Vannucci
Why is so hard to find someone to talk on this app? Anyone share with me the feeling that this app is worst than dating apps to find someone to talk? 
Apr 17, 2019 12:37 AM
Comments · 5
9

I have been on this website for 1.5 years and I know exactly what you are talking about.  Finding language partners is hard for a variety of reasons.

Just like how people sign up for a gym membership, and pay for the gym, but never actually go to exercise...it's the same here.  A lot of people say that they want to learn a language, and they feel better when they join the website, but when it is time to actually practice with a stranger, they change their minds.

With language exchanges, it is also voluntary for both sides.  Because neither person is paying money for a lesson, they feel no obligation to do the language exchange.  They change the time / date frequently.

Finally, a lot of women receive tons of messages from guys who want to date them, and they are tired of it.  And most guys want to find a girl for language exchange, not a guy.  So basically, both girls and guys don't want a guy.

My suggestion is just to send messages to tons of people (30+ or 40+), and make it interesting and show that you are serious about language exchange.  Or, you can pay for lessons, which is what I do most of the time.

Right now, I do a mixture of both language exchange and paid lessons.  I found 3-4 teachers that I really like, and 3-4 language exchange partners who are serious enough that they actually video-call me to practice 1-2x per week.  It took some time and patience, though.


April 17, 2019
6
I found this site when I wanted to learn Mandarin. When I joined I was sent many invitations to be a language partner, mostly from people in China. I talked with several a few times and several of them stopped responding to me, but one stayed with me and we have been chatting weekly for over a year now (along with a paid tutor). Truthfully, one or two steady language partners are usually enough, so I decline any more invitations simply because I don't have the time for another person. Some languages are more in demand than others and people who speak the popular ones can get overwhelmed and not want additional partners.
April 17, 2019
3
Most of people are boring, can't support a discussion or suggest a topic. Someone use the app for dating, it's really challenging to find anyone to practice.
April 17, 2019
1

Here is a helpful discussion about finding partners.

https://www.italki.com/discussion/106909

April 17, 2019
1

Ask yourself if your profile looks interesting to other people and choose you to be a language partner.

April 17, 2019