Practise a foreign language through Lingo Links
LONEHILL – Practise a foreign language which you have acquired with the help of the Lingo Links community.
Community members wanting to practise a new language they have acquired are invited to join a Lingo Links group.
Lonehill resident and founder of the non-profit organisation Rhona Wetzka explained, “Lingo Links is a uniquely South African language club consisting of small conversation groups which meet in homes or coffee houses to socialise in different languages.”
There are a number of groups currently meeting across Johannesburg where locals can refine their language skills in German, Russian, French, Portuguese, Greek, Zulu and more. “It’s a wonderful way to complement language studies, adapt to a new country, revamp a rusty language, enjoy the enrichment and mental stimulation that language practice gives and make new inter-cultural friendships,” said Wetzke.
She explained that every group is unique and creates its own programme, chooses its own name, venue, time and manner of operating. Meetings are held weekly or fortnightly in the day, during the evening or on the weekend, depending on the needs of individuals within the particular group.
Groups can be single medium, where members are aided by one or more native speakers or bilingual, where participants speak or help speak each other’s languages, for example Spanish and English. The only requirement to join a group is having a basic knowledge of the foreign language.
Founder member of the Klatschgruppe ‘Group of chatterers’ (German group) Joan Hengherr said she has thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Lingo Links community for 21 years.
“It’s absolutely wonderful to have people from different countries represented and we learn so much from one another. Our group has a theme for each meeting and it’s always very interesting and I always learn something new,” said Hengherr.
She explained that while most people in her group have a basic knowledge of German, they are assisted by a few native speakers.
Lingo Links has run successfully for 23 years, expanding to include over 300 people from across the world meeting informally to help speak various languages.
Details: For more information, visit
www.lingolinks.co.za, email info@lingolinks.co.za or call 072 786 9961.
