What Are Language Exchange Partners?

One of the best ways you can learn and practice you new language is by talking to a language exchange partner.

What Is A Language Exchange Partner?

A language exchange partner is someone who is a native/fluent speaker in your target language, but is also trying to learn your native language.

So they are like your language opposite.

The whole point of having a partner like this is to help each other. They teach you some of their language and you return the favour by teaching them some of yours.

You can have conversations in both languages so that both of you get some practice in speaking the others language.

Where Do You Find A Language Exchange Partner?

Luckily there a number of places where you can find a language exchange partner which I will go through now.

Apps/Websites

Luckily for us the internet exists and there are plenty of language exchange sites and apps dedicated to this.

These sites and apps instantly link you with hundreds of people who are natives in the language you are learning (and most times live in a country where the language is spoken) they are trying to learn your language and then you can talk and send messages to them. It’s incredible.

You can easily find loads of these sites to join; some of the popular ones are HelloTalk, Tamden and Speakly to name a few. As with everything in life, some are better than others. They all have their pros and cons and it’s up to you to try them out to see which one best suit your needs.

Some may not have many speakers of the language you want to learn and some might not have the best app in the world, but in general, you should be able to find something that works for you.

Most of these sites and apps are free, some do have paid features, but overall, you can use these types of sites for free.   

Social Media Groups

These still exist, but they are not really as popular anymore since everyone just uses the dedicated apps. However, you can always still look into them if you feel like you could benefit from this type of interaction.

Local Language Clubs

If you want to physically meet other language learners, then a local club is going to be your best option. These will not be everywhere, and potentially have died out now due to the power of the internet.

However, you can still look in to it, depending on where you live, you might get lucky and find a local group that is for learners of the language you are trying to learn.

What Is The Best Type Of Person To Do A Language Exchange With?

What I’m about to explain might sound a bit wrong, but just hear me out, If you do this, you will get the best possible language exchange partner possible.

If you are a beginner, you need to find someone who is a not a beginner in learning your native language.

This might sound a little unfair, like you are trying to get out of your fair share of teaching, but it’s not that at all, there is a simple reason for this.

Why You Shouldn’t Talk To Other Beginner Language Learners

If you are both beginners, you get nowhere. It’s almost a waste of time.

Imagine you are an English speaker leaning Spanish. So you find a Spanish speaker learning English.

When they speak in Spanish you don’t really understand anything they are saying. This is fairly normal, you’re a beginner.

The issue begins when they then can’t explain anything to you. They don’t speak enough English to explain to you in English and well, we already know, you can’t understand any Spanish, so there is now a major communication issue.

We can try and switch it around, but the same things happen. They don’t really understand something in English.  You can only explain in English, which just confuses them further and you can’t even being to try and explain anything to them in Spanish as you’ve only learnt a few basic phrases.

You could argue that the only way around this is to not get a language partner until you have a fairly good grasp of your target language.  This will certainly work and as time goes on, you should be able to speak to anyone. When you’ve been learning a language for a while your skill and ability should get you by even when the other person has super basic English.

Talk To Someone With A Strong Level In Your Native Language

I strongly believe you should be talking to a language partner from very early in your journey. You will increase your skills in your target language very quickly if you do this.

However, the only way this will work is if you find someone who is already quite good at English. They can then explain to you what mistakes you’ve made, or teach you new things in English.

It might feel like you do not have anything to offer them in return, but you will be often surprised that you do.

They may be good at English, but they will certainly not be perfect. They will love having an actual conversation or just really drilling down on little things like getting confident with idioms. So they will still get a lot from your conversations.

Return The Favour

All I ask is that when you start getting good at your target language, you return the favour and find someone who is a total beginner in your native language.

It’s now your turn to be the more advanced learner. You can teach them your native language, while using their language to explain things.

Always remember what it was like when you first started and how lost you feel. Now you can find someone in that position and try and help them out. It’s only fair.    

How Do You Agree On How To Help Each Other As Language Exchange Partners?

There are no hard and fast rules with what you do as language exchange partners.

Maybe you just have a general conversation and that is enough of a practice, or maybe you test each other or ask each other questions about things you don’t understand.

At the end of the day, you are talking to another person. You can talk to each other in any way that works for you both.

You can flip back and forth between languages or you can set times where you only speak one. I’ve spoke to people where every day we swapped languages. I’ve also done it where we swap every couple of hours.

Then maybe the weirdest way is when I have just messaged in their language and they always replied in mine. It really doesn’t matter, so long as you are both happy and are both getting something from the arrangement then that is all that matters. 

Just be honest and upfront. If you want to practice a certain aspect, just ask your language partner if you can do that. They should be more than accommodating. Most times its just casual chatting and messaging and to be honest, it’s awesome. 

Basic Rules For Language Exchange Partners

Although there are no rules about how you help each other, there are some basic unwritten rules about how you treat each other.

• Let’s get one thing very clear. Language exchange apps are NOT dating sites. People are joining to get help with learning a language, not help with love.

At no point should you start treating these apps like dating apps. The second you feel that urge, delete the app and join tinder. Please!

I’m fairly certain every woman I have spoken to on a language exchange app has received some form of creepy behaviour in a message at least once. Which is totally unacceptable!  

• Treat your partner with respect and treat them as another human being who wants help with learning a language.

• You also need to remember that this is an online app, so although the person you may be speaking to is really nice, you don’t actually know them. You should just keep your basic online security in affect while using these apps.

Don’t just give your phone number or email out to anyone. The chances of being scammed on an app like this are low, but it’s not impossible. 99.99% of people are really genuine, but just remember you are talking to an internet stranger. 

• On a positive note, you may actually meet someone you become really good friends with and you may end up meeting them in real life.

Just take your time and get to know someone before you do anything like this. Always remember your internet safety.

(You can read more about – What Are The Benefits Of Having A Language Exchange Partner?)

Conclusion

Having a language exchange partner today is so easy to arrange and if you are not already doing this, you need to.

It is the easiest way to make friends with people who speak your new language and one of my favourite ways to practice.

The whole concept is just awesome and the fact that the internet has made it so easy is just incredible.

I hope you find many new best friends speaking to people from around the world.

(You can read more about – Frequently Asked Questions About – Language Exchange Partners)