HelloTalk Language Exchange app review: learn a language by chatting with users via a social network-2021

Introduction

From my love of Hong Kong cinema I have had this obsession of learning Cantonese. I have just stumbled upon yet another way to master any language you want to learn: it's the Hello Talk app.

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Part instant messenger, part social network, HelloTalk is the language exchange app that allows you to connect with native speakers of the language you want to learn. You'll get to communicate conversationally in your native tongues and learn, all at the same time.

This learning languages app has a strong culture exchange community that connects you with native speakers of other languages. Check out our HelloTalk review to see if this is a great app to learn a language with for you. 

Hello Friend On The Other Side Of The Planet

The way HelloTalk Language Exchange app works is extremely cool. Create your account (photos are mandatory so you know who you are talking to), select the country you live, and your native language. Then you pick the language you desire to learn and a list of contacts is populated with speakers of that language wanting to learn yours. From there select someone and start chatting.

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Your messages, both sent and received, can be translated at the tap of the screen. It may seem daunting at first but the interface of HelloTalk is there to hold your hand every step of the way. Even though the built-in tutorial when you set up your account is there, it is brief and has the potential of being easily forgotten. 

HelloTalk will send you four messages as soon as you log in that will explain how the messenger works, including step-by-step photos.

Sending your first message is easy: just type your greeting and send it to a contact in your list. Upon a response you will notice it returns in their native language and keyboard format. Just tap the message and a small menu will come up: click translate to get the translation, the speaker button will allow you to hear what has been typed so you can try your pronunciation, or you can even favorite it for later use.

I'm Learning and I Don't Even Know It

The best part about HelloTalk is the fact that the entire premise is based on conversational language. This way you can gain a great working knowledge of a language that you can use in a social environment. From there, gaining a grasp of the professional use of the language is much easier because you understand and comprehend its day-to-day use.

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On top of that you are dealing with real people, not instructors who occasionally will shun you for improper use. This is a fun environment to learn more about language and culture with people who want to know more about yours.  When you use the app to learn a language with real people, you’ll learn more than just the language.

With this language exchange app you'll be exposed to a different culture and a new way of seeing the world. This is yet another way our world has become smaller.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Possibly the best way to learn a language through social conversation
• Interface provides you with not only translation but an audio option to help with pronunciation
• Make friends who are interested in learning your language as much as you want to learn theirs
• If you are comfortable with any messenger app then there is no learning curve

Cons

• There is nothing negative to say about this app

Final Thoughts

The HelloTalk Language Exchange app is a great new take on learning another language from the people who speak it daily. It's fun, it's social, and it's extremely beneficial to anyone looking to learn a new form of communication.

Sure we can all take a class to learn proper business language, but HelloTalk gives you a practical base of learning any new language by helping you learn how day to day communication is spoken. There may be a lot of slang used, but when traveling you will be better understood by using colloquial language than using proper forms of speaking. 

This is a great base for anyone looking to learn a new language, and from there you can take your courses at school to get business-style pronunciation and terms.