PEOPLE are always saying that it's best to live in a foreign country if you want to learn its language, or at least you should make friends with native speakers to practice the language. Now in the Internet age, that's all much easier.
The best way to strike up a friendship with English speakers online is to find those you share a common interest with. If you're able to discuss a hobby like movies or basketball together it will be much easier to start those friendships – and keep them going.
Getting involved in a forum based on your interests is also a great way to learn words that you might never have encountered in class.
After all, most classroom lessons focus on teaching general conversation. So use the Internet to learn how to describe your personal interests.
So, where do you go to find English speakers with like-minded interests? The most obvious places to look are Google and Yahoo. These popular Internet sites are bursting with groups and forums.
Once you've found a group that suits you, spend some time thinking about what you want to say in your first post. It's a good idea to introduce yourself, give your nickname and age, say where you're from, and tell what your interests are.
Ask a question
Then, to get the conversation going, I suggest you ask a question. This is generally the fastest way to get involved in a forum and to introduce yourself to others. On a movie forum you could ask something like, "I've just seen the movie Revolutionary Road. I thought it was brilliant. Has anyone read the book? If so, how does it compare with the film?"
Then after you've met and bonded with an English speaker in a forum or group, try suggesting a time when you could chat using Skype. This free software allows you to make a telephone call over the Internet.
Websites to check out
www.englishforums.com: To find someone to talk to using Skype check out this site. Simply put Skype in the search engine and that will bring up the many people who have posted a desire to practice their English using Skype. Its chatrooms are also good places to find English speakers.
mylanguagexchange.com: The website is an online language exchange community. There are even lessons plans to help structure the conversation.
Online dos and don's
One common mistake people make when they approach English speakers online is to begin by saying that they want to be friends to improve their English.
While this may be the truth, it's really tactless. It suggests you want a one-way relationship and have little interest in striking up a real friendship.
Non-native English speakers often make this mistake on Facebook. When you ask a person you don't know to be your friend you need to give a good reason why they should be your friend – and simply wanting to practice English usually isn't a good enough reason.
So, be imaginative in approaching people. Perhaps you see that someone is from a certain country that you would like to visit. Tell them so, and then ask if they can tell you a bit about it. Then tell them about yours.
One other thing to be aware of when chatting online with native English speakers is the netspeak they use. Netspeak is a series of shortened words that are easy to type.
One of the most widely used abbreviations is "lol" which means "laugh out loud"
译文:
用英语点燃友谊
人们总会说如果你想学外语的话，最好能到那个国家去，或者至少交一个外国的朋友来操练外语。如今在互联网时代，这不再是一件难事了。
在网上与英语国家的人交朋友最好的方法就是寻找共同的爱好。如果你能和他讨论一些例如像电影或篮球之类的爱好，那么建立与维系一段友谊就显得容易多了。
根据自身的兴趣爱好加入一些论坛也能学到不少东西，而这你也许在教室里是学不到的。
毕竟大多数的课堂教学强调传授一般的会话。因此就学会用网络来表达你的兴趣爱好吧。
那么，到哪去找与你志同道合的说英语的人呢？最好的地方就是Google 和 Yahoo。这两个网站有大量的组织和论坛。
一但你找到了适合自己的网站，花时间好好想想在你的第一篇贴上要说些什么。介绍你自己，写上小名或年龄，家乡，兴趣等是个不错的主意。
问问题
然后呢，要想使对话继续进行，我建议你问问题。通常这事尽快融入论坛并把你介绍给论坛里的人的好办法。在关于电影的论坛里，你可以问一些像“我刚刚看了一部改革道路的电影。真的很震撼。有谁看过这本书吗？有的话，跟电影版本的有什么不同呢？
当你在论坛里遇到并与说英语的人建立友谊时，跟他约个时间用Skype聊天。这种软件将使你通过网络打电话。
推荐一些网站
www.englishforums.com：想找人通过Skype聊天的话可以登陆这个网站。只要将Skype输入到搜索引擎中就会出现大量希望通过Skype练习英语的人。它的聊天室同样是一个寻找英语母语的人的好去处。
mylanguagexchange.com：这是一个在线交换语言社区的网站。那里甚至有帮你编好对话的课程。
网上该做和不该做的事情
一个通常会犯饿错误就是对在网上认识的说英语的人说我想和你做朋友是因为我想提高英语水平。话是说得没错，然而却是不明智的。这说明你仅仅是抱着单一的动机而不是想建立一段真正的友谊。
非英语者总会在Facebook里犯这样的错误。你给给你的朋友一个充分的理由为什么想和他朋友，而想提高英语这个通常不是一个好的理由。
因此，在接近一个人的时候要充满想象力。也许你看到某个人正是来自你想去的国家。告诉他，问问他们能不能向你说一些相关的信息。然后把你所知道的也和他说说。
另一个在网上和英语国家的聊天是需要注意的问题是他们实用的网络用语。网络用语就是他们通常用的一系列容易输入的缩略词。
其中一个最常用的缩写就是"lol"意思是大声地笑