You MUST register for the event to participate. Click this link to register. We will then send you the link to your email. If you have any issues please email us.
The first event is free then participants are expected to contribute (you decide how much). Payment can be through the registration form with a credit/debit card or via PayPal. Contributions are used to try cover the costs of the events.
The event take place every Monday at 6.15pm (Irish time).
Check your time zone before participating, some time zones are on our homepage here.
The event is hosted on Zoom. Once you have registered you will be emailed the event link.
Register here.
You can use a phone, tablet or computer as long as they have a good internet connection and camera.
Yes, we ask all participants to use their cameras for the duration of the event. It makes for a more comfortable experience for everyone. If someone in your group is not using their camera please let us know.
If you have earphones, please use them. They ensure good sound quality for your conversations. They are not essential to take part.
You are placed in small groups with native speakers of your target language. You speak 10 minutes of your fluent language, 10 minutes of your target language then we change your group. We notify you when to ‘Change Language’ and when we do a ‘Position Change’. It is very important that participants stick to our structure.
This depends on who registers for the event. There are usually native speakers of English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Mandarin, Arabic, Russian, Korean and Irish at our events and many more depending on who shows up. Feel free to ask us (onlinelanguageexchange@gmail.com) if you have further questions about which languages we have.
Yes, we will place you in a group based on the language preferences you choose during registration. If you want to change groups during the event just let the host know.
As long as you are fluent in the language you are exchanging for your target language that is ok. Please do not say you are fluent unless you are confident and comfortable with the language.
We have a thriving language learning community with people connecting from all over the world. The reasons people learn languages in general are vast such as travel, relationships, culture, business, studies, etc so we have a big mix of ages, nationalities, cultures, levels etc but all have common interest in language learning, interesting conversations and helping each other. We connect people across time zones, language barriers, closed borders, stereotypes, cultures, etc. So expect lots of cross cultural conversations. The community is full of people who regularly attend and have made lots of friends around the world. There are so many social and educational benefits.
Check out our instagram here to see some photos from the event.
Occasionally we will not have native speakers of particular languages. In this case, you will be told which other language groups we have to see if you want to participate. We do not guarantee there will be a native speaker of your target language.
We do not set conversation topics for the events but we do a poll at the beginning to give people ideas to talk about. We just ask that everyone respects, supports and encourages each other.
We do not divide participants by levels. As the event is dynamic you will meet lots of different people with different levels, accents, cultures etc. All levels are welcome to join from beginner to fluent. We aim for progress over perfection, mistakes are welcome.
1 hour and 45 minutes. We organise the groups during the opening 15 minutes and explain how the event works then send everyone to their language groups for 1 hour and 30 minutes. We bring everyone back together at the end for a de-brief and some fun!
Ideally yes but if you have to arrive late or leave early that is ok.
The event is for adults over 18 years old.
We have a very large range of ages connecting at each event from 18 to over 65 years old. Age is only a number for us!
We sometimes take photos and videos at the events that may be used for promotional purposes. If you do not want to be photographed or videoed, that is not a problem at all, just let us know at the beginning of the event.
Please report any uncomfortable experiences to the hosts immediately. We always have a team member in the Main Area too who will help you. Any form of harassment will not be tolerated.
We ensure the events are a safe place to practice languages and meet people. Participants must register, use their camera, display their name and adhere to our community rules and norms. We have not had any cases of harassment and the participants respect each other. As you are in small groups there is strength in numbers as opposed to one-to-one conversations.
It’s a supportive and encouraging environment where you can get more confident and comfortable having real conversations in your target language. Mistakes are welcome and there is no evaluation or pressure. We aim for progress over perfection. You will see it as time well spent and get that feel good factor. You can relax, have fun and enjoy the language learning online experience.
Check out our reviews page and some feedback on google and facebook page.