Friends from other countries. How to practice spoken English with native speakers for free

Friends from another country are good way expand your knowledge about the culture of various places on the planet, practice your knowledge foreign language, get a personal “guide” and just have a nice chat. How to make such acquaintances? Of course, in the era of communication on the Internet, everyone finds friends through it. We have selected the best apps for communicating with new people and meeting foreigners.

1. Meetup

With its help, when you find yourself in one of the foreign cities, you can find friends with similar interests. Here they do not meet in private, but gather together and have fun: visit different cafes, sporting events, organize hikes, bike rides, etc. It all depends on what you are interested in and what association you join. Thus, you can immediately meet a group of like-minded people or find just a couple of friends. In any case, you will have a good time and gain new communication experiences.

2.MeetMe

The service will help you find new people who share your interests and want to communicate right now. It's fun, friendly and free! The app has more than 100 million people from different countries, with whom you can video chat, text, exchange voice messages and broadcast live.

3. Bumble

This is a 3 in 1 app. Like other dating apps, it provides the opportunity to find a friend. And also make romantic acquaintances or business relationships around the world. There are more than 21 million registered users. If you have Bumble BFF mode enabled, you will only be able to search for friends. If you turn it off, you will be considered as a person for possible pairing. But on this site (if the liking matches), the girls write first, and they can only do this within 24 hours.

4. We3

The application is created exclusively for friendship, without any hint of a relationship. If you moved to another country and you don’t have enough friends and communication in the language in this place, connect the application. Using special technologies and a well-designed survey, 3 group chats with the most compatible people are selected for you. A survey of 150 factors, for example: personality traits, temperament, character, interests, hobbies, human values ​​and much more. But people will be of the same gender as you: either boys or girls. You will be able to see common features, interests and common goals. The peculiarity of this application for dating foreigners is that no one else except these people will see your profile.

5. Speaky

This application is designed specifically for language practice with foreign friends around the world. Here are collected speakers of Spanish, French, Chinese, German, Arabic and other 110 languages ​​with whom you can make pen pals and improve your skills. You will only need to select the language and your level. Next, the application will independently choose who exactly you would like to meet. In the application you can chat or exchange voice messages.

6. Friend

You can create your profile, tell about your hobbies, interests and views. And profiles from different parts of the world will be automatically selected for you, with at least one match. You can freely browse profiles, talk about your hobbies, and create events that other platform users can join. Such applications for dating foreigners provide a great opportunity to make a good pen pal.

7.REALU

The application positions itself as a lever for organizing real meetings. Because the majority of people who meet on the Internet hang out in this space for a long time and meet each other after a long period of time or never at all. If you have changed your job or want to acquire new hobbies and skills, make new friends through the REALU application and spend time together. The app specializes in finding people who are perfect for you based on your interests. Designed for people 18+.

8. SKOUT

With this dating app you can meet foreigners and connect with new people who are nearby or on the other side of the planet. You set the parameters by which you want to start the search (you can choose between men and women). Chat with new friends, give gifts, share photos, etc. You can log into the application using your Google or Facebook account.

I recently conducted an individual Skype consultation for one of the participants in the English Diet conversational English training. At the end of the conversation, Galina sadly remarked:

– Of course, I understand that the main thing in learning a language is practice, but where can I find English-speaking interlocutors if I live in a small town, far from enterprises where expats work, and from places where interesting for tourists? For training via Skype, native speakers charge from 20 dollars, for them this is the minimum rate, but for me it’s a lot of money. I really enjoy training with you, but I’m afraid to forget everything I learned during the training.

“Galina,” I answered, “we live in the 21st century!” There are several billion people in the world who speak English, and now almost everyone has a telephone or computer with Internet access. I'm sure you'll easily find someone to talk to.

- No, I won’t succeed. Who wants to talk to me? I don’t trust dating sites, where else can I find normal people for communication?

– Have you ever tried it? – I asked Galina.

“I don’t even want to waste time on this,” she said sharply.

We completed the consultation, but the sediment, as they say, remained.

And so I decided to give Galina and all my subscribers a small gift: record a lesson on how you can find an English-speaking interlocutor within an hour and talk with him on any topics that are interesting to you and him. I launched a video recording program and registered in real time on a language exchange site https://www.conversationexchange.com/. There I found a speaker of the British variant in English and talked with him for about half an hour. All together it took me less than two hours. When I cut out pauses and technical points, I got an interesting video in which:
the registration process on the language exchange site is described step by step;
a fragment of a conversation with a native speaker of British English is given;
are given practical advice on organizing and conducting such conversations and using them effectively to improve your English.

Below is a list of language exchange sites I like.

To successfully master a foreign language, it is necessary not only to cram it every day, but also to practice it wherever possible. Ideally, you need to communicate with living native speakers in real life, but this is a fantasy for many people. There is also a problem of time, and not everyone lives in Moscow or St. Petersburg, and not every foreigner will talk to you, especially for a long time. This problem is well solved by special chats on the Internet, where language exchange takes place. There you can talk by voice, text and even video, quickly change interlocutors comfortably while sitting in a chair covered with a blanket.

I've picked up some cool online chats to improve your language.

Online Chats

1. English-Russian Telegram chat. International chat for practicing English, where there are a lot of different English speakers. Telegram is a very good platform for this; it allows you to call and text at any convenient time. But there is a point that you must know the Russian language very well, because in exchange you will need to help the English a little in Russian.

There are also telegram chats for learning and practicing other languages ​​with native speakers:

• Spanish
• German
• French
• Italian

2. Babchat. Free chat for language learning and language exchange with a board for general messages, it is also possible to send private messages. A very friendly community, the majority came from Babbel when they closed the chat integrated into that system. Here you can simply talk about abstract topics and at the same time practice a foreign language with other students and native speakers.

3. Chat EnglishChats. An interesting chat, in addition to communication, you can also correct each other. There are Russian, Spanish, English chats, language games, chat for friendship, even chat internet radio. They have an interesting motto:

Chatting increases your knowledge, but makes you antisocial.

4. Lingo Stack. Text and voice chat with native speakers. There is an application for Android, public and private chats. Everything is very simple, without any problems.

Video and voice chats

1. Speaky - an individual chat where you can choose your interlocutor. When registering, you indicate the language you are learning and your native language, a little self-presentation, and your interests. After registration, a gallery of potential interlocutors will open, choose the one you like; You can talk to him in text chat, and if you become friends, voice and video chat will become available. There are applications for Android and iPhone.

2. Howdoyou - simple video, voice, text chat with natives, Britons and Americans to practice writing and speaking for a long time. There is also the opportunity to learn languages ​​other than English. As of February 2017, this service has more than 257 thousand members from 140 countries who speak more than 90 languages, a worthy audience.

3. Hello Pal is a fairly powerful, multifunctional application for voice communication. What is very important is the Russian interface. There is a search by their native or studied language, nationality, location, etc. What’s really cool and distinguishes it from other chats is that there are special phrase books and dictionaries with explanations and comments, designed specifically for online chat. You just choose any phrase, listen to how a professional announcer pronounces it, and repeat it; you can also modify ready-made phrases according to the situation.

4. Hellolingo on Skype - group Skype chat.

5. Discord language chats:

Hellolingers

HelloLingo Global Chat

Soiree Française

PT con Crei

Chat roulettes around the world

Chat roulette is video, text, voice chats with a random person, online communication with a random interlocutor without registration. Here are the TOP 5 most interesting:

1. Bazoocam - the best international, worldwide web chat in several languages ​​(including French, German, Portuguese, Spanish). If you’re embarrassed to start a conversation right away, then you can start by playing a simple game like Tetris together. You can also search who is in your city.

To start chatting with your partner, simply click the blue "Start" button. After this, you will be able to chat with a randomly selected stranger. Every time you click the "Next" button, another unknown person will appear on your screen and you can start chatting together.
When you join a chat, you go there to meet cool people and talk to them. Here's where bazoocam gets interesting: since people use webcams on this site, you can see who you're chatting with in a second. If you don't like the person you meet, just click "Next" again and you'll instantly be connected to another random stranger - that's the beauty of video chat!
Bazoocam includes a list of interesting features such as a geolocation algorithm that connects you with people who live near you. If you're having trouble starting a conversation with someone new, you can ease the tension by playing little one-on-one games with them, such as Tetris, tic-tac-toe, and 4 in a row. These games are also great for those times when you don't feel like talking about yourself and just want some company! Because Bazoocam is constantly moderated, the community here is much cooler and safer than its peers.
In addition to providing funny games To overcome inhibitions, Bazoocam is available in multiple languages ​​(such as French, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish) so you can communicate in your own language. native language or practice a foreign language! As the service strives to create an international community, multilingual versions allow people from all over the world to connect and gather on this site.
Because the people you meet may be cool, amazing, weird, boring, crazy, socially inept guys and chicks, charismatic guys and girls, or a whole host of other things, you get a lot of different experiences. There's never a dull moment on Bazoocam - every experience is new and unique depending on your luck. For these reasons, this type of chat is also called video chat, side chat, personal chat or random video chat, etc.
If you want to get to know bazoocam better and chat, we advise you:
1) Turn on the webcam.
2) Be original and fun, such as wearing a mask or costume, playing music or playing games with them, or having a fun status.

To learn any language, it is very important to practice speaking it, and it is even better when you can do this with a native speaker. That's why we've put together 4 apps that will help you find people to talk to who can help with colloquial speech, and at the same time learn about a foreign culture without leaving home.

One of the most popular international language platforms. If you live in a small city where there are no courses with native speakers or you are learning a rare language, then this application is your salvation. Have you just started learning a language? No problem! You can always find teachers with good Russian or Ukrainian who will explain everything simply and clearly. Well, if you want to communicate, then go to the section for finding interlocutors and talk to them about everything in the world.

What is Italki?

Essentially, Italki is a hybrid social network and marketplace. On the one hand, you can get to know interesting people, on the other hand, each fluent in language at the proper level, he can share knowledge for a small fee, earning money by tutoring. Win-win situation!

How does the learning process happen?

The best way to practice speech is to communicate with a native speaker. Are you afraid of conversations because you think you don’t know anything yet? Try a lesson with a teacher. Choose a tutor that suits your level of knowledge and price per lesson. Are you afraid that you will forget about class? The service will remind you of it with a notification on your phone and an email.

The prices here are quite affordable: you can find good teacher for $5-15/hour (depending on the language being studied). Lessons can be paid for one at a time, which is incredibly rare in online schools.

Do you want to become a teacher yourself? Fill out the form, tell us about yourself and after confirmation from the administration, you can already help others gnaw on the granite of science. You don’t even need a diploma to teach on Italki: the main thing is to be a fan of your craft.

Communication in Italki

As part of the service, you can either simply correspond with individuals who interest you, or maintain your own mini-blog or communicate on the forum. Free language practice is hidden in the “Community” section: here you will find articles, blogs, forums, a “questions/answers” ​​block and simply potential language partners.

Cons of the service: hidden language and cultural exchange section. Many people think that this is just another website with tutors.

Suitable for: those who want to work with a native speaker teacher, but there is no opportunity to do this in their city.

HelloTalk

An application for cultural exchange and foreign language teaching. Here, unlike the previous one, there is no need to pay teachers, since within HelloTalk anyone can become a mini-tutor. To start using the service, just upload your photo, indicate your native and target language and add basic information about yourself. It is noteworthy that you can attach audio to it - this feature is not available anywhere else.

Communication in HelloTalk

In the search column for interlocutors, you can indicate the age, country, city and languages ​​that the person speaks. It is noteworthy that you cannot specify gender here - the creators did this to avoid turning the service into a dating site.

It is clear that the application is tailored to the maximum for free training: HelloTalk has a built-in translator, and there is also the ability to correct the message of the interlocutor. He will see his mistakes and your edited version.

In addition to chats, the application has its own news feed, called “Moments”: here you will find posts from people who are learning your native language and/or communicating in the language you are learning.

The advantage of the service is that you can practice at any time: just find someone to talk to and chat with him. No boring lessons or strict schedule.

Cons of the service: a confusing premium subscription system, there are Pro, VIP and even Super VIP versions. In the free version, you can specify one language each as your native and target language. That is, if you are bilingual, you will have to choose some higher priority language as the “native” language for the service. Also, in the free version you cannot use the translator more than 15 times a day.

Suitable for: anyone who wants to start language practice, but for some reason is still embarrassed to do so. The service will also appeal to those who love to correct other people's speech: HelloTalk even encourages this.

Interpals

This service is the grandfather of modern social networks. Interpals appeared back in 1998, when Zuckerberg was just finishing school, and the creator of MySpace was working as an ordinary tester and copywriter. Therefore, you can find anyone here - over more than 20 years of the service’s existence, it has gathered a very diverse audience. If you want, talk to a Chilean animator, or if you want, talk to a student at an Ivy League university. It all depends on your interests.

Features of Interpals

Don’t want to communicate with residents of a certain country, or receive messages from users of a certain age category or gender? Interpals has a well-developed blacklist system - in addition to personal bans, you can prohibit people of a certain age, gender, and even country from writing. Girls will really like this feature, as it allows them to get rid of inappropriate advances in one fell swoop.

Interpals has long been not just a cultural exchange service, but a real social network with photo and video albums, profiles and groups. Everyone will find something for themselves here. Do you want to show that you came for language practice, and not new acquaintances? Select the desired purpose for visiting the site: by default, it will be displayed to everyone who visits your profile. There are 5 of them in total:

• friendship;
• language practice;
• mail friendship (yes, that's the one with envelopes and months of waiting for a response);
• flirting and relationships;
• meeting in real life.

Don't want to look for a needle in a haystack? Then chat on a local forum: it's a great way to practice developing your writing skills. Well, you can always switch from intra-forum communication to personal messages: this way you will know for sure that an interesting interlocutor will communicate with you.

Cons of the service: old-fashioned design. Interpals looks archaic, but behind such an unsightly outer shell hides a real diamond.

Suitable for: those who were looking for not just a language exchange service, but a real social network for like-minded people. Whatever the interests of local users, they all have one thing in common: a sincere desire to learn foreign languages ​​and learn as much as possible about foreign cultures.

MeetUp

Do you travel often and want to improve your language proficiency by communicating with native speakers? Register on MeetUP: here you can follow thematic events, lectures and meetings that are taking place or will take place during a certain period in the city of interest.

Features of MeetUp

The service was created after the September 11 tragedy: it was then that the developers saw how people from different cities and even countries were ready to unite for a common goal. Over time, MeetUp has become an assistant in the de-virtualization of people around the world. Thanks to the service, people can once again meet people offline, but at the same time be sure that they are communicating with like-minded people.

How does Meetup work?

Register and indicate your city and area of ​​interest. MeetUp will then recommend groups and events that may be of interest to you. Are you traveling to another country and want to get to know the local people better? Add the desired city to the search and all potentially interesting options will be displayed.

After you have found an event you are interested in, send a request to be added to the list of participants and wait for approval from the administrator.

In the Explore tab you will find upcoming events and groups in the city of interest.

Disadvantages of the service: sometimes you have to wait several days for confirmation for an event. Don't rely too much on the app if you're looking for plans for the evening.

Suitable for: Travel lovers. With MeetUp you'll always find something to do in a new city, even if you don't know anything about it.

How to find interlocutors on language social networks?

To find interesting personalities who are native speakers of English, you will need to try. That is, they are, but so many people write to them that they physically do not have time to respond to everyone.

Therefore, do not be afraid to communicate with foreigners just like you - sometimes they know the language no worse than native speakers. Tested for myself: once on one of these sites, fate brought me together with an American of Mexican origin, who, in addition to English and Spanish, knew Italian and Russian very well. Also, language social networks once brought me together with an Indonesian engineer who knows English almost perfectly and is gradually learning Dutch and Ukrainian. Never judge a book by its cover, otherwise you risk missing a diamond in the rough.

Why shouldn’t you be afraid of communicating in a foreign language?

Don’t be afraid to communicate with native speakers: they calmly respond to typos. Moreover, they themselves neglect many rules: remember the same “mouse creeping” “уъ” or the Albanian language. In other countries, native speakers also distort words and entire sentences! If you meet a person who communicates with you in an academic language, then be 99.9% sure that this is the same foreigner, just hiding under a false flag.

Don’t be afraid to write first - and everything will work out! At first you will be afraid of correspondence and check every message with a dictionary, but gradually you will become so comfortable that you will begin to invite new friends to your place and go to them yourself. You will be surprised how everyone has the same joys and sorrows. It is sites like this that help erase mental boundaries.

Surely every person learning English has heard this advice: The best way mastering a language means communicating with its native speakers. What to do if you don’t know English people and a trip to America is not in your immediate plans? Thanks to the Internet, you can immerse yourself in an English-speaking environment without leaving home. Language exchange sites can help you with this.

These sites for communicating with native speakers are designed so that native speakers different languages could help each other in their study. As a rule, to get started you need to register and describe yourself and your interests a little in your profile. Then you can find English-speaking users interested in learning Russian and write messages to them inviting them to meet and chat in real time.

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A community of enthusiasts: teachers, students and simply English lovers

This community consists of enthusiasts: teachers, students and simply lovers of English as a native or foreign language. You can communicate with other users who will check the exercises you have completed and explain all the intricacies of using various constructions. You can also record an audio file so that a native English speaker can comment on your pronunciation and advise you on how to improve it. Active users of the site receive points and medals for completing tasks, which is an additional motivation for those who like to compete.

A site for personal communication between people from all over the world

This site connects people from all over the world, providing them with the opportunity to communicate personally, participate in group discussions and use various multimedia materials. In addition, users can upload their own materials to the site and give access to them.

3. Voice chat is the main tool for developing speaking skills

Like many similar sites, here you need to register and, using the search, choose a partner to communicate in Skype or Windows Messenger. But there is one more unusual advantage. Thanks to this resource, you will have the opportunity not only to chat with other users, but also to learn about native speakers who live in your city and are ready to communicate “face to face”. Once you meet online, you can meet in a public place and continue your mutual learning.

Practice oral speech with native speakers will certainly benefit any English learner. If you have already reached the Pre-intermediate level, you should definitely give it a try. You will not only improve your listening and speaking skills, but also gain confidence in your abilities, and at the same time make new friends.

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