{"id":93039,"date":"2023-09-14T18:25:29","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T22:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/german-language-exchange-partner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-13T13:18:25","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T18:18:25","slug":"german-language-exchange-partner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-language-exchange-partner\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make German Friends Online"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Conversing with native speakers is one of the most important steps in acquiring a new language, and it can rapidly increase your rate of learning.<\/p>\n<p>Luckily, there are a number of awesome services on the internet that make it easy to find a German language partner.<\/p>\n<p>In this guide, I&#8217;ll show you how to make German friends online through 10 great websites, so that you can improve your German conversation skills!<\/p>\n<p>[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Best Places to Find German Language Exchange Partners<\/h2>\n<h3><b>1. italki &#8211; German tutors<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.italki.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-24003 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/italki-logo.png\" alt=\"italki logo\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>German teachers available: 200+<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.italki.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">italki<\/a> is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/italki-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an online language learning service<\/a> that helps you find teachers from around the world. You can study one-on-one with native speakers who are either professionals or language enthusiasts. The platform enables you to take classes from the convenience of your home, cafe, or wherever you have an internet connection.<\/p>\n<p>Signing up to italki is free, while the lessons, however, are not. Teachers are compensated in ITC, italki credits, 10 of which equal $1. Prices vary from teacher to teacher and can range from $5 to $35 per hour. Language tutors post their schedule online and the service makes it easy to sign up for classes.<\/p>\n<h3><b>2. Couchsurfing<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.couchsurfing.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-45432 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/5\/couchsurfing-logo.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Members: 2 million+<\/p>\n<p>Many people who use\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.couchsurfing.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Couchsurfing<\/a> are searching for a place to sleep in a foreign city. However, what&#8217;s lesser known is that the website can also be helpful in finding language partners.<\/p>\n<p>The majority of Couchsurfing members don&#8217;t actually host, but rather have their status set to &#8220;Coffee or a drink<em>&#8220;<\/em>. In the advanced search function you can find potential language partners simply by selecting your current city and setting &#8220;language&#8221; to your target language (in this case German). With over two million members on Couchsurfing, success is very likely. Plus, it&#8217;s free!<\/p>\n<h3><b>3. My Language Exchange<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mylanguageexchange.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-45433 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/my-language-exchange-logo.png\" alt=\"My Language Exchange logo\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Native German speaking members: 1,090<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mylanguageexchange.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MyLanguageExchange.com<\/a> is a free service that helps connect like-minded language learners from all over the world. The platform has over 1 million members from more than 133 countries and features 115 languages that are being practiced, including German.<\/p>\n<p>The main idea behind MLE is to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/mylanguageexchange-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">find penpals to practice with via email<\/a>. Besides that, the site also offers inbuilt text chat. Although voice and video chat is not part of the site itself, meeting native speakers to hang out with on Skype shouldn&#8217;t pose much of a problem.<\/p>\n<h3><b>4. The Mixxer<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.language-exchanges.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-45434\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/5\/Mixxer-Logo.png\" alt=\"Mixxer logo\" width=\"182\" height=\"47\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Members who speak German: ca. 2700<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.language-exchanges.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Mixxer<\/a> is a free educational site for language learners hosted by Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. Their service is designed to connect people around the globe for one-on-one language meetups via Skype.<\/p>\n<p>The design of the website is very basic and puts functionality before decor. The plain look, however, should not distract from the fact that it hosts a large and active community of people eager to improve and practice their language skills.<\/p>\n<h3><b>5. Polyglot Club<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/polyglotclub.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-45435 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/2\/polyglot-club.png\" alt=\"Polyglot club logo\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Members who teach German: ca. 500<\/p>\n<p>As the name suggests, this site is a gathering of people who can speak several languages each. The<a href=\"https:\/\/polyglotclub.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> Polyglot Club<\/a> has over 400,000 members, is completely free, and allows you to find other language enthusiasts in your city and attend regular club meetings.<\/p>\n<p>It also makes it easy to find people nearby who teach your desired language and\/or want to learn what you are offering. The site goes so far as to let you search for the type of chat software others are available on to make getting in contact with them even easier.<\/p>\n<h3><b>6. Tandempartner.net<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.erstenachhilfe.de\/sprachpartner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-45436 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/5\/erste-nachhilfe.jpg\" alt=\"Erste Nachhilfe\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Members offering German: 1,400+<\/p>\n<p>The Germany-based service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.erstenachhilfe.de\/sprachpartner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tandempartner.net<\/a> is actually part of a bigger network that helps users look for private tutors. However, it also comes with a search function for language partners. You can find partners for all sorts of language combinations and filter them based on location, age, gender, experience and availability.<\/p>\n<p>Although the website is aimed at finding people on-site in Germany, it also has an \u201conline tandem\u201d check box for location-independent language exchanges. The basic usage of the service is free, but to contact potential language partners, users need a paid premium membership.<\/p>\n<h3><b>7. Tandem Partners<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.erstenachhilfe.de\/sprachpartner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-45437\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/5\/TandemPartners.png\" alt=\"Tandem Partners\" width=\"180\" height=\"47\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Members offering German: 5,600+<\/p>\n<p>Despite the similarity in name, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.erstenachhilfe.de\/sprachpartner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TandemPartners.org<\/a> is not related to the previous resource. It is another free service that connects language learners with each other, and is quite substantial with over 30,000 members.<\/p>\n<p>The usage of the site is straightforward: sign up, select source and target language, post an ad, browse for other members, meet and talk. A special feature of Tandempartners.org is that it offers its own integrated video chat instead of relying on Skype, as many of the other services do. At the moment the service is free of charge, but it looks like it might be monetized some time in the future &#8211; so get on it now!<\/p>\n<h3><b>8. Meetup<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/german-language-exchange-partner.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-223852 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/german-language-exchange-partner-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/german-language-exchange-partner-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/german-language-exchange-partner-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/german-language-exchange-partner-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/german-language-exchange-partner-65x65.jpg 65w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/german-language-exchange-partner-120x120.jpg 120w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/german-language-exchange-partner.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Members offering German: Unknown<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.meetup.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Meetup.com<\/a> is best known as a networking service to help people with similar interests form local communities. Luckily that includes language learning. Almost all major cities have language exchange groups available.<\/p>\n<p>Many of these groups organize regular meetings, which you can join easily. It&#8217;s a good way not only to find language partners, but to get to know new people in general. You can also contact individual members to see if they are interested in partnering up for language classes.<\/p>\n<h3><b>9. InterNations<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.internations.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-45439 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/5\/internations-logo.png\" alt=\"Internations logo\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>German-speaking members: Unknown<\/p>\n<p>If you want to learn German but have no way of actually traveling to a German-speaking country, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.internations.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">InterNations <\/a>can help you find German speakers who decided to come to you instead. It is a networking platform for expats active in 190 countries and almost 400 cities.<\/p>\n<p>People who choose to go abroad are usually open and happy to meet locals, make connections and share a bit of their own culture, so establishing contacts should be easy enough. The service is free, however, new members have to be approved. Besides InterNations, other local expat organizations are also a good place to look.<\/p>\n<h3><b>10. Craigslist<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.craigslist.org\/about\/sites\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" title=\"12 resources find german language partner\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/5\/12-resources-find-german-language-partner1.png\" alt=\"12 resources find german language partner\" width=\"180\" height=\"135\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.craigslist.org\/about\/sites\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Craigslist<\/a> is not just for selling furniture or finding roommates. With its international presence, the site is a great way to find language partners. The &#8220;Community&#8221; section is a good place to look for existing German conversation tables or language exchange ads. Craislist is also a great place to look for German tutors if you want lessons, but don&#8217;t want to teach one yourself in exchange.<\/p>\n<p>Good keywords to use in your ad are &#8220;language exchange&#8221; or &#8220;language partner&#8221; in both English and German. Don&#8217;t forget to mention which languages you are offering, as that is what others will be searching for. Apart from that, keep your eyes peeled for the classifieds section in local magazines or online directories, as these are usually good addresses too.<\/p>\n<h2>Resources for Practicing German Conversation<\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;re nervous to start meeting with your language exchange partner, don&#8217;t worry! Your partner will probably be nervous as well \u2014 everyone&#8217;s still learning, after all!<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to make sure you&#8217;re a little extra prepared for your first meeting, you should brush up on your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-grammar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">German grammar<\/a> and some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/how-to-learn-german-vocabulary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">key vocabulary<\/a>. Getting some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-listening-practice-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">listening practice<\/a> is also a good way to make you feel more confident about understanding your partner.<\/p>\n<p>You can use resources like podcasts, vlogs and other content featuring dialogues. Make sure you aim for content that uses realistic speech. Try to see if you could pick up some good ideas for conversation as well, especially topics relevant to German culture.<\/p>\n<div style=\"float: right;\" id=\"fluen-1990742375\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"fluentu.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/fluentu-2.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/fluentu-2.png 512w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/fluentu-2-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/fluentu-2-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/fluentu-2-65x65.png 65w, https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/fluentu-2-120x120.png 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>You could also use the language learning program <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/german\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FluentU<\/a>. It features video clips from authentic German media along with effective learning tools like interactive subtitles, downloadable transcripts, flashcards and personalized vocabulary quizzes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So, now you know how to make German friends online, and how to prepare for your conversations. Practice as much as needed so that you can set off a good first impression. But remember that you don\u2019t have to cram everything and anything German into your head.<\/p>\n<p>Just learn enough so that you can flow through an easy conversation\u2013your efforts will be appreciated, just as you would appreciate your language partner\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Once you feel ready to talk to a real native German speaker, language exchange resources like those above will be there to get you started!<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conversing with native speakers is one of the most important steps in acquiring a new language, and it can rapidly increase your rate of learning. Luckily, there are a number&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":249864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"How to Make German Friends Online | FluentU German Blog","description":"If you want to find out how to make German friends online, here are 10 great ways to find a language partner! Read this guide to learn about a range of websites and resources you can use to help you find someone you can practice your German conversation skills with."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[525,526],"tags":[],"coauthors":[567],"class_list":["post-93039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-german","category-resources"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93039"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":250486,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93039\/revisions\/250486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93039"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=93039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}