Sandra Raupach’s 13-year old son Lukas loved languages. The trouble was that he didn’t like speaking them. He preferred translating from ancient Greek and Latin into his native German. Sandra knew just how much her son was missing by not speaking any foreign languages and especially wanted him to improve his spoken English. So she tried sending him to a camp in Germany to practice.
While he was there he spoke only German. So she tried a residential holiday in Britain. Again, he made friends with fellow German students and spoke German during the entire holiday. Dismayed at her son’s canny ability to avoid speaking English, Sandra started looking online for new ideas. “The real breakthrough was the Lingoo language exchange,” says Sandra. On Lingoo, she found an English family living in Italy. The three children were learning German and Italian at school but only English was spoken at home. After much communication between the two families, a Lingoo language exchange was arranged. Sandra says, “It was perfect. When Lukas returned he could speak English and he had fun with the language.”
The experience was so positive that it had unlocked an ability that even Lukas didn’t believe he had. Sandra says, “He was a poor student in English the year before. But after spending two weeks on the Lingoo language exchange he is now near the top of his English class.” So what was the secret? Sandra says, “It was important that the family made Lukas feel welcome and part of their family during the stay. If he made mistakes, it didn’t matter; they helped him understand and communicate.”
As with all Lingoo language exchanges, good preparation was critical to success. The two families discussed many subjects by email before talking on skype. This enabled them to get to know each other and develop a good impression of the way the language exchange would work. They discussed normal family life by email: bed times, types of meals they enjoy, and so on. But they also covered what the boys could watch on TV and for how long, whether they could go outside alone or must be accompanied, to establish acceptable ground rules. They matched lifestyle interests early on. This meant that during his stay, Lukas enjoyed a lot of climbing, hiking and cycling, just as the host family does. Sandra says, “This was really important because he had the assurance and comfort of doing something he likes.
” While his outdoor adventures were a highlight, Sandra wanted Lukas to also experience authentic English family life to understand how people live within other cultures. So this was part of the stay. And just to reassure Sandra that things were going well, every day the host family sent her a picture of Lukas enjoying the activity of the day. The stay was such a success that the families are now firm friends and enjoy regular contact. Sandra reflects, “Since his exchange, Lukas has become more mature and independent. He pays more attention in his daily life and even makes his bed every morning.”
They have since completed the second half of the exchange when the English family sent their son to stay with the Raupachs to improve his German. After that first exchjange, Lukas was so enthusiastic he began planning another Lingoo language exchange to Ireland for three weeks.