| Having a conversation with someone in English is a great experience for students of the language, especially if it is with a native speaker or someone with a higher level of ability than the student. Here are our top tips for finding people to speak English with, wherever you are. |  |
Find a language exchange - Most towns now have group language exchange meetings, or you can also search for an individual to meet up with. Try practising 30 minutes in your native language and 30 minutes in theirs for example. For more information, read our post on Language Exchanges: Where to find them, and how to use them
Meet with travellers - In general, most people travelling now use English as their common language when they are in groups. Couchsurfing.com is a website where people can offer their spare rooms (or sofas) to people travelling in their area. It also has many weekly events which anybody can go to, all over the world (particularly useful if you live in a place with quite a few tourists). Often these are just friendly meetings in bars or cafes, with a lot of English spoken. If you like the idea and have a spare bedroom you can also host people through it too - another chance to practise English.
Meet with English people living locally to you - Many places have communities of English people (or 'ex-pats') living within them - and if you involve yourself in these communities you will get a lot of English practice. Search for 'ex-pat' Facebook groups - 'MyTownName ex pats', or 'English in MyTownName' etc. A website that has got a lot more popularity recently is www.meetup.com too - this is a place for people to post meetings and events, which is especially popular among English speakers.
Students - If your town has a University it may be worth getting in contact with the Erasmus program to see what events they put on, as they will often be in English and there may be a lot of English speaking students.
Skype Lessons - If you want the chance to take a professional lesson from the comfort of your own home, check our the English Steps Skype Lessons page
Meet with travellers - In general, most people travelling now use English as their common language when they are in groups. Couchsurfing.com is a website where people can offer their spare rooms (or sofas) to people travelling in their area. It also has many weekly events which anybody can go to, all over the world (particularly useful if you live in a place with quite a few tourists). Often these are just friendly meetings in bars or cafes, with a lot of English spoken. If you like the idea and have a spare bedroom you can also host people through it too - another chance to practise English.
Meet with English people living locally to you - Many places have communities of English people (or 'ex-pats') living within them - and if you involve yourself in these communities you will get a lot of English practice. Search for 'ex-pat' Facebook groups - 'MyTownName ex pats', or 'English in MyTownName' etc. A website that has got a lot more popularity recently is www.meetup.com too - this is a place for people to post meetings and events, which is especially popular among English speakers.
Students - If your town has a University it may be worth getting in contact with the Erasmus program to see what events they put on, as they will often be in English and there may be a lot of English speaking students.
Skype Lessons - If you want the chance to take a professional lesson from the comfort of your own home, check our the English Steps Skype Lessons page
RSS Feed
