Learning a Language: HelloTalk!

Learning new languages can be really hard. Especially when you don’t have the opportunity to practice that much. Learning Chinese obviously can be easier to practice while living in China, but other languages are not as easy. So, I take Spanish at school and I wanted to get more practice because it’s difficult to do so in China.

In order to do this, I found a phone app called HelloTalk and the sole purpose of it is to give language learners an outlet to practice with native speakers and to be able to correct them. It is more for those who are already learning a language, than those who only want to learn. The app was designed with this in mind and so there are some features that make it interesting. Firstly, you can input your native language, which you essentially become a “teacher” of. Then you put in which language you want to learn and the level at which you are at. Here’s what it looks like.

There is also a premium option on the app and for a certain fee for a month, year, or indefinitely, you can get access to more features. If you pay for premium you can add more native and learning languages. For free, you can only ‘teach’ one language and learn one language.

Also, there are some other features that separate this app from any other casual chatting apps like WeChat. For example, you can choose to directly translate, correct or listen to the other person’s message, which is often not an option on other apps. Using these features, learning languages can be made easier and making corrections can be made less awkward.

In this app, you can connect with people who are native speakers in the language you are learning. You can choose to chat with “best pairings,” those closest to you, connected users, or based off teaching points. You can simply follow or message other users. In addition to chatting, HelloTalk also has a “moments” section, very similar to WeChat, in which you can post things and practice your language. Others can also correct your captions if needed.

Just to clarify, the people you chat with are strangers, which means that the app is seemingly unsafe. But, in my experience, everyone on the app is truly only there to learn languages and make friends – so, I wouldn’t worry.

If you are trying to practice a language, using the app HelloTalk could be a good option for you!