Ro's Recz

If you have ever tired learning a language, oftentimes the most difficult thing to do is to practice speaking consistently. Unless you have people around you who speak the language and are willing to practice, it is difficult to find ways to improve your speaking skills.

One app that I have found helpful for learning languages is Tandem, which is a simple idea that works well. When you create a Tandem profile, you input what languages you speak fluently and what languages you are trying to learn; from there, you can match with people who have the exact opposite preferences (for example, if you are learning English and speak Japanese, you will get matched with someone who speaks English and is learning Japanese). While there has to be some sort of language level already established on both sides (or else you wouldn’t be able to communicate at all), it is a really helpful tool.

Depending on the languages you are learning and the languages you already speak, it can be very easy or very challenging to find people with the same learning goals (obviously the more popular the language, the easier it will be to find matches). Even if you can only find a couple people with the same preferences as yourself though, it can still be a helpful way to practice the language!

Tandem Recommendation Rating: 5

1: Something worth checking out if you have time

2: Something that is a hit for some people, but not a must for everyone

3: Something worth prioritizing if interested

4: Something worth making time to check out

5: An absolute home run, worth going out of your way for