London’s World of Language Exchange Cafés

An intro to language exchange

Learning a new language is hands down one of the most daunting endeavours for British people. We have one of the greatest weapons on earth – the lingua franca (Italian: Frankish tongue) ­­– the common language used between non-speakers. I’ve been on a bus in Bosnia Herzegovina watched four people from widely different countries hold a perfectly fluent conversation in English.

But with great power comes great responsibility. English speakers are unsurprisingly some of the worst for learning new languages – why bother when everyone speaks yours? But with studies showing two thirds of UK businesses require foreign language speakers, it’s not something we can continue to ignore. Alongside an uncertain European future and ever-rising migration, language is a weapon worth having. But how do you become a language-learning aficionado (Spanish: enthusiast) outside the classroom?

Well first off lets debunk something – research suggests adults can be better language learners than children. We often think we’re too old to become fluent, but that’s merde (French, you look it up).  You should also know that English is not the most spoken language in the world as many believe, neither is it the second. We may one day face life without that Frankish tongue and few of us are ready for it.

Now living in the multilingual, multicultural capital, you’re already ahead of the rest – you have countless resources at your fingertips. The biggest of these is native speakers: language exchanges abound. Any linguist will tell you that practice really does make perfect and this is where language exchange comes in. Let us give you a rundown of what London has to offer linguists, so you can tick another excuse off the list. Carpe diem, after all (Latin: Seize the day).

Meetup

We’ve spoken about the wonders of Meetup before, but language exchange is where it comes into its element. There are so many language groups that it’s impossible to not find the perfect one for you. Don’t get disheartened if the first one you try isn’t to your liking. I attended a Japanese exchange event with over 200 people because I thought crowds would make it less intense than a one-to-one. I ended up being silent instead, swallowed up in the multitude. Good for some, but not for me.

Just type in ‘language/french/Swahili… exchange’ in your area and get looking. If you want to plunge straight in, switch to calendar to see upcoming events. If you’d like to shop around, head for groups and see what they offer. The best thing to do is pick a couple and simply attend – just remember to leave your nerves at the door.

EuroClub

EuroClub has been going since 1994 and organises regular language exchange evenings. As you may have guessed, they work only with European languages which may scupper some learners. However, our experience is linguists find each other and many are polyglots (Greek via French: many tongues). You may meet someone whose French is a second language learned from living in Vietnam, which opens up a whole other world language to you. Do you want to start learning a language but aren’t sure which to pick? Spanish, the second most spoken language in the world, is a good place to start.

EuroClub do both classes (£3) and exchange. The club also organises outings, social events and activities so that you’re not always sat opposite strangers, desperately trying to recall the German for cat (Katze – see, it’s easy). As a non-profit, there’s a small membership fee but it’s a bargain at £20 for six months. If you’re not working, they slash it to £12. If you want to check it out before signing up, go to one of their new member’s meetings at the Strand’s Caffè Nero (Italian: black coffee). Fun, friendly and far from formidable.

Find them at http://www.euroclub.co.uk/

Mammoth

Mammoth has been going for five years and is a growing greater each day. This exchange was started by Chandresh, who couldn’t find the German speakers he desperately needed to practice with. Now with over 10000 members there’s plenty of them to go round: you’ll learn a new language and that you’re not alone. Mammoth works by having event hosts, all of whom you can meet on their homepage. They’re there to welcome you to events, introduce you, and provide name and language labels so you don’t spend an hour trying to speak Urdu to a Thai learner.

The exchange meetings are every Wednesday and Sunday, which is perfect for those wanting to keep up their practice. Like EuroClub, they do a whole host of activities besides. There’s dinners, pub crawls, day trips, picnics, sports, dance and newcomers events. You can find them and their languages on Facebook and Meetup, or at their biweekly meets in Leicester Square.

Check them out at http://www.mammothx.co.uk/

Speak Street

Learning anything requires regular practice. Language is an absolute stickler for that as most of us know – exactly how much of secondary school Spanish do you still remember? If you don’t use it, you will lose it, so a pop-up language exchange café seems pretty contradictory: and yet it works. It’s a bit like a club at school, led by volunteers so there’s no fee. All you have to do is buy a drink at whichever venue you end up in. Luckily, Speak Street is going strong, so you won’t be waiting ages to meet up again. They take place all over London and all you need to do is keep an eye out on their website. It’s an ideal place for anyone wanting to dip their toe and try a language without any pressure.

Speak Street also provide £5 classes led by native speakers, all with practical language aims. Learn how to speak to employers and landlords instead of conjugating the verb to run (something I avoid in life and language) for hours on end. The founder is quatri-lingual, so puts emphasis on language you can actually use every day. The main focus of the pop-up is to build relationships and communities and that’s what language learning is all about.

 

Seek your next speak at http://speak-street.com/

After such a terrible 2016, it’s time for us Londoners to break down those Brexit walls and embrace the world, all while improving ourselves. There’s endless research done into the benefits of language learning. It boosts thinking skills, memory, perception, decision-making and your mother tongue. Studies show it also staves off dementia and Alzheimer’s and improves learning across all subjects. It’s a no-brainer.

The difference you’ll notice first and foremost though is your confidence. It takes guts to get up and gabble in a language not your own, but doing so can be better than any self-help book. So what are you waiting for? Rock up to one of these events and you’ll be asking ‘voulez-vous causer avec moi, ce soir’ in no time.

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