Learning a new language can be difficult but it doesn’t have to be. HelloTalk is an awesome new travel app that makes learning a new language fun and easy! HelloTalk takes a different approach to learning a new language than just memorizing words and phrases. It connects you directly with native speakers and enables you to text and speak with them, all from your phone. What sets HelloTalk apart from other language-learning apps on the market is its bustling community of millions of users. The best part is, it’s free and available for IOS and Android! You’ll be interacting with locals like a pro in no time!
1. It’s a cultural exchange. You can make a new friend, ask them about their country, local food, where they recommend to visit, learn local music, insider tips, Etc. It’s a valuable community if you’re a traveler looking to learn a new language and gain a more local experience. It even shows you the local time where your partner lives!
2. You have the option to draw pictures to communicate what you’re trying to say. I have found this particularly helpful through the years to communicate with people who speak a different language than I do. Not only is it practical, it takes the boring out of learning a new language-you can really have a lot of fun with it!
3. It has a search function where you can filter to find someone who lives close to you who is interested in a language exchange. It would be great to grab a coffee, just make sure that you check them out on social media first, meet during the day in public, drive yourself there and make sure to tell someone that you trust the details of your plans.
4. If you use it for Japanese, for instance, you can use the “transliteration” option when a native speaker writes to you in Japanese kanji characters, to instantly see the pinyin (romanized pronunciation). I wish that I knew about this before I went to Tokyo for three weeks!
5. The app is so intuitive that you can turn on a mode that times 5 minutes or 500 characters and then suggests that you switch languages. This way you can avoid the awkwardness of bringing it up with your partner.
6. You can just when you fix the mistakes your partner has made, the app highlights them separately allowing you to focus on the conversation. You can also save the corrections you have been give in the notepad within the app so you can review them later. This allows even novice users to pick up the language they want easily.
7. They have VoIP (Voice over IP). This means you will be able to make and receive free calls to/from your trusted language-learning partners, with great sound quality. This way you don’t need to switch between apps. It’s like having a language teacher with you in your pocket whenever you want!
8. You have the option to save messages on a notepad so that you can study them later!
9. The HelloTalk app has a ton of features! It has grammar correction, text-to-voice, voice-to-text, direct translation and tons more. When you first open the app all of the options can feel overwhelming, the best way to get used to it is to dive right in, add some new language partners and start chatting. The rest will come the more you talk. You can also learn new ways to learn and teach from your language partner if they have had the app longer than you.
10. You can send photos, prerecorded audio and they even have their own sets of emojis!