When would be a good time to start attempting conversations in Esperanto? I just completed the "Bildoj kaj demandoj" Basic course... but that's all I've got so far. So obviously my skills are probably dismal at this point. Would it be too early to try to have simple conversations?

And would anyone be willing to message or skype with me to help me with Esperanto, whether now or in the future?

I'm learning Esperanto primarily as a way to learn how to speak a foreign language. My language in school has always been Latin, and I don't really have experience speaking it of course.. I'm hoping that by becoming comfortable speaking Esperanto, I will more easily be able to have the confidence to learn to speak more difficult, "real-world" languages.

That being said, I also love the international aspect of Esperanto! It's really exciting to me. To think, a week ago I didn't know what Esperanto was!

Hi! i need a partner to talk in esperanto if you want we cant talk by msn or Skype
Gis!

It's never too early to start trying to have simple conversations. You might want to do the first lesson or two of "mi estas komencanto" to practice some greetings etc. The "study groups" thread (you can post in any language there) might also be a good place to post, saying that you're a recent beginner and you'd like to try having a simple conversation with another recent beginner. lernu users frequently exchange skype names to practice together.

I learned Esperanto in high school, simultaneously as I was studying Latin. I wanted to learn a language I could speak with someone (fluently. I met many French and Spanish students whose langauage skills didn't go far beyond "hello" and ordering off a menu). Understanding how Esperanto does certain verb forms helped me later in college when I studied Italian. Esperanto is a great way to learn a language in a simpler way and gain confidence that you, too, can speak a foreign language fluently.

I once had a chat with Humphrey Tonkin, a very eminent Esperantist who used to be president of the Universal Esperanto Association. I asked him why he learned Esperanto. He said he was in school and he was so horrible in his German class (perhaps from the quality of the teaching?) that his German teacher told him that he would never learn a foreign language. He took that as a challenge and he decided to prove his teacher wrong, so he went looking for the very easiest language, and he learned Esperanto. That was probably 50 years ago, but Humphrey has been very well-respected in the Esperanto movement for decades, so I think he had the last laugh over his German teacher.

This post gave me an idea for an online app which works just like a forum, but you leave audio messages with the click of a button instead of typing them.
I will have to wait for navigator.getUserMedia() in HTML5 to be supported in some browsers first. Not long I expect though.

erinja:It's never too early to start trying to have simple conversations. You might want to do the first lesson or two of "mi estas komencanto" to practice some greetings etc. The "study groups" thread (you can post in any language there) might also be a good place to post, saying that you're a recent beginner and you'd like to try having a simple conversation with another recent beginner. lernu users frequently exchange skype names to practice together.

I learned Esperanto in high school, simultaneously as I was studying Latin. I wanted to learn a language I could speak with someone (fluently. I met many French and Spanish students whose langauage skills didn't go far beyond "hello" and ordering off a menu). Understanding how Esperanto does certain verb forms helped me later in college when I studied Italian. Esperanto is a great way to learn a language in a simpler way and gain confidence that you, too, can speak a foreign language fluently.

I once had a chat with Humphrey Tonkin, a very eminent Esperantist who used to be president of the Universal Esperanto Association. I asked him why he learned Esperanto. He said he was in school and he was so horrible in his German class (perhaps from the quality of the teaching?) that his German teacher told him that he would never learn a foreign language. He took that as a challenge and he decided to prove his teacher wrong, so he went looking for the very easiest language, and he learned Esperanto. That was probably 50 years ago, but Humphrey has been very well-respected in the Esperanto movement for decades, so I think he had the last laugh over his German teacher.

Thanks for the information! I will try to finish "Ana Pana" and then "mi estas komencanto" before I practice speaking. Messaging seems to be a bit easier, but largely because I use Google translate for help... Also, the main thing I am nervous about is whether I will be able to hear what people say and simultaneously translate it in my head... Ahhh, so scary.
I will definitely try to the study groups thread! Thank you so much!

Hector91:Hi! i need a partner to talk in esperanto if you want we cant talk by msn or Skype
Gis!

I'd love to!

mitchellejones:Thanks for the information! I will try to finish "Ana Pana" and then "mi estas komencanto" before I practice speaking. Messaging seems to be a bit easier, but largely because I use Google translate for help... Also, the main thing I am nervous about is whether I will be able to hear what people say and simultaneously translate it in my head... Ahhh, so scary.
I will definitely try to the study groups thread! Thank you so much!

When I was ambushed with Japanese one day I was surprised to learn how much I already understood, on the parts I didn't I asked for a repeat and I repeated back what they said then gave a translation back to make sure I understood what I heard :3

So it might be good to practice with people that speak English first :3