I don't know how it is for native speakers of other languages, but I'm English and I get a lot of requests on a daily basis to be language partners. It's impossible to reply to everybody or to hold conversations with lots of people simultaneously.

Having said that, I do know that it's possible to learn English this way. I'll give you an example.. I started talking to someone from Russia (a doctor) back in October. It was quite difficult at first to hold a conversation for any great length due to the fact that their English was pretty much non-existent. But it got better and better, I could see the differences between the way we communicated at the start and the way we do now. To cut a long story short, this person will be taking the IELTS soon and is planning on moving to the U.K. So it is possible, but I think it's important to find someone whom you can chat with on a daily basis.

I think the problem many of you have is that maybe there's just more people wanting to learn English than there are native English speakers.

Hi!

I have to agree with Graeme. I too am a native English speaker, and I get too many requests to count. It would really be impossible for me to accommodate them all with my own time constraints (work, grad school, learning Spanish, etc.). I am a community tutor, and am more than happy to help within that role. However, I found that language exchange wasn't the best fit for me.

As a Spanish learner myself, I actually prefer to set-up lessons with community tutors and teachers. Though I have to invest a little money, the lesson is focused on me (rather than both languages and participants) and the tutor is better equipped at helping me when I'm stuck or correcting me when I'm wrong than the language partners I have worked with. Additionally, I can rely on them to come up with conversational topics rather than trying to force a conversation with someone I just met, which as an introvert, I find very helpful. I currently do two lessons per week: one with a tutor and one with a teacher. It's great!

Actually, it's not easy to find a native English speaker who would like to help :D

Maybe if you're a native speaker of a language which he is learning , only . 

For me as an Arabic native , I didn't find many partners .. 

Most of them was learning other languages or wanna pass their time so, we couldn't continue .. also, there is different zone problem which is the main problem , in my opinion .

Actually I found some wonderful American friends here who helped me learn English. They are my great away friends now and we talk with each other every now and then. It is almost two years on italki and I can say that they are unrepeatable. 

Honestly, they themselves messaged me and I accepted. Always remember that how people treat you depends on how you behave. We are all from different countries and we do not know each other, so I always try to show the real me.

But if you look for some native English speakers who are willing to learn your mother tongue, you have a better chance.

Good Luck