The internet and books to learn Spanish are full of materials to memorize vocabulary and grammar, as well as reading and listening exercises. However, sometimes it’s difficult to find resources to practice speaking. and there’re moments in which we’re the ones who put this skill aside, and forget to practice.
Why don’t we practice the speaking skill?
There are many reasons to forget about our oral expression, one of the most common ones is the belief if we study enough grammar and vocabulary, the day in which we find ourselves speaking fluently will arrive. There are other people who, on the other hand, feel very insecure and panic when talking to natives and they think they’re not ready.
Moreover, we also have a category of students who think it’s not possible to practice Spanish with native speakers if you don’t live in a Hispanic country. All of these reasons are excuses that we make for ourselves, but it’s never too late to start improving our verbal fluency in Spanish.
How to improve your fluency?
Practicing speaking from home is possible, no matter if you don’t have people nearby to practice with, or even if you’re too shy to start a conversation. In the following paragraphs, we’re going to analyze 2 resources that will help you find native speakers to practice with, these are Tandem and HelloTalk, you can download them on your phone and start practicing in no time.
Tandem parties
What is Tandem?
Tandem is a language exchange app, in which you can find people who’re native speakers of the language you’re learning and that also need to practice your mother tongue.
One of the advantages of Tandem is that you can chat with different people, and you can help your friends correcting them when necessary.
You can also use the translator when you need it, or instead of writing you can send an audio. You can have video calls as well.
What does Tandem Fiestas consist of?
One of the most interesting options is that you can join available parties where there are people who are practicing a specific language.
Sometimes these parties propose very specific topics such as religion, and cultural information about a country. In other cases there is no specific topic.
Once you join, it’s up to you whether to listen and react, or be part of the conversation if you feel comfortable.
Steps for using Tandem and Tandem Fiestas
- Download the Tandem application from your cell phone.
- Register for free and specify which languages you know and which ones you are learning.
- Go to the»Community» section if you want to find just one person to practice with.
- Go to the «Parties» section if you want to practice with more people.
- Choose your learning language.
- Look at the available parties, the name of them and the number of people in it.
- Choose the party you are interested in and select the «Join Party Live» option.
- Once you’re in the room, you can react and raise your hand to speak, if you want.
- Select the «Leave the party» option when you want to leave.
Advantages
- You can learn about their cultures.
- You help other people.
- You can make very good friends.
- It’s free.
- It’s an easy way to lose fear when speaking with natives.
- You can leave reviews and see what they think of you.
- You will hear natives speaking normal speed and using slang.
Disadvantages
- Sometimes there are people who just want to hit on you.
- The reply time might be too long.
- At the begginning, you may feel intimate with natives using idiomatic expressions.
Hello Talk
What’s Hello Talk?
This app is similar to Tandem in terms of how to interact with native speakers. You have the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, and go to the «Live» option with two subdivisions.
The first is «live» where you can decide if you want to join a class where a teacher explains a topic and you participate through chat, and the second option is «voice» in which you join a group to listen, comment I to speak.
Steps for using Hello Talk
- Download the Hello Talk app from your store.
- Complete your basic information (name, nationality, language you learn…)
- If you want to start talking to someone, go to the «Connect» section, and choose someone to talk to.
- Go to the «Live» section to see what classes are currently available and in what languages.
- If you want to practice conversation with a group of people, choose «voice», and select the topic and language that interests you the most.
- Once inside, you decide to type in the chat box, raise your hand to speak, or just listen.
Advantages
- It’s free.
- The application has material to practice vocabulary.
- You can share photos and moments.
- You make new friends.
- You’ll be able to hear different accents.
- You can have simple and/or deep conversations, it’s up to you.
- In the «Live» section an expert will give you advice about languages.
Disadvantages
- Sometimes you’ll find people who are not as committed as you are.
- You may feel nervous when facing a real conversation with a native speaker.
- Most of the classes and conversation groups are for practicing English.
Conclusions
Tandem parties and Hello Talk live are free and very interesting resources to practice languages while having fun. It’s really difficult to decide which is better because both have particularities. Still, what makes them such great resources is the ability to find people of almost any language without spending a single penny.
Once you start using any of them, you’ll see how easily and quickly you make progress in Spanish, it’s just a matter of feel encouraged to speak and interact with other learners. So go ahead and download one and start improving your speaking skills in Spanish.