Hey guys, WBD here! In the last post about Benny Lewis, many of you told me you downloaded Skype, but didn't know what to do next. Many of you asked me, what's the best place to find a native English language partner? What's the best strategy for actually starting a conversation?     嗨大家好，我是王霸膽，上一期給大家分享了一些關于本尼·路易斯，然后小伙伴都告訴我已經(jīng)下載好了Skype，但不知道接下來應該怎么做。一些小伙伴問我，哪里最容易找到地道的說英語的伙伴？如何開展一段有營養(yǎng)的對話？

    So today I'm going to recommend a couple websites and apps that I've used over the years to find a language partner, and also give you tips on how to find the perfect language partner.    所以今天我要給大家?guī)讉€網(wǎng)站和apps，我自己也用了很多年用來尋找語言伙伴，然后再給大家關于如何找到完美的語言伙伴的小竅門。

Stay tuned for the first episode of my 王霸膽公開課: So You Really Wanna Learn English, eh? It's almost done!

敬請期待《王霸膽公開課》的第一課：你是真的想學英語嗎？（馬上就做好啦~）

1. Hellotalk: One of the biggest language learning apps. You can find native speakers around the world to chat with. Free. 最大的語言學習類app之一，你可以找到世界各地的母語人士進行聊天，免費喔~！

2. Speaky: Just like Hellotalk, but more web-based. Free. 和Hellotalk 差不多，但更網(wǎng)頁式，同樣免費~！

3. Tandem: Unique language learning community with high standards for members. Free. 獨一無二的對成員有著高標準的語言學習社區(qū)。免費！

4. italki: One of the earliest language learning communities. You can meet language partners, share your writing to get corrected, and also find inexpensive community tutors to help you practice. Free w/ paid features. 最早的語言學習社區(qū)之一，你可以在這里找到語言伙伴，分享你寫的東西讓他們幫你修正，而且還可以找到便宜的社區(qū)導師幫你進行練習。（免費，但會附有付費內(nèi)容）

    Now that you've found a source to meet native speakers, how do you start a conversation? Native English speakers who are active on these websites get dozens, if not hundreds (thousands?) of friend requests and messages each day. Against these odds, it seems almost impossible to connect with them. But if you follow my advice below, you can greatly increase your chances!

現(xiàn)在你已經(jīng)找到了找到母語人士的資源啦，如何開始一段對話呢？這些網(wǎng)站上活躍的英語母語人士每天接受到幾十，成百（上千？）的朋友請求。想要聯(lián)系到他們，幾乎是困難重重的，但是如果你采取我接下來的一些建議，你的機會就會大大的增加喔~

These tips are all taken from my personal experience using these language learning communities.

這些建議都是源于我自己在這些語言學習的一些經(jīng)歷。

How to (Actually) Chat with a Foreign Language Partner

如何真正意義上的去和一個外國伙伴聊天

• First impression is key, so say something unique. Don't ask 'Can I be your friend?' and don't ask 'Can you teach me English?' We constantly hear that, and it's just plain annoying. 

• 第一印象是關鍵。所以，說點特別的東西吧。不要問“可以做個朋友嗎？”，或者是“你可以教我英語嗎？” 每當我們聽到這些，都會覺得有點無趣甚至是厭煩。

• Don't involve your ego. If they don't reply, just try someone else. Just like dating～

• 不要太玻璃心。如果他們不回復你，那就找其他人，就像約會一樣～

• Finding a good language partner is a numbers game. You might strike out 100 times before hitting a home run.

• 找一個好的語言伙伴就像買彩票，也許你要出擊100次才能贏回一次。

• Ask before you video chat! Don't assume that I'm sitting there waiting to talk with you. More likely I'm busy doing something, and when your video chat interrupts that, I'm not going to be happy.

• 視頻通話前要先詢問對方意愿！千萬不要覺得我就坐在這里等著跟你聊天，而且有可能我正在忙一些事情，然后你的視頻就彈出來打斷了，我當然會就不開心啦~

• Use an attractive picture of yourself. I want to know who I'm talking with, so don't use a cartoon image or any other random picture. Choose a clear, attractive picture of yourself to show off your best side. 

• 用一張你自己最好看的照片。因為我會想知道我聊天的對象是怎樣的，所以不要用卡通圖片或者就只是隨機的挑一張圖片，要選一張看起來清晰、吸引人并能展示出你最好的一面的照片。

• Don't send a voice message as your first message. Strangers don't send voice messages to each other. We're not that friendly yet, and I'm not going to listen to it. You've got to break the ice with a fun text message first. 

• 發(fā)第一條信息的時候不要發(fā)語音。陌生人之間是不會這樣做的，畢竟我們之間還不熟，所以我也不會去聽。你應該是先發(fā)一條比較有趣的信息去展開交談。

• Remember the saying, 'Trying the same thing and expecting different results is madness'. If you've tried starting a conversation with multiple people and still aren't successful, then you're doing it wrong. 

• 要記住這句話：“總是做著同樣的事情，卻期待著不同的結果是很傻的?！?/strong>如果你已經(jīng)嘗試著開始和很多的人進行對話但卻沒有成功，那一定是方法不對。

• Try to find common interests. Read their user profiles and try to tailor your message to them. People love talking about their interests (and themselves!).

• 試著找出共同愛好。看下他們的用戶資料，再看看發(fā)怎樣的消息合適。人都喜歡談論他們自己的喜好（還有他們自己本身）

• Send a multi-lingual message. Most of the messages I receive are either all English or all Chinese. Why not separate yourself from the herd by sending a multi-lingual message like this: 'Wow, your Chinese is so 屌! Do you know what 屌 means?'

• 發(fā)送一條有多種語言的信息。大多數(shù)我收到的信息要么全是英文，要么全是中文。為什么不嘗試下這樣從這樣的群體里脫離出來呢？下次試試這樣發(fā)信息：“哇~！你的中文好屌喔！你知道屌是什么意思不？”

• Don't make it too long. Whenever I see a long paragraph of text, I automatically skip over that person's message. Just like a good article, you've got to hook me from the beginning or I'm gone. 

• 信息不要太長。每當我看到長長的信息，我都是自動的忽略這個人的信息，就好像是一篇好的文章，你要在開頭就能吸引我，不然我肯定是不看啦。

Here is a great example of an opener that I would definitely respond to:

下面是一個我看到開頭就一定會回復的例子：

Hey, I see you're interested in XXX. I'm interested in that too, would you like to do a language exchange and talk about XXX in Chinese with me? I'm learning English =)

嗨，我看到你對XXX很感興趣，正好我也是耶，你愿意和我做下語言交換，用中文聊下XXX嗎？我在學習英語。

    I hope these pointers can help you find a language partner to practice English with. Remember, these are REAL people, so treat them as such. Chinese people are some of the most active users on language learning communities, and many native English speakers are used to receiving the exact same messages from Chinese people. If you want to find a language partner in 2016, you've got to express your individuality. 

    我希望這些指南能夠幫你找到一個語言伙伴來練習英語。要記住，他們也都是真真正正的人，所以如我所說的那樣去對待吧。中國人是這些語言學習社區(qū)最活躍的用戶之一，所以很多的英語母語人士已經(jīng)習慣了中國人給他們發(fā)一些一模一樣的信息。如果你想要在2016年找到一個語言伙伴，你就要展示出你的個性。

Good luck, and go learn some English!

祝你好運~趕緊去學英語吧！

WBD