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Russian ResourcesMy Language Exchange: Ancient Site But Still Great (Review)
Written byDonovan NagelDonovan NagelTeacher, translator, polyglot🎓 B.A., Theology, Australian College of Theology, NSW🎓 M.A., Applied Linguistics, University of New England, NSW
Applied Linguistics graduate, teacher and translator. Founder of The Mezzofanti Guild and Talk In Arabic.- Read time2 mins
- Comments3
- Excellent way to meet other language learners and penpals
- Millions of native speakers to connect with
- Chat companion with lesson plans
- Costs almost nothing for premium
- Ancient website
MyLanguageExchange.com is over two decades old and has barely changed in that time, yet surprisingly still offers great value for finding other language learners to connect or 'penpal' with. It may also be the only language exchange site that facilitates the meeting and the actual structure of the conversation via pre-made lesson plans.
MyLanguageExchange.com was the very first language learning website I ever used, all the way back in high school two decades ago. 😊
After all this time, the website is going strong with an active community of over 3 million users - it’s grown a lot since then yet oddly still hung on to its primitive platform/design.
True story: One of the very first language exchange ‘penpals’ I met on the My Language Exchange website was a Russian guy from Stavropol (I had a brief fascination with Russian long before I took it up seriously many years later). We kept in touch for a long time by written letter (I still have his handwritten letters and photos he sent me).
As my regular readers know, I ended up moving to Russia in my early thirties where I became fluent in Russian, and finally had the chance to go stay with him in Moscow.
One of the best experiences I’ve ever had and I credit My Language Exchange for making it happen. 😊
The general concept of the site is quite simple: you create a profile with your language preferences, you browse the list of native speakers, and you connect by email.
In that regard, it’s not much different to italki (read review).
Where it does differ is that My Language Exchange provides structure to your online chatting through what they call a Chat Companion and a preferred methodology referred to as the Cormier method (devised by CELM). Online chat sessions are done in small groups and timed carefully.
Of course, none of this is actually necessary and you can use the platform simply to meet the right native speakers.
One thing that’s great about this site is that because it’s mostly free, it attracts native speakers from obscure parts of the world who may speak a minority language that you can’t find anywhere else.
The premium pricing enables you to initiate contact (that’s the primary benefit), otherwise you’re restricted to receiving messages only.
Overall, MyLanguageExchange.com is still a really handy site for making friends and participating in group language exchanges.
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Donovan Nagel - B. Th, MA AppLing
I'm an Applied Linguistics graduate, teacher and translator with a passion for language learning (especially Arabic).
3 COMMENTS
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Starry Skies
If I could give this site -5 stars review, I would!
I tried to join it, created a profile and waited until someone will approve it. Well, they didn’t. They said that the context of my page was going against their (the person who emailed back to me) views. So, if they disagree with something I said, they simply censored me and cancelled me! How about that for democratic ways of thinking and free speech, huh?!
The conclusion is simple: we live in a cancelling culture. Whoever doesn’t like you or what you have to say, they feel free to block you or delete your account.
John Walker
It’s complete trash. A site where you have to pay just to send a message is garbage and there’s no reason to use it whatsoever when multiple good alternatives exist like conversationexchange, language.exchange, etc.
It’s the complete outlier where you can’t even send a message or even put your messaging program ID in your profile, forcing you to sign up for a paid membership where other websites don’t. Why on earth would anyone use it?
Capn Jimbo
This was a wonderful suggestion, thank you. Based on your article I joined the free version. This is a wonderful resource with many other learning articles and opportunities. But for me I joined specifically to find a Spanish/English exchange with just one regular partner.
The website is very much like a Craiglist for language exchange. I posted my details and exact needs, and can search the other profiles and listings for other people who are currently looking. I am moving to Mexico City, so my listing and profile states my interest for an exchange from that city. I love the fact that I can list my interests in my profile, and check the profile of others to find a partner that has similar interests - in my case food, sports, and music - as I believe that finding someone with similar interests will be of great value.
Thanks again for your site - truly a wonderful and comprehensive resource . Your efforts are much appreciateed.