10 Top Language Exchange Apps & Websites [2021 Update]

What is a language exchange app or website? Русский English Français Deutsch Italiano Español Findonlinetutor Becomeatutor Languagelearning 21min 10TopLanguageExchangeApps&Websites[2021Update] Originallypublished June10,2020, updated November2,2021 TableofContents Ifyouwanttospeakanewlanguagewithconfidence,youshouldgetasmuchspeakingpracticeaspossible.Anyonewhohasmasteredasecondlanguageknowsthistobetrue.It’sprettymuchtheonly“trick”forfasterlanguagelearningthatactuallyworks! Butifyou’relearningalanguagethatisn’tspokenmuchwhereyoulive,opportunitiestopracticeprobablyaren’tleapingout.Thesolution,formanypeople,istoinvestsometimeinanonlinelanguageexchange.Ifyouhaven’ttriedoneyet,you’remissingout! Hereareourpicksoftenofthebestplatformstofindyourperfectlanguagebuddy,andwhyalanguageexchangeissoeffective. Whatisalanguageexchangeapporwebsite? Theconceptoflanguageexchangesisaveryintuitiveone.Inessence,youfindapersonwhoislearningyournativelanguage,andoffertohelpthem.Inexchange,theyhelpyoutolearntheirownlanguage.Traditionally,languageexchangesareaconversationoftwohalves.Foronehalf,youtalkinyourownnativelanguage,soyourpartnercanpracticetheirnewskills.Fortheotherhalf,youtalkinyourpartner’snativelanguageandpracticeyournewskills.Thisrequirestrust,disciplineandadegreeofpatience.Youswaprolesasstudentandteacher;bothofyoushouldbecomfortablewithbeingthepersonincharge!     Languageexchangesarenothingnew—yourparentsandgrandparentsmighthavedonetheminschool,writingletterstoschoolkidsfromadifferentcountry.However,itprobablygoeswithoutsayingthattheinternethaschangedthemagreatdeal.  Thereareanoverwhelmingnumberofdifferentonlineplatformsforfindingyourperfectexchangepartner.Hilariously,manyofthemfeelquitelikedatingapps.Muchlikedatingapps,youmustknowwhatyou’relookingforinordertofindwhichapporwebsitesuitsyoubest.Doyouwanttohavecasualtextconversationsaboutnothinginparticular?AreyoulookingforaseriouslanguagestudenttoSkypewithwhowillbestrictonyourmistakes?Orwouldyouridealexchangepartnershareyourlearningjourneylongterm,sendhandwrittenletters,andpossiblycometostaywithyourfamilyoneday?Noneoftheseisunrealistic.Whateverkindofpartnershipyouarelookingfor,oneofthesewebsitescansetitup. Wehaveonlinetutorsinmorethan50languages. Preplyisoneoftheleadingeducationalplatformsthatprovide1-on-1lessonswithcertifiedtutorsviatheexclusivevideochat. Findmyonlinetutornow 1456reviews, “Excellent” Bestlanguageexchangeappsandwebsitesof2021 Itcantakesomecouragetoputyourselfoutthereandtalktoastranger.Therightonlineenvironmentcaneasetheawkwardnessagreatdeal!Hereareourreviewsoftenofthebestlanguageexchangeappsandwebsites.They’reinnoparticularorder—thetopchoicedependsonwhatyouwantfromtheexperience. HelloTalk:Bestforinnovativetools Tandem:Bestforaquickstart Bilingua:Bestforpersonalizedmatching  MyLanguageExchange:Bestforlong-termconnections TheMixxer:BestforspeakingviaSkype Speaky:Bestforinstantlanguageexchanges Meetup:Bestforin-personlanguageexchanges Reddit:Bestforlanguageexchangecommunities  Facebook:Bestforprivategroups Preply:Besttopracticewithlanguageexperts Learnmoreabout2021’slanguageexchangewebsites,andexploretheoptionthatsuitsyou! 1.HelloTalk Bestforinnovativetools In2020,HelloTalkisthekingofthelanguageexchangeapps.Oratleast,amemberoftheroyalfamily.Ithasover18millionusers—that’sovertwicethepopulationofNewYorkCity!Ifyoudon’twanttoreadthiswholelist,justdownloadHelloTalkandgofromthere.  Newusersfillinaprofileandtheappsuggestssimilarprofilesofpeopleyoumightenjoyconnectingwith.Thechatfeatureisverydeveloped:youcansendphotos,emojisanddoodlestoyournewlanguagepartners.Onceyou’vegainedeachother’strust,it’sevenpossibletosendvoicemessagesandmakephonecallsforfree!ThefreeversionofHelloTalkwillbesufficientformostlearners,butyoucanonlysetonetargetlanguage.Considerasubscriptionifyou’retryingtomasterafewlanguagesatonce. Oneoftheage-oldproblemsoflanguageexchangesisthatlearnersfindithardtoknowwhentoswitchlanguages.HelloTalkhasahandyfeaturetopreventtheawkwardnessoftryingtobestrictwitharelativestranger.Ifyouturnon“LanguageExchangemode,”you’llgetanotificationwhenit’stimetoswitchlanguages.Withsomanyuserspassingthrough,it’sslightlymoresuitedtothosewhowanttocasuallychatthantohaveamoredevelopedlanguageexchange.However,HelloTalkdeservesitsgreatreputation.  LovetheconvenienceoflearningEnglishonyourphone?Checkoutourarticleonthe15BestAppstoLearnEnglish:Speaking,Writing&More(2021). 2.Tandem Bestforaquickstart LikeHelloTalk,Tandemisaveryup-to-datelanguageexchangeappwithmillionsofusers.Asthenamesuggests,itisaTandemlanguageapp,whichhasbeencalledtheTinderoflanguageexchangeapps.Butdon’tletthatputyouoff:themajorityofpeopleareheretolearn.Onceyou’vefilledinaquickprofile,yourinboxwillquicklyreceivelotsofmessages. Withsomanyusers,itcanbehardtofocusononeconversationatatimeortomovebeyondsuperficialtopics,buttheappisveryslicktolookatandeasytonavigate.Youcanleavereviewsofotherusers,whichmakestherelationshipsbetweenstudentsfeelmoreprofessionalandlessakintoadatingapp.Youcansendvoicenotesorvideochat,butthereisn’tmuchofacultureofdoingeither,sincemostinteractionsarespur-of-the-moment.There’sahandy“correctthismessage”featuretohelpyourpartneroutwithoutderailingtheconversation.  Ifyouwanttoenjoylanguageexchangesthroughaslick,up-to-datemessagingapp,Tandemisagreatoption.  3.Bilingua Bestforpersonalizedmatching  Somelanguageexchangeappsallowyouto(digitally)meetaseeminglyendlesslistoflearners.Youmightendupsending“hello,howareyou?”todozensofstrangers,butrarelydevelopingadeepenoughconnectionwithonepersontotryoutanin-depthconversation.  Bilingua’sbigsellingpointisthatitcombinesamoderninterfacewithhelptofind“theone.”Whichinthiscase,meansacompatiblefellowstudenttoswapskillswithforthemediumterm.Thisfreelanguageexchangeappusesamatchingalgorithmtopairlearnersbasedontheirpersonalities,languagelevelandwhattheywanttotalkabout. Yes,itdoessoundlikeadatingapp,butfanssayithassavedthemtimeinnarrowingdownhundredsofpotentialstudybuddies.Someusersfindtheapptooglitchy,especiallyiftryingtotypeinMandarin.Butit’sworthatrytoseeifitworksforyou.  4.MyLanguageExchange Bestforlong-termconnections TheMyLanguageExchangewebsitelooksolderthantheconceptoflanguageitself,butdon’tbeputoff.Althoughno-onehasupdatedthewebsiteitselfsincethemid-2000s,MyLanguageExchangeisathrivingnetworkoflearners,withnewmembersjoiningeveryday.  Itisastraightforwarddatabaseofpeoplelookingforlanguageexchanges,withcolumnsforashortbioanddetailsofwhatthey’relookingfor.IfflashyappslikeTandemandHelloTalkaresuitedtoshort-termchattingwithmanystrangers,MyLanguageExchangeistheopposite.Onceyouhaveconnectedwithsomeone,itistypicaltoswitchtoanalternativeformofmessaging,likeemail,SkypeorWhatsApp.Studybuddiesblurintotherealmof“newfriend”veryquickly.  Thisislanguageexchangeforthosewholoveddoinglanguageexchangesinhighschool.Youcouldmeetsomeoneonthissitewhowillbecomeapartofyourlifelongterm.ApersonyoumightSkypewithforyearsandeventuallyflyhalfwayacrosstheworldtomeet.Studentswhoareusedtotheanonymousandinstantfeelofmodernappsmightfindthisabitcreepyorevenpotentiallydangerous.Itdependsonwhatyouarelookingfor,andhowmuchofyourselfyouwanttoshare.  5.TheMixxer BestforspeakingviaSkype Thebigbenefitoflanguageexchangeapps,intheory,isthattheygetyouspeakingtoanativeuserofyourtargetlanguage.However,inpractice,mostlanguageappsarebasedaroundmessengerservices.Soreally,you’regettingwritingpractice,ratherthanthatall-importantspeakingpractice.  TheMixxer isawebsitedesignedtocombatthisproblem.UsershavetoconnecttotheiraccountstoSkypestraightaway.Youcanmessageotherstudentsbeforevideochattingwiththem,ofcourse,butit’sforpeoplewhoarelookingforlivespeakingpracticeratherthansomeonetotext.  ItwascreatedbyateacherofJapanesefromacollegeinPennsylvania,USA.Ontheonehand,thismeansthatthewebsiteisarunwithoutabudget.Thismeansitcan’tattractmillionsofmembers,ormoderateuserstobehaveprofessionally.Ontheotherhand,itwascreatedpurelyfortheneedsoflanguagestudents,withnobusinessgoalstoprioritize.Thereareevenfreeconversationstarterstohelpusersstructuretheirsessionsproductively.  Areyouuncomfortablejumpingintovideochatwithoutscreeningyourlanguageexchangepartnerfirst?Ifso,that’sunderstandableandthissitemightnotbeforyou.Ifyou’rewillingtotakeaslightrisk,however,thenthissitemightbeasurprisewinner.  6.Speaky Bestforinstantlanguageexchanges Ifyouwanttomessageanativespeakerinthenextfiveminutes,youcanmakethathappenwithSpeaky.Aftersettingyourinterests,youareshownatiledscreenofusersonlinelearningyourlanguage.Youcanmessageanyone,andanyonecanmessageyou.Thereistheoptiontohideyourprofilefrompeopleoftheoppositegender.Ifyouareawoman,thisisprobablyworthdoing,justincase! Atthemoment,userscan’tvideochatorcalleachother,soifyouarelookingforspeakingpractice,youshouldlookelsewhere.Somestudentsalsofindtheappbuggy,claimingthatithasdeletedtheirmessagesfornoreason.However,itdoeshavetonsofmembers,sotherewillalwaysbesomeoneavailabletomessageinreal-timerightnow,whenever“rightnow”happenstobe.  7.Meetup Bestforin-personlanguageexchanges Textingnewfriendsisgreatpractice,butactuallymeetingfluentspeakersistherealdeal!Ifyouareabletotraveltobigtownsandcities,it’sworthgoingtoanin-personlanguageexchange,evenifyou’renervous.Meetupisawebsiteforplanninggatheringsofstrangersaroundacommoninterest.IthasabigpresenceinEuropeandtheAmericas,andlanguageexchangeisoneofitsmostpopulareventcategories.  Youcansearchbycityandbylanguage.Meetupsareusuallyfreeorcheap,andoftentakeplaceinabar,cafeorpark.Sometimesexchangesinvolvefunactivitieslikedanceclassesorbowling,togivestudentssomethingtotalkabout.Ofcourse,youropportunitieswilldependonwhereyouareintheworld,butifyou’relearningthelanguageofacountrywhichyou’vejustrelocatedto,thenwhatareyouwaitingfor?Don’tletfearholdyouback—everyoneelsewillbeinjustthesamesituationasyouare!  8.Reddit Bestforlanguageexchangecommunities  Ifyouliketheideaoffindingonelong-termstudybuddyforlanguageexchanges,butdon’tlikeold-fashionedwebsites,then“thefrontpageoftheinternet”mightbeasurprisinglygoodchoice.Reddithassomeveryweirdcorners,butthere’sathrivingforumforalmostanytopic,andlanguagelearningisnoexception.Reddititselfisn’tverysuitedtohostinglanguageexchanges,butyoucaneasilyfindanotherstudenttopairupwith,thenorganizeanexchangewiththemusingvideochatonanotherplatform.  SincepeopleuseReddittodiscussallkindsofnicheinterests,you’llbeabletocheckoutwhatelseyourlanguagepartnerisinterestedinthoroughlybeforeacceptingtheirrequesttolearnmore.It’sanotheroptiontoconsider!  9.Facebook Bestforprivategroups IfRedditisn’tyourthing,butyouliketheideaoffindingalanguageexchangethroughyourexistingdigitalnetworks,thenFacebookmightbejustthesolution.ThereareprivategroupsonFacebookforjustaboutanything,sotryentering“[yournativelanguage]to[yourtargetlanguage]languageexchange”intothesearchbar.Thechancesare,you’llfindpeopleinthesamesituationasyou.  ThegreatthingaboutfindingastudybuddythroughFacebookisthatyoucanusuallyviewtheirlikes,opinionsandholidayphotosbeforedecidingtoconnect.Afteryou’veaddedsomeoneasafriend,asweallknow,Facebookallowsyoutochat,phoneandvideocallthem.It’salmostlikeitwasdesignedforlanguageexchanges!  Thesegroupsalsoprovidesomethingyoudidn’tknowyouneeded—ateamoffellowlanguagelearnerstodrawsupportfrom.Dumbasitsounds,seeingmemesappearinyourfeedontopicssuchas“Thingsyouonlyknowifyou’reanEnglishspeakertryingtolearnArabic,”canreallybeveryreassuring!Andmotivating,ifyouoftenprocrastinateyourstudiesbyscrollingthroughFacebook….  10.Preply Besttopracticewithlanguageexperts Okay,youcaughtus…thisisn’talanguageexchangewebsite.Preplyisaplatformforfindinganonlinetutorfor1-on-1classesinalmostanylanguage. Hearusout:withoutadoubt,languageexchangesareafantasticwaytoimproveyourspeakingskillsinasecondlanguage.Buttheycanalsobeincrediblyfrustrating.  Inthebest-casescenario,youareonlylearninghalfthetimeduringanylanguageexchange.It’sbetterthannothing,butit’sinefficient.There’salsonoguaranteeoffindinganexchangepartnerwhoisagoodteacher,andthisisaveryrareskilltostumbleacross.Findingagreatlanguagepartnercanbeadishearteningprocessoftrialanderror.Astoryofputtingyourselfoutthere,tryingtomakemeaningfulconnections,butbeingleftdisappointedtimeandtimeagain(thisisthefinalanalogywithonlinedatinginthearticle,wepromise!)  Preplyisafarmoreefficientwaytogetspeakingpractice.Sessionsrequirefarlessresearch(andleadtolessheartache).Ifyoutake1-on-1languagelessonswithaPreplytutor,youcantalkonlyinyourtargetlanguage,andfocusontheskillsyouwanttopractice.  Withpricesstartingfrom$5perhour,tutoringdoesn’thavetobeexpensive.Thinkhowmuchpeopleusuallyspendtotakegroupclasses,wherethefocusisn’tonlyonyourprogress!Manypeopleconsiderittobeaworthwhiletrade-offforthetimeandinefficiencythattypicallanguageexchangescouldcost.Tryitandyou’llbeamazedatthespeedofyourprogress!  Whyuselanguageexchangeapps&websites? Learnfromanywhere,anytime Inthebadolddays,findingopportunitiestopracticetalkinginasecondlanguageinvolved…leavingthehouse.It’ssoeasytotakeitforgranted,butlearnersareunbelievablyfortunatetohavetheoptionoffindingspeakerstolearnalanguagefromhome. Ifyoucan’tsleepatnightandwanttopracticeyourUrdu,it’spossibletoopenanappandfindsomeonetochatwithinamatterofminutes,withoutgettingoutofbed—whatagift!Appsandwebsitesmakefindingopportunitiestopracticeasecondlanguagemoreconvenientthantheyhaveeverbeen.  Practicereal-lifeinteractioninasafeenvironment Manypeoplewhoarelearninganewlanguagearepreparingtohaveimportant,scaryconversations.Perhapsyouneedtotalktoaprofessoraspartofatest,orperhapsyou’refacinganimmigrationinterview.Maybeyou’regoingtotalktoanewpotentialclient,orevenjustaskforhelpwhenyouinvariablygetlostinanewcountry.Inanyofthesecases,thereisalotatstakeifthisconversationgoeswrong.  Languageexchangesallowyoutohavefun,smallconversationsbeforetacklingthesebigones.Theycanhelpyouovercomethefearbarrieroftryingtospeak,andstopyoufromassociatingyournewlanguagewithhigh-pressuresituations.  Wantabitmorepracticebeforejumpingintoaconversationwithastranger?CheckoutourblogtoimproveyourEnglishspeakingskillsathome. Learnfromnativespeakers Manylanguageswhicharewidelyspokenareoftentaughtbynon-nativespeakers.It’sfinetolearnthebasicsthisway,butthere’snosubstitutefortheinsightsofanativespeaker!Everylanguagehasafewcommonphraseswhicharegrammaticallyabsolutelyperfect,butwhichnativespeakerswouldneversay.It’sinfuriating!  Alanguageexchangepartnercanhelpyouidentifythesesneakyphrasesandgiveyouamorefluentalternative.  Getfascinatingculturalinsights Whenyou’restudyinghard,it’seasytoforgettherealbenefitsofgaininganewlanguage.ThethingsthatreallyhelpyougrowasapersoncouldneverbemeasuredintheCEFRlanguagelevels!Exchangepartnershipscanevolveintomutuallyenlighteningfriendships.Attheveryleast,youandyourbuddywillswapculturalinsights;ifatruefriendshipdevelopsthenyouwillbothgainafascinatingnewperspectiveontheworld.Attheirbest,languageexchangescanenrichyourworld-view,ultimatelymakingyouamorecompassionatememberofsociety. Conclusion Thoseareourtoppicksforlanguageexchangewebsitesin2021.Hereareourfinaltoptipstomakethemostofthisquickandeasychoicetogrowyourlanguageskills.  Knowtheskillsyouwanttoimprove:whetheryouwanttopracticespeaking,readingorwriting,chooseanappropriatelanguageexchangeapptohelpyouprogress.  Keepconsistent:there’snopointinconstantlyjumpingbetweendifferentappsandconversations,asthenyou’llrarelygetpastthestageof“hello,howareyou”!Stickwithoneappoverthelongtermandconsideraddingthistimeintoyourstudyplan. Speakwithnativesorexperts:ifpossible,trytolocatenativespeakersorexperiencedlanguagetutors,whocanguideyouwithclearercorrectionsandcommon,naturalphrases.  Usethesetipsandyou’llmakethemostofoneofthe21stcentury’smostincrediblegifts:thepossibilitytolearnalanguagefromhome,whereveryouare. Articleby MirandaParr ContentWriteratPreply.MirandaisfromThanet,UK,butcurrentlylivesinBarcelona,whereshe'sworkingonhermuymalSpanish.Shelovesgoingtogalleriesandwritesaboutthattooinhersparetime. 17 Share Twitter Pocket Preparetospeakconfidentlywiththebestonlinetutors Englishtutors Spanishtutors Germantutors Italiantutors Frenchtutors Readmore Bilingualismin2021:US,UK&GlobalStatistics ElizabethGration LanguageSeesaw:Discoveringthelanguagesthatwilldominatein2050 NadiiaMykhalevych WORKATIONIndex:TheBestCitiesforRemoteWork NadiiaMykhalevych Morethan70%ofAmericansregretlettingtheirforeignlanguageskillsslip KylieMoore Expressyourself:Themostexpressivelanguagesintheworld NadiiaMykhalevych ShouldAmericacatertolanguagesotherthanEnglish? 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