[ICM]

Hi,
I'm a young woman living with my boyfriend (solid thing). I've started to learn a foreign language about 9 months ago and both colleagues and teachers have told me that talking and writing to native speakers might help me. It just works a lot better to learn from conversations and real live situations than books, dictionaries and eventually seeing raw films (without subtitles).
I've been considering websites just this week, meaning, I want to find pen-pals in www version (e-pals). Since some websites are also about dating I didn't register in them.
I don't want to put myself in the situation of misleading someone and I don't want to offend my boyfriend feelings as well.
It's virtually impossible to find native speakers of this language where I live or even in my country.
Should I be more firm in this seeking for on-line e-pal thing and keep reassuring my boyfriend that I'm not seeking for someone in terms of feelings, just language exchange, over and over again? (He’s like that)
Should I just give up on finding e-pals? (and can you give me suggestions?)

[Wondergirl]

You won't be TALKING to these people on line. Your colleagues and teachers want you to meet with real-life people who speak the language fluently and you then immerse yourself in that language, speaking it exclusively.

Check at your library. Sometimes there exists or can be brought together a group who speaks only Spanish or Mandarin or German for, say, an hour. Or go to a local college or university and audit a language class where there is only conversation/discussion in a particular language. In fact, there will be groups on campus who meet together to speak their own language, so a little detective work might help you find them and be allowed to join them.

The point is not to write the language, but to SPEAK it.

[tickle]

Used to be called pen pals and was really quite innocent. It was like networking. New pen pals could be found at school, or passed on From friend to friend. I kept with that growing up and when I started travelling to Europe, they were my contacts from city to city.

Now not so sure epals is quite as safe. If it causes him stress, why bother. Join different language sessions in your own neighborhood. Call the YMCA/YWCA and ask if they have programmes.