My personal experience with LE on numerous sites (I want to learn Korean and relearn French in exchange for my fluent Mandarin and English and 3rd grade level of Spanish, yes, I’m VERY fluent in both for reading, writing and speaking. Anyone? Anyone?) is like this so far for the past year living in Taiwan and each post I specifically pointed out pure learning language in person only and not for dating. I’m also Chinese/French/Vietnamese American:
Taiwanese/Some Korean girls tend to respond to me quickly wanting to learn English in exchange until they meet me in person and never heard from them again. One didn’t even make it beyond a phone call.
A couple Taiwanese guys and some Taiwanese girls respond to me wanting to learn English and they only know the languages I’m fluent in…
A few European guys and a few Taiwanese-descendant guys responded to exchange for their French, but no non-Taiwanese girls living in Taiwan responded, ever.
Quite a few non-Asian/Taiwanese girls respond to me quickly living in some other countries far away wanting to exchange language. Useless.
Some girls responded and we met a few times chatting and then they say they have family obligation or work schedule change or whatever and cannot meet anymore. A few just never responded back for further meetings.
I just read your post and seems like you’re actually looking to date, so maybe my post was a moo point for you. I strongly suggest you go somewhere else to find dates then. Dating through LE in Taiwan is only excellent if you’re a foreign non-Asian white male living in Taiwan and wanting to date Taiwanese girls it seems. Very sad but I think it’s close to the truth.
I’ve never done a language exchange (not my thing) but I would imagine that yes in most cases it would lead to that. If both people are physically attracted to the other, and both people are single, I guess I would ask why the hell not? The only time I’ve heard any of my friends LE stories without it leading to sex was when the girl just wasn’t into them physically. But if they are both in the ballpark, then yeah it’s gonna happen. Whether it’s language exchange, or anything else in this world where a single man and woman get to chatting, it often leads to dating. Why wouldn’t it? LE is often just an excuse to get to chatting. From there the rest is easy
Sorry if this has already been asked, but how can one go about finding a language exchange partner. Is it a good idea to contact people from that tealit site… looks kind of sketchy.o;
Disclaimer: I actually am serious about improving my Chinese cause I think the relatives I’m living with have just about had it with my “shi shenme yisi?” I mean, I suppose having a potentially chemistrically(hehe) compatable partner would be a bonus.
I was surprised when I first moved here and tried LE. I was stunned by all the girls that were just looking to date. Many would meet me at some coffee shop and then proceed to accomplish an interview and not really seem interested in discussing LE plans.
I met some that were serious. And dated some. So in my experience, you’ll find all kinds, but might not know it until you meet them.
Nah, it’s not sketchy. Try Facebook groups (the best options IMO, you can actually get a sense of someone before you meet them, or just meet a whole bunch of people in a group),Meetup (also mostly group-based), Conversation Exchange (met my most serious LE partner there, a professor of architecture, but it’s really hit or miss), and maybe Tealit (never tried).
My advice: if you’re more serious about learning Chinese meet up with someone of the same gender who is older than you and see if they have a game plan… or root around and find someone studying how to teach Chinese.
I’m planning to begin studying Mandarin in September. How many months of studying/learning/practicing Mandarin do you think it would take before a language exchange partner would be effective?
A LE partner can be used in different ways. The standard method is for the LE partners to practice in each language for an hour at each meeting or at every other meeting. This can be modified. Some people hit the books. I like walking around town with an LE partner and practicing using the language that I am learning while sharing my language skills with them.
