype speaking partners is putting their Skype ID on Facebook pages and in forums and waiting for people to contact them. This will actually work and people will contact you on Skype, but they may not be suitable people for you to practice with. Their level may be lower or higher than yours. You may have different learning goals. You may be in completely different times zones. Or you may want to speak about completely different topics.

Decide on what type of Skype speaking partner you are looking for. Create a description of your perfect speaking partner and post it online in the appropriate places. For example:

I am looking for someone aged under 30, either a student or business person who is preparing for the IELTS exam. They would need to be in South East Asia and around IELTS 6.0 to 7.0. The focus of our conversations would be on part 1 and part 3 questions for the IELTS exam. If you think you are suitable please leave some information about yourself and your Skype ID below.

When you chat with people online, let them know this is what you are looking for. Yes, you will find less people but you will find more people that you can practice with effectively.

Also, by writing a description like this and by writing a description of yourself you are focussing on people whose level is high enough to understand what you have written. If people only respond with their Skype ID then they may not have fully understood your information.

Don’t waste your study time with unsuitable students

This may sound quite mean but you need to stick to your language learning goals. It is very difficult for 2 students of 2 very different levels to help each other. A lot of time will be spent on translation and repetition.

If your level is low find someone of the same level and practice together using simple sentences you can both understand. Over time you will both improve and can move onto more advanced structures and find Skype speaking partners with slightly better English to learn and improve from.

If you respond to every Skype id that you find online you will have less time to practice speaking with other candidates who can really help you. My advice is to respond to students who you have gotten to know or who have left descriptions of themselves along with their Skype ID.

Summary of how to find Skype speaking partners for IELTS candidates

It is not easy to find Skype speaking partners but with a little bit of planning it can be done. Before you start looking for a speaking partner you must first decide what skills and activities you want to do on Skype and what type of person you are looking for. It may seem impolite but you should avoid using Skype with someone who does not help you achieve your study goals. Be careful and manage your time as you try to find Skype speaking partners in an easier and more effective way than just posting your Skype name all over the internet.

This is a 3 part series:
Part 1: How To Find Skype Speaking Partners For IELTS Candidates – You Are Here
Part 2: What To Do In Your Skype English Lessons For IELTS Candidates – Click Here
Part 3: Where To Find A Skype Speaking Partner For IELTS Candidates – Click Here
Here’s What You Should Do Next To Find Skype Speaking Partners:
1. Leave a comment or ask a question in the comments section below.
2. Write a description of your ideal speaking partner on The IELTS Coach – Facebook Page
3. Visit The IELTS Coach Skype Speaking Partners Forum and ask a question.
4. Share this article with friends who are preparing for the IELTS exam.

Practice your English and write a comment