Go Postal! 9 of the Best Websites to Find a Foreign Language Penpal

Go Postal! 9 of the Best Websites to Find a Foreign Language Penpal Go Postal! 9 of the Best Websites to Find a Foreign Language Penpal You know, they say  the world is getting smaller and smaller.Its a small world after allâ€"and thanks to this, its an excellent time to be a language learner.The truth is, were all being brought closer together by our modern technology.With the Internet, you  quite  literally have the world at your fingertips!Youve got  immediate access to nearly anything that strikes your fancy with the click of a button: Clothes, food, music, art, science, dance and, of course, people.You obviously  already know that there are countless social media sites and platforms that connect us with people from all  around the world.  We can speak to anyone we want, anywhere we want, at pretty much any time we want.Because of this, the foreign language penpal community is booming.New friendships across the globe are forged daily, due to  the high demand for  online language exchange. For language learners, this is nothing less than amazing. Why Should You Find a Foreign Language Penpal?If youre  learning a new language, or if you just want to perfect the oneâ€"or manyâ€"that youve been practicing for a while,  you should be jumping all over this.Why?Because, maybe, other than the small issue of time zones, which can easily be overcome, theres absolutely  no downside to  having a foreign penpal.Having regular communication with a native speaker of your target language will do wonders for your progress. Even if you end up corresponding with another learner whos more advanced or fluent, theres a lot to be gained from this interaction.With this sort of interaction, youll get more out of learning programs and authentic media like the kind on FluentU. FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like news, music videos, movie trailers and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons. Learning language in context provided by authentic media is extremely beneficial, and youll only learn faster if you actually talk to someone about the subjects and topics youre currently studying. Youll have someone to correct your mistakes.  Ask your penpal to casually make note of any significant errors, or ask them to really go crazy and do a deep edit, leaving little markings and notes all over your writing.Youll be able to pick up and retain all of those little nuanced, colloquial phrases that throw us for a loop when were learning on our own, and especially when were learning with a formal method of instruction like a classroom or textbook. Those often leave out more informal language, which is necessary for communicating with natives.Its as close to  full-on immersion as youll get without having to pick up and move to a foreign country. In some ways, it can even be better than immersion.Dont get me wrong.  Obviously, living among the speakers of your target  language is going to shoot you light-years forward in your progress, but its not necessarily going to be a  personalized experience all the time. Strangers could certainly  become good friends or language exchange partners of yours someday, but the people you bump into on the street dont always have the time or desire to  really  listen to you and teach youâ€"not like a penpal would.So, rather than dealing with people in the streets who just want you to get to the point, you can have a  penpal whos there to support you as you learn and help you back up when you  stumble and fall through  the language learning process.The other fringe benefit to having a penpal is right there in the name. The pal. Some would argue that its the best benefit of them all. In the process of learning, youll form a bond with someone  whos a million miles away, yet, it may  feel like theyre right next door. Theres no need to explain the benefits of friendship, since we all know what its like hopefully. However, international friendship is a bit of an upgrade for learners.Just talking about your dear friend from, lets say, Copenhagen, will make you sound cooler in conversation. Plus, the two of you will share so many stories and so much cultural  information, that youll be able to talk about Copenhagen (or, you know, wherever) like a native. That will instantly make you sound smarter, more cultured and just all-around more interesting.Then theres travel. Youve now  got a friend in Copenhagen. Youve always wanted to go to Copenhagen. Guess what? Now you can go, and you may not have to pay for a hotel. Thats not always the case, but then youve still got yourself a free  tour guide, and youll get  to go to all the cool local places that are free of  Hawaiian shirts and selfie sticks.With a foreign penpal, youre basically opening up a whole new world for yourself  and youre doing the same for another person. It can be one of the best relationships youve ever had. Youll be expanding your mind, and yeah, making the world a little smaller one conversation at a time.Cant wait to get started? Lets steer  you  in the right direction.Go Postal! 9 of the Best Websites to Find a Foreign Language Penpal1. Int erPalsInterPals is arguably the most  popular website where language learners go to meet potential penpals.Youll have a wide variety of options as you search for the person or people who you match well with. Youre  definitely going to want to find someone you like so that youll be able to carry on a long-term relationship. Luckily, InterPals makes that easy for you.The first  way to narrow down your InterPals search is by letting people know how youd like to correspond. When you register, you have the option of indicating whether you want to communicate through email or snail mail. This is definitely good to know up front, especially for those of you who want to keep it old-school.You can also indicate the kind of relationship that youre looking to build. You have the option of selecting whether youre looking for friendship, a relationship or if you simply want to flirt. So, if you want to keep things PG, make sure you look for others who are in the same state of mind. As for all yo u saucier language learners, well, you might just get more  bang for your buck here (no pun intended ish).Another cool feature of InterPals is  the search filter.  Once youre all set up and seeking partners, you can narrow down the database of potential penpals to exactly  the type of person youd like to speak to, down to the age and  gender of the person.Also, to safeguard against time-wastingâ€"we need to save up all the energy we can for language practiceâ€"youre able to set your filters so that youre only seeing the  newest members, the most recently modified profiles and those with the most recent last logins. This is great, because  you can direct your messages to those who are most active on the site and who are most likely to respond.Theres also a live feed so that you can connect with people right away if you feel theyre a great match.InterPals has  many other cool features to explore. If youre interested, go sign up and check them out!2. Conversation ExchangeConversation E xchange is one of the simplest, if not fanciest, of the language exchange platforms.Here, all of your online communication occurs through whats essentially an email messaging system. Of course, youre welcome to communicate by any means with which you feel comfortable.The website gives you the option to indicate whether youre looking to communicate through snail mail, email or face-to-face. If you decide that you want to communicate exclusively through the Internet, you may select from a long list of chat software (i.e. Skype, WhatsApp, Hangouts) that you might use so that people can match themselves with you appropriately.One of the better features here, however, is  the profile deactivation. Dont mistake this with account deletion, as the two are mutually exclusive. On a platform  like Conversation Exchange, where language learning enthusiasts like you are brimming with excitement for a language buddy, you may find your inbox flooded with introductions and requests for friendship.A t first, it may be  fun to sift through all of these new peoples messages, but after some time it  can become overwhelming. Youll spend more time sifting through emails, sending friendly rejection messages or simply deleting messages altogether when you could be spending your  time actually writing, speaking and learning.If youve already settled into a comfortable exchange with a foreign friend through this site and youre not interested in making more, go ahead and deactivate your profile. Doing this will allow you to continue your penpal relationship on the website, assuming you two didnt opt for a snail mail exchange or another form of communication, without you being bombarded by new emails every day. When youre ready to meet new people again, simply reactivate your page and youre good to go.3. My Language ExchangeWith Conversation Exchange being one of the simpler platforms, My Language Exchange is on the other end of the spectrum.This website offers a very comprehensive service with plenty of cool features that will leave you no excuse not to put forth your absolute best effort when finding and conversing with a penpal.First, the website offers a translation tool to help you when you get stuck, as well as a feature that allows you to insert foreign accents. This is ideal for people learning Latin-based languages where there are accents and other symbols present in nearly every sentence. A lot of  sites dont always offer this, and since the meaning of a word can sometimes change with the use of an accent, symbol or some other character, it takes away the stress of having confusing or awkward exchangesâ€"and of trying to figure out a newly-installed  foreign keyboard layout on your computer.Another great feature is that they flag inactive or invalid email users. The last thing we want to do is waste our time with people who arent as serious as we are about learning a new language.  So, thank you, My Language Exchange, for making life easier for us all.Once you snag a friend whos ready and willing to jump into the action with you, the website offers  tips on how to effectively communicate with each other. These are focused on how to  write back and forth in both languages, how to give feedback and how to figure out translations, so that you can make the most of your time together.There are a whole host of other features such as games and lesson plans to help you really strengthen your communication with your penpal. Its safe to say that My Language Exchange takes the penpal relationship as seriously as we do. We couldnt ask for more.4.  PenpalandWith a mere 3,000 members, Penpaland is one of the smaller language exchange communities on the web. Still, its got some great features that can connect you with some great people.Its coolest feature is that it gives you two ways to search for a penpal: (1) theFind a Penpal feature and (2) the Find Friend From Travel Destination feature. The latter is a huge bonus for those who are looking for some in-country immersion as well.If youre looking to spend a year in Morocco to improve your Arabic or French, it would be nice to have some friends in the neighborhood before you get there so that you dont have a meltdown from loneliness and culture shock when you  find yourself in an unfamiliar land.Also, the profile page might feel a bit familiar, as it has a bit of a Facebooky vibe to it. You can add wall posts, photos, videos and links to websites. On the right side of the screen you can see your friends recent activity. So while it may be a small community,  quality over quantity is what really counts.5. PenPal WorldIf theres anything that PenPal World  values, its definitely user control.Like the other platforms on this list, it allows you to  use search filters  to help you find your best match. While searching, you can be sure you wont see anything unsavory. Thats because PenPal World has a zero tolerance policy for non-PG  content and behavior. When you sign up, your prof ile picture must be approved before it goes live so that you and other users dont suffer the misfortune of coming across something completely inappropriate.The platform  is big on personal boundaries. It gives  you the option to cut yourself off from anyone you dont want contact with. You  have the option to report inappropriate messages, minors can block all adults (as they should) and you can block users that you dont vibe with, and you can even block entire countries.  Not sure why youd need to do thatâ€"perhaps youd like to learn Quebec French and dont want French nationals to contact you?â€"but, regardless, the option is there in case you need it.PenPal World has both a free  option  and a paid option. With the free membership, youre permitted to contact up to three users within a 24-hour period. With the paid  membership, youre permitted to contact up to 50 users  every single day. Everyone has their own preferences, but for most people connecting with 50 users a day is  a bit much, especially if they all respond. So, dont feel bad if youre tight on cash. Three for free  should be just fine.Another  nice feature is the ability to  update your profile in real time and also pause it if you want to  scale down on new contacts.6. Global PenfriendsGlobal Penfriends focuses on helping people find the most perfect match.When you sign up, youre required to fill out a very detailed profile so that you can match up preferences, interests and backgrounds in the best possible way. If youre looking for someone whos just like you or completely opposite from you, youll have a better  chance of knowing who that person is on this platform.Similarly to the other sites, you may chat through the websites messaging system. However, if youre interested in snail mail, you may purchase snail mail credits for  access to a users postal address.They even have a service that  will create your letters and postcards electronically, print, stamp and send them for you. If you dont have credits, you may find other people interested in communicating through snail mail by applying filters and searching for users who indicate this preference in the  Correspond As section of their profiles.Lets say you come across a profile that you dont think is quite your cup of tea, but you know someone else who might be totally interested in speaking to this person. Theres the Tell A Friend feature that allows you to share profiles with friends. Also, if you dont have contact credits or havent subscribed to the sites Premium Membership, you can always Send A Smile to someone to let them know that youre interested in connecting.7. SpeakySpeaky is not advertised as a penpal website, but it functions as one. As soon as  you set up your account here, youll be matched with several users who are currently signed on to Live Chat, and there youll be able to message as many people as youd like.Once you find your perfect match, youre free to carry on your conversations the old fashioned way , through snail mail or email, but there are some good reasons to stick to communicating on  Speaky.First of all, you have a notepad which allows you to document all of the words and phrases you learn when speaking with your new contacts.Even better than that is the  correction feature. It allows you to correct your mistakes and your new buddys mistakes right in the text box. When you correct your friends mistake, or when you get corrected, it keeps the old version of the sentence and the new version so you can see exactly where you went wrong. Its an incredibly useful learning tool that you should take advantage of.8. WeSpekeWeSpeke is advertised as a learning platform  rather than a penpal platform, but like Speaky, it functions just the same.Here, structured  lessons are available for credits. After all, it may be useful to do some drills before you jump into a conversation. This way, you can consciously practice what youve learned  while speaking and listening.However, if you ju st want to talk, thats fine too. This website matches you with people by using percentages. It takes all of the personal information that you entered,  then ranks your best matches by percentage from highest to lowest. Whether or not these numbers really, truly determine how well youll get along remains to be seen. This is something youll need to test for yourself!One of the coolest features on this website is the built-in translator. Instead of having to search Google, WordReference or any other translation site, you can use the translation box provided by WeSpeke. Just type in the word you need, check out the instant translation and continue on with your conversation. Its extremely convenient, it eliminates  interruptions to the flow of conversation and its a great time saver.9. AyniAyni is small community, but it places a big focus on tending to its community.When you sign up, you get a personal email from a staff member  welcoming you to the website, and an invitation to  a 30-m inute video chat where you can tell them what you hope to get out of using the website.In this email, youll also get a link to a Facebook group of speakers of your native language so that you can share your experiences. Here, they really want you to feel that youre among friends.When you complete your profile, you select the little I want a penpal option and send the request. Youre not permitted to make this request more than once each day.  That may seem like a bit of a drag, but its oh so good.Having a penpal is about building a relationship, and this website gives you the extra support needed to focus on that from the very start. Its good to try and get to know one person at a time instead of frantically going from person to person trying to get someone to talk to you.Before you start your chat, the website also encourages you to correct any mistakes that the person may have made in their profile introduction. Its a great way to support each other right from the beginning.Some of their practical features are the translator box which, again, is very useful for when you get stuck. Also, for those of us who are concerned about time commitments, theres a feature that allows you to indicate how much time youre willing to put in with a penpal. Its great to be able to connect with someone whos willing to put in as much or as little time as you without having to feel stressed about not responding to messages or having to wait days for a response.Ayni also has a great blog  (which is mainly related to French speaking)  with lots of great information that will help move you further along in the language learning and penpal process.All right, now get out there and have fun!Always be careful when it comes to giving your personal information, even though  the good people outnumber the bad ones. These websites will guide you through the process as safely as possible, but youll also need to use your common sense and knowledge of Internet safety.After all this, remember, y ou might just meet a new lifelong friend, so its worth it.There are few greater rewards! And One More ThingTo get the most out of an exchange with a native speaker, you need to be exposing yourself to real native contentâ€"this will not only give you things to discuss with your new penpal, but will also help you communicate more effectively by teaching you the language as natives actually use it.FluentU takes real-world videos like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks, and turns them into language learning experiences, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse Screen.FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.Interactive transcript for Carlos Baute song.You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs learn mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the iTunes store  or Google Play store.