Learning tools (2/2) (the beginning of this note can be found in the previous entry of my notebook) [...] It’s when you’re engaged in a conversation HelloTalk began to show its qualities. If the chat looks quite alike your regular text-message service you have access to many useful options : - A speaker which translate what you or your partner writes - A «favorite » icon to review/work on this sentence later - A « share’ « icon to send sentences to another user - You can add « friends » here called « partner » But what if you fear you’ll be overwhelmed with partners only willing to speak your language and not theirs ? HelloTalk thought about it too : you have access to a special chat with real « exchange sessions » with your partners. Each partner is allowed to talk only in his own language for about five hundred words and then it’s the second partner’s turn. This is really helpful if you find a partner willing to « work » with you. This app is pretty great! I’ve always been fond of the « peer reviewed » work on Italki, but the tools Hellotalk introduced on the chat are powerful and useful for effective learning. It’s also great to be able to use it on my dear Nexus 4… Italki, I’m waiting for you to developp an even better app ! Thank you for reading this, if you know any other apps which help people work on their langage skills, let me know !

Learning tools (1/2) « Keep learning, keep listening, keep writing and keep talking, that’s your only chance ! » answered one of my teacher when I asked him how I could improve my skills in english. Even though this advice is not really new, i is the basic lines which should guide anyone who wants to be better at learning any language. At the university, this was easy to do : I tried to watch a lot of british or american movies, serials etc. in original version, I had essays given by my teacher and it was possible to have one or two speaking-sessions per week alone with your teacher or another assistant. So I could say it was pretty neat. But now I work in France, in an engineering company which doesn’t really care about getting customers outside the borders… I can still watch movies but no more essays nor speaking-sessions and my english slowly becomes rustier. Thus in order to keep it fresh, I was looking for other means to work on my skills. After some research on the internet, I stumble upon the HelloTalk app. It’s similar to the concept of Italki which means it allows people from everywhere in the world to lean a language with a native speaker. But it’s actually the only one app existing on both android and apple platforms. After launching the app, it invites you to register and create a profile. This profile is very basic and allows anyone to see your picture, know the languages you know and want to learn, your country of residence and a very useful clock so you won’t get the very annoying question « what time is it in your country ? ». At first, I was a bit annoyed by the lack of information you can put on your profile but it fits the needs : you’re here to talk not to look through profiles in search for the perfect match ! Once you’re done, the app invites you to search through the users and talk to them immediately. It seems a bit harsh and you might be troubled about how begining a conversation but as far as I know, everyone I met was very kind and willing to meet new friends. It’s when you’re engaged in a conversation HelloTalk began to show its qualities. (my note is too long! more to read in the next article!)

Anyone available to help me practice my english for a job interview? Hey! I know the notebook is not really appropriate for this kind of request but I'm trying anyway! :) Next Wednesday, I have an interview for a job in Romania. This interview will be all in english (and by phone!). I'd like to practice this interview with a native speaker who would be able to correct me and give me some advice. If you want to spend some time working on your french, I'd be glad to help you back! Thanks a lot! Hope to hear from you! :)