New at italki and already pretty demanding! (English) Hi! My name is Valeria but everybody calls me Val. I’m very happy to have found this site, it’s just what I needed! My goal here is to perfect my English, specifically I’d like to be able to speak a more “real” English, that is to say, something that doesn’t sound as if it were taken from a book. I’ve never been to an English speaking country so my only chances of speaking with native speakers were when I met them here (it’s not the same, it works too though). So, as I’m a very organised person –or at least I’d like to think I am-, I’m going to make a list of my objectives to see if you can help me: 1) to be corrected: not only grammar and/or spelling mistakes but also spontaneity, that is, I’m particularly interested in knowing if you (English native speaker or speaker of English as a first language) would have said what I said in different words. Maybe what I said conveys the message well enough so people can understand, but I’d also like to sound natural when speaking/writing. For example, is the phrase “to be corrected” all right? In Spanish it would be “que me corrijan” y no “ser corregida” (!!!), anyway….. 2) to improve my pronunciation and fluency. I’ve always practiced BrE pronunciation because that’s what they teach you here in Argentina, I know the phonetic symbols and am good at phonetic transcriptions, but as at university they taught me RP and I’ve never used it abroad I suspect it may sound a little snob…. You’ll tell me! 3) To know people from around the world: to exchange emails, to chat, to talk via Skype. I’m especially interested in the oral aspect of languages, so maybe Skype here is the best option. I’d love to know how people live, think and do everything in different parts of the world, in different cultures. I’m happy to talk, I’m eager to talk, so please contact me!