If you love to travel, you know that the best way to experience the culture and the community is to learn their language. But spending money on foreign language classes can be daunting and time-consuming, and there’s only so much a class can teach you. This is how language exchange apps can help you.
What is a language exchange?
Language exchange is a learning language method focused on the experience of shared language by learning partners who are speakers of different languages. This is normally accomplished by two native speakers who teach each other their native language.
Language exchange apps help connect you with native speakers worldwide to help you learn more about the language you’re aiming for. The point of learning a language is to express yourself with ease, and while proper classes can help with formal communication, it does make a difference when you can speak like a local.
But there is more to language exchange apps than just learning a new language. Whether from a language exchange app or from online English courses, here are other ways language exchange apps can benefit you.
It builds your confidence.
Learning how to speak a new language can be very nerve-wracking. The idea of making a mistake can be off-putting to some individuals. This is why most people are wary of taking a formal class. When your mistakes are graded, it can put unnecessary pressure on students to make fewer mistakes, and that unnecessary pressure discourages people from learning new languages.
When you download a language exchange app, it connects you with a partner who wants to learn your language. Since both of you are on equal footing as novices in a new language, it takes away that awkwardness and fear of making mistakes. There are no grades involved, just two people from different parts of the globe trying to learn from each other.
This is especially helpful for people who want to learn English as a second language. While it is widely spoken in most of the world, English is known to be the hardest one of the languages to learn. English courses online are helpful, but there is a difference when you learn from a class, and you learn from a friend. Your new-found friends also help you on how to improve pronunciation skills in English.
Make friends easier!
Speaking of friends, because language exchange apps connect you with people all across the world aiming for the same goal, it’s not hard to find a friend. The best language exchange apps offer a one-on-one connection with another person, and that intimate connection can blossom into a long-term friendship.
Since there is much emphasis on individual work such as exams, assignments, and graded recitations, English courses online can often feel very isolating and lonely. Downloading a language exchange app connects you with native speakers to help you engage in a casual learning experience unique to this medium.
Have a better learning experience!
Learning verb tenses, vocabulary, and making passages are important when trying to learn a new language. But either done alone or in a class, it can feel dull, boring, and uninteresting. Because both you and your language exchange partner aim to learn from each other, and there are no grades or exams to pressure you, both learnings become a fun experience.
There is a dynamic sense of learning a new language when you engage in an actual conversation with a native speaker rather than just reading words off a page. And because you’re learning a new language with a friend, there is a safe learning environment where you can comfortably grow and explore without fear of making mistakes.
Think back to when you started learning how to speak your mother tongue. Did you learn how to speak it through a book or an exam? Didn’t you learn how to speak the language through constant practice through conversation? The same is true for learning a new language. Language exchange apps are the best way on how to improve pronunciation skills in English.
Learn new cultures.
Language is one way a culture manifests itself, and when you learn a language, you are inadvertently engaging in a new culture. As you interact more with your partner, both of you act as representatives of each other’s cultures, and you offer each other a window into each other’s customs and traditions.
Not only are you engaging in a language exchange but also a cultural exchange of sorts. The best language exchange apps connect you to a wider world to experience their culture as you learn their language. In addition, it’s also a way for you to figure out how to improve pronunciation skills in English.
Finding The Right Partner
To make the most out of your language exchange experience, it is key that you find the right language exchange partner for you. This makes learning the language less intimidating and better for both of you. This may take some time and effort, but some of the best language exchange apps facilitate this leg of the journey for you.
While English online courses are helpful to some degree, language exchange apps are a great supplement to learn languages and cultures from a safe and comfortable environment free from judgment and fear. Learning a new language is not easy, and we hope that by getting a new friend along the way and seeing the practicality of your lessons, we can make this process easier for you.