Language learning can be daunting, but one of the most effective and rewarding strategies is a language exchange. By partnering with a native speaker of your target language, you gain the chance to practise conversational skills, learn cultural nuances, and develop fluency in a real-world setting.
From finding the ideal partner to structuring sessions for maximum benefit, we’ll cover everything you need to know to make your language exchange successful.
Featured Article
Language Exchange: How to Find the Perfect Partner
Language exchange is one of the most effective, affordable, and immersive ways to learn a language. By partnering with a native speaker of your target language, you can improve your conversational skills, learn cultural nuances, and gain real-world fluency.
Key Takeaways:
What It Is: A language exchange is a partnership where two people take turns practising each other’s native languages, providing mutual benefits and authentic communication practice.
How It Works: Sessions are usually split evenly between languages, with each partner correcting and guiding the other.
Why It Matters: It offers practical language use, personalised feedback, and deep cultural learning not found in textbooks or apps.
Language Learning Spotlight
The Best Alternatives to HelloTalk
Are you looking to learn languages using apps? If you’re someone who has used HelloTalk, but you’re not the biggest fan. So, the next best thing is to find an alternative.
Language Learning Tip
Young children don’t wait until they’ve mastered grammar before they start speaking — and neither should you. Embrace mistakes, speak early, and use simple, everyday language to express yourself.
Why it matters:
You build confidence and fluency faster by doing, not just studying.
Early speaking helps you think in the language, not translate in your head.
Mistakes become learning moments, just like they are for native kids.
Forget perfection. Start with “bad” grammar and basic words — that’s how real fluency begins.
Did You Know?
There’s a language in Mexico, Ayapaneco, that nearly went extinct because its last two speakers refused to talk to each other. Let’s hope they made up.
Once widely spoken in the region of Tabasco, Ayapaneco dwindled until only two elderly men remained fluent… but a decades-long feud kept them silent. Efforts have since been made to revive the language, but its survival teetered on human pride rather than ability.
Sometimes, saving a language isn’t just about words. It’s about relationships.
Join the Conversation
What’s your favourite example of how language reflects culture? Share your thoughts with our community on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.
Experts estimate that one language dies every two weeks, amounting to roughly 25–30 extinct languages each year.
If the current trend continues unchecked, linguists predict that 50–90% of the world’s languages could become extinct by the end of the 21st century.
— #Language Learners Hub (#@LanguageLHub)
5:40 PM • Jun 8, 2025