Make Friends
The best way to practice what you’ve learned is to surround yourself with people who speak it natively. Making friends from a foreign country can help you become more connected with the culture because the more we learn about a culture, the more likely we are to be inspired to continue learning. These are a few apps to get you connected around the globe.
Hello Talk
This a great app for meeting people from EVERY country that speaks the language you’re trying to learn. It’s set up where you can see who’s online to chat, you can translate what they’re saying if you’re not sure, send voice texts, and they can correct you in order to help perfect your language skills. The people on this app are also trying to learn your native language as well so you can do the same for them. This is actually how I met a good friend of mine from Belgium and we got to meet in person while I was studying abroad. We’re still friends to this day, so you never know… you might make a long-term friend.
bumble bff
This is a great app if you’re looking to make friends in general, yet you can also connect with foreign expats near you. It’s mainly a matter of being able to go for it and have a conversation. This is how I met a friend of mine from France who told me she thought my French was better than her English. I also met someone from Brazil during the COV-ID 19 Pandemic, and another friend from Australia. You never know who’s in your area that speaks the language you want to learn, so don’t be afraid to say “hi”!
This same concept still applies from Bumble BFF, you can make a friend by simply saying “hi”. If you’re looking for international friends in particular you can search under different hashtags. I currently follow the hashtag #bonnesante (meaning ‘good health’) and #petitdejeuner (meaning ‘breakfast’) to meet people who like healthy living and breakfast food. I’m able to comment on other people’s posts and find out where the native speakers are if you don’t know where to begin. Also, it helps to include in your profile that you’re learning or can speak a particular language. That’s how a friend of mine reached out to ME! She found a tagged photo of mine, looked at my profile to find out I spoke French (her native language), lived in LA as well, and messaged me asking to hang out sometimes because of that. The more you know…
SMule
If you really love music and singing, then you might like this one. I kept seeing ads for this on YouTube, but then I actually tried it out and it’s pretty cool. This app allows you to find songs you love singing, you can record yourself singing them, post them, and watch and/or comment on other peoples’ recordings. You have the option to create groups if you want to find people who are fans of certain artists, do a duet, or group recording. Not only are you working on your pronunication and reading skills, but also having fun which is the most important part. Also if you’re really shy when it comes to singing with others, you don’t have to have the best voice because you’ll get over that real quick when you realize how much fun it is. Also if you download the app, join the group Learning Languages by Singing so we can all sing our favorite songs together!
Ablo
I recently found this app as a suggestion and ended up trying it out. It’s actually really fun because you get to basically “make a trip around the globe” because it matches you up with people around the globe and you get to chat with them. You can also video chat with them and there’s a translation feature in case you encounter someone who doesn’t speak your native language. After a few days of using it, I managed to make a friend from Columbia who didn’t know English (I’ll write a blog post on how to deal with that). I also met someone from the Ivory Coast and we chat in French! This is a great app for making friends all over the globe so if you’re a world traveler, you can generate a huge network of people before you get the chance to visit (once the pandemic is over of course).
Speaky
This is an app that popped up in my suggestions while searching for apps to meet native speakers to practice certain languages. It’s somewhat similar to HelloTalk, I like that you can add up to 4 languages that you speak and you can find all kinds of people around the world who are looking to practice your native language or even help you learn their native language.
As a disclaimer to anyone using these apps, please be aware that you are meeting complete strangers online, so I would advise you not to give away any personal information to anyone you don’t know.