Frequently Asked Questions

1.  I signed up, but have yet to get a language partner.

       Be active, login, search for a partner, then send them a message and text chat via Skype. Don't be afraid to contact more than one person. If you haven't heard back in a week, contact another four or five people.  Everyone in the site is there to find a language partner, so there's no need to be shy.

2.  I signed up, now what?

       Do a search for a language partner. Send a couple of people a message specifying a time and asking them if they'd like to do a language exchange exchange. Be sure to include your native language, the language you're learning as well as your contact information. If you don't want to give out your email, they can reply to you via the Mixxer. Once you've spoken, add them as a Friend on their profile page under Relationships.  Finally, write a blog post. It will help with your writing and make it easier for others to find you for a language exchange.

3. What else do I need to learn a language online?

   You're going to want to a grammar guide to give you some direction.  Depending on your language, you may find a good resource online.  Otherwise, a traditional grammar textbook is fine.  Next, be sure to practice the four basic skills of learning a language: reading, writing, listening, and speaking.  The Mixxer is a great way to practice speaking and getting help with your writing.  Wordchamp is a great resource for helping language learner read web pages and learn new vocabulary.  Practice listening using TV as well as online video and radio stations.  This will also give you interesting topics for your language exchanges.

4. What are the rules for the Mixxer?
       There aren't any rules. The site is just here to help you find someone who speaks the language you're learning fluently. In exchange for them helping you, you help them with the language they're learning. I do have a bit of advice, however.
   • Agree in advance how often you'll meet and how long you'll spend on each language.  Typically this is about an hour, 30 minutes in each language.  For beginners you might want to make the time shorter.  For more advanced speakers, it can be longer.
   • Don't switch back in forth throughout the conversation. Stick with one language at a time. Otherwise, the person with more advanced second language skills tends to dominate the conversation.
   • Be super polite. Since you're both strangers, communicating over the internet, and from different cultures it's easy to have misunderstandings.
5. What should we talk about? I need a topic or maybe a lesson idea.
       CALPER is a research organization in the U.S. The created a lot of fun activities for teachers to do with their students. You can look at them here. The ones labeled as Chat in the Tool section are probably the best.
6. Someone said something clearly rude or unacceptable.

       Send me their email (bryantt@dickinson.edu) and I will block them from the site. You can also block them from contacting you in Skype under Tools->Options->Privacy. That being said, I've spoken with a large number of people in this site either via email or by Skype, and they've all been super nice. People are generally very happy and helpful to people trying to learn their language.

7. What are goups?

       Groups are primarily for teachers.  They allow teachers to organize their students and keep track of all of their blog posts.  A teacher may invite you to join their group.  It's like being a language partner for the other students in the class.  Help them with their blog posts, and they'll help you with yours.  Contact a student or the teacher about practicing speaking via Skype.

8. How do I join a group?

        You can view all of the groups by clicking the All Groups link in the top menu.  Since they're primarily for teachers, I wouldn't expect to see many until the fall.

Technical

1. I click on a link to Skype someone, and NetMeeting pops up.

       Close your browser (IE, Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox), open Skype, then open your browser again and return to the site. The reason is because Skype is using the callto protocol which NetMeeting used to use. If Skype is opened for the first time after your browser was already open, it can't take the protocol until the browser is restarted.

2. Can I record the conversation with my language partner? My teacher would like an mp3 file for a grade.

       You can, but unfortunately you'll probably have to buy some software, though it's inexpensive. First, make sure you ask permission from your language partner. It's very rude and possibly illegal to record them without their knowledge. Once that is done, here are some options.

   • Purchase Pamela. It adds features to Skype, recording among them.
   • Use a virtual sound card. Instructions are here.
   • Use a software program such as ISound that basically captures any sound that passes through your computer's sound card.
3. How can I configure Skype to let people on the Mixxer see when I'm on Skype.

       Follow the instructions here: online status instructions. Keep in mind this will let anyone on web view your online status via the web if they know your Skype username. For example, you can see my status here: http://mystatus.skype.com/bryantt.  This is also different from the Online Members block on the right, which shows the names of users who are currently on the Mixxer site.

Have a question that isn't here? Write bryantt@dickinson.edu and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.