Language exchange guides
Practical guides to language exchange, pen pals and dating across countries: how to find a partner, what to write first, how to correct each other and how to stay safe.
Getting started
Getting startedHow to find a language exchange partner (and keep it going past the first week)Look for a native speaker of the language you’re learning who is learning yours, at a similar level, and who wants the same kind of contact as you. Then write a specific first message, agree on a 50/50 split and correct each other briefly: that is what keeps an exchange going past the first week.Getting startedWhat’s my language level? A 5-minute test with no grammarThis test has no grammar, only real-life situations: understanding a voice message, writing to your landlord, arguing about where it’s better to live. In five minutes it shows your level on the A1–C2 scale, separately for understanding, writing and speaking, and tells you which level to put on your profile.
Practice
Dating and safety
Dating and safetyCouples with different native languages: how to talk, argue and keep love from turning into a lessonIf your shared language is one partner’s native language, it’s never shared equally: whoever speaks it natively is faster, more precise and stronger in an argument, while the other person is simply worn out by the evening. Simple agreements help: slow down when you argue, let each other switch to your own languages, don’t correct mistakes in the middle of a row, and decide honestly who teaches whom, and when.Dating and safetyLanguage exchange and dating: how to say what you want, and stay safeIt can, if both people want it and say so: most language-exchange apps forbid dating, so use a place where your goal is visible on your profile, such as Date&Learn. Be clear about what you want, take “no” as an answer, never send money and meet only in public places.