In the video below, one of the co-founders of Spoken talks about ways to create opportunities to speak a language in real life when spending time in a country where the language is spoken.
• There are a lot of AI chatbots where you can practice conversations with no pressure, but using the language in the real world requires **human interaction**.
• You must be ready to face intimidating situations to progress.
• Speaking opportunities abroad:
- Role plays with service staff (e.g., gyms, shops, salons). Watch the video for more details
on this.
- Choose local-language tours and classes, not English ones.
- Attend social events via apps like Time Left, Meet Up, Eventbrite.
• Be prepared to insist on using the target language when locals switch to English.
• Dating apps can provide intense one-to-one practice (if relevant and if approached openly).
• For those not abroad, the apps iTalki and Preply are recommended for structured practice with tutors and the app Spoken, offers Spanish or English speaking practice and recordings of human native speakers.