{"id":179713,"date":"2023-08-24T19:20:11","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T23:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/english-speaking-online\/"},"modified":"2025-02-19T07:21:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T12:21:32","slug":"english-speaking-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/english-speaking-online\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Excellent Resources for English Speaking Practice Online"},"content":{"rendered":"

Practicing your English speaking is an important step in the learning process.\u00a0It will give you experience using all the English phrases, words and grammar you’ve learned, improve your confidence and help you become more fluent.<\/p>\n

If you don’t have someone to practice speaking English<\/a> with in person, don’t worry\u2014you can do it online.\u00a0Here are some excellent websites where you can find a language partner so you can get some English speaking practice online from wherever you are in the world.\u00a0
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1. Verbling<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"verbling\"<\/a>Price: <\/b>Prices of classes depend on the teacher<\/p>\n

Verbling offers a selection of tutors at different prices and for different skill levels. The teachers are hand-picked by Verbling, and you can view an introductory video from each one before you make your choice.<\/p>\n

On Verbling, you can also use the filter to specifically search for a tutor that matches your own language needs. For example, if you want to learn and practice American, Australian or British English, you could use the filter named “From” to select “United States,” “Australia” or “United Kingdom.”<\/p>\n

2. italki<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"italki<\/a>Price: <\/strong>Depends on the language tutor; Free to download the app and access some features<\/p>\n

Italki is a language tutoring platform that helps you find native tutors who teach your target language.<\/p>\n

On italki, you can choose from a long list of English language tutors and, by clicking on their profile, you’ll be able to find out more about them as well as read reviews left by other English learners.<\/p>\n

Once you’ve found a tutor, you can have a look at their schedule and arrange a private English class with them. Alternatively, you can also join a variety of group English classes and practice the language with other students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to see our full review of italki.<\/p>\n

3. Preply<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"preply-logo\"<\/a>Price:<\/strong> Depends on the language tutor<\/p>\n

Preply is a language tutoring platform that you can use to find and organize classes with native English tutors.<\/p>\n

On Preply, you can choose from over 17,000 English language tutors. Simply use the filters to narrow down the results and start browsing through the lists of teachers.<\/p>\n

You can either opt for a private lesson with a tutor of your choice or check out some of the group English classes<\/a> that are available on Preply.<\/p>\n

4. Wyzant<\/a><\/h2>\n

Price:<\/b> Varies by instructor<\/p>\n

\"english-speaking-online\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Wyzant is the place to find a reliable, professional English tutor who lives near you. (Just keep in mind that this is only available in the United States at the moment.)<\/p>\n

If you’re located in the US, you can find English tutors all over the country who specialize in teaching ESL. And you’ll even discover tutors who specialize in English grammar<\/a> and English writing.<\/p>\n

You might find a tutor who you can meet with online, but the main purpose is in-person tutoring. You’ll be able to meet up with your tutor face-to-face, at a local library, coffee shop, park or even at your house!<\/p>\n

5. Video Game Voice Chat<\/h2>\n

Price:<\/b> Free, aside from the price of the game<\/p>\n

Do you play video games on your PC or on a console like Xbox or PlayStation? Guess what, you have some English-speaking partners already! Many games these days have built-in voice chats, so you can talk to others using a headset with a microphone. Don\u2019t be afraid to join in the conversations.<\/p>\n

In fact, video game chat should be easier than real-world conversations<\/a> because no one knows who you are. You can feel free to make mistakes because you never have to talk to them again if you don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n

Remember that you might not learn perfect grammar<\/a> here, but you will get to hear native speakers talking naturally. Also keep in mind that some video games (for example, shooters like “Call of Duty”) have a lot of cursing in the voice chat, and not everyone is nice. But there are a lot of great gamers who would love to help you out and have fun playing games while you chat.<\/p>\n

6. Physical Meetings<\/h2>\n

\"Meetup-logo\"<\/a>Price:<\/b> Depends on what you do; Booking a stay with Airbnb will cost more than a (free) Meetup at a local park.<\/p>\n

Having a speaking buddy over the Internet is nice, but it’s even nicer to make a new friend in person. Surround yourself with English speakers if you can! Find a local group of people who speak English and have the same hobby as you, or find other people who want to learn English.<\/p>\n

You can use the website Meetup<\/a> <\/strong>to find a group of people meeting near you. There are even meetups for people who want to do language exchanges. In language exchanges, you will teach your native language to someone and they will teach you English, like this one<\/a> in NYC.<\/p>\n

If you’re planning to travel someplace where English is the common language, instead of getting a hotel, try websites like Airbnb<\/a> <\/strong>or Couchsurfing<\/a> <\/strong>instead. You’ll get to meet and talk with real people, and maybe even make new English-speaking friends.<\/p>\n

7. HelloTalk<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"hellotalkPrice:<\/b> Basic account is free\u00a0<\/p>\n

HelloTalk is a language exchange platform that you can use to search for and chat with native speakers.<\/p>\n

On the free version of HelloTalk, you can select one language to learn and one language to teach (such as your native language). You’ll find tons of native English speakers on this platform and be able to get some English speaking practice through calls or messages.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to see our full HelloTalk review as well as some alternative language exchange apps you could try out!<\/p>\n

8. Conversation Exchange<\/a><\/h2>\n

Price: <\/b>Free<\/p>\n

\"english-speaking-online\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Back before the Internet, people had “pen pals,” or friends who lived far away and communicated by writing letters to each other. Conversation Exchange lets you find an email pen pal who you can write to in English.<\/p>\n

Even better, the website helps you find people you can talk to with voice chat or even native English speakers who live near you.<\/p>\n

9. Toastmasters<\/a><\/h2>\n

Price: <\/b>Free to visit as a guest. Each club has its own fees if you decide to join as a member. Price varies for each club.<\/p>\n

\"english-speaking-online\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Toastmasters is a place where people can learn public English speaking skills<\/a>. It’s not an English learning organization, but rather it’s a general speaking practice organization.<\/p>\n

Here, anyone can learn and practice speaking in front of others. It’s a great place to get more confidence in speaking with people in English. There are videos online that you can check to see if this is the kind of speaking practice you’re looking for, and there are clubhouses all over the world. Find one near you by visiting this page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

10. Speaky<\/a><\/h2>\n

Price:<\/b> Free<\/p>\n

\"english-speaking-online\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you don’t want to download or install any special programs for voice and video chat, you can just sign up on Speaky. This website has a built-in video chat right on the website, so you can find and talk to people without leaving your browser.<\/p>\n

Speaky matches people up based on similar interests, so there is a good chance that you will have something in common with the speaking partners you find here.<\/p>\n

11. Busuu<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"busuu-logo\"<\/a><\/b>Price:<\/strong> Basic membership is free; Premium membership prices vary<\/p>\n

Busuu boasts over 100 million native speakers, any of whom can become your next speaking partner. Busuu is well known within the language learning community and can connect you to a speaking partner through its detailed search options.<\/p>\n

Find an English speaker learning your language, or find another English learner to practice English with\u2014it’s up to you.<\/p>\n

Find our full review of Busuu here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

12. Tandem<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"tandem-logo\"<\/a>Price:<\/strong> Basic account is free<\/p>\n

On this platform, you can practice English with native speakers while teaching your own language as part of a language exchange.<\/p>\n

One great feature of Tandem is its safety\u2014any new accounts must be checked and approved before the user can start a language exchange.<\/p>\n

As soon as your account has been approved on Tandem, you’ll be able to browse the list of users and find a native English speaker. Then you can start your language exchange!<\/p>\n

You can read our Tandem review here<\/a>, or if you’d like to find more language exchange apps, check out this post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bonus: Skype<\/a> and Zoom<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"skype-logo\"<\/a>Price: <\/b>Depends on the type of conversation (casual language exchange or paid language lessons)\u00a0<\/p>\n

While they’re not official language exchange or language learning platforms, it’s worth mentioning them in this post as many English and ESL teachers use these online platforms to teach English language learners through text, voice or video calls.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"zoom-logo\"<\/p>\n

They’re also great for language exchanges as they’re reliable and allow you to easily arrange and have conversations. For casual language exchanges, Skype and Zoom are best used alongside language exchange platforms that you can use to find a language partner, like Conversation Exchange, Tandem or HelloTalk.<\/p>\n

Once you’ve found and spent some time talking to a native speaker on a language exchange platform, you can move the conversation over to Skype or Zoom and practice speaking English. These are also good resources for you to use to practice your group conversational skills by setting up a video call and practicing with multiple language learners or native speakers.<\/p>\n

How to Practice Speaking English Without Talking to Native Speakers<\/h2>\n

Not quite ready to dive into interactions with real people? No problem. The internet also has plenty of ways to ease you into the experience. Here are a few suggestions:<\/p>\n

Use chatbots.\u00a0<\/strong>Chatbots<\/a> are programs designed to talk to you like a human being but without the pressure of speaking to a real person. You can use these to pretend you’re typing to a real person and prepare yourself for the actual experience of chatting.<\/p>\n

Watch authentic videos.<\/strong> Authentic videos are made by and for native English speakers. Since we’ve already talked about how to practice your typing, reading and speaking skills, you can get some very important listening skills through native English videos. One great resources for this type of practice is\u00a0FluentU<\/a>.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \"FluentU\r\n

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