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Language Exchange User Posts


Graffiti on the wall saying, Arriba.
Learning to Roll R’s - Alveolar Trill
Spanish; German; Russian; Bulgarian; Greek; There are a surprising number of languages where the trill- commonly known as rolling r’s- is an important part of everday speech. Of course, it is first important to say that not being able to roll your r’s is not the worst thing in the world; being able to do a proper trill is secondary in importance to knowing vocabulary, grammar, being able to understand everyday speech, etc. But of course, if you are striving for perfect “fluency”, mastering the trill is an important part of reaching that goal.

Types of Trills

A common mistake that many people make is to assume that all languages roll r’s the same way. As I was learning Spanish, I quickly realized (to my detriment) that this was not true. I had spent a significant amount of time practicing trills, and I eventually got to a point where I thought I was making the correct trill. Then I was told by a teacher that I was doing something called the Ulvular Trill. You do it by vibrating the Uvula at the back of the throat (that hanging thing that, if you touch it, makes you throw up). For Spanish, the more commonly accepted for of the Trill is known as the Alveolar Trill. This Trill is done with the tip of the tongue, at the front of the mouth. So much to my dismay I began to attempt to learn this new and alien form of trilling. Now, I do not pretend to be an expert on trills. I am also sure that there are other forms of Trills. For example, I have heard of something called a Fricative Ulvular trill, and I profess I have absolutely no idea what that is. All I can offer as advice is how I eventually got the hand of the alveolar Trill. Here are some of the best resources I found online that helped.

Free Resources

https://www.trevorhuxham.com/2014/02/10-tips-for-rolling-spanish-r.html - In addition to providing a variety of great tips, I really appreciated how this site emphasized repeatedly that everyone has the capacity to learn how to roll R’s. After doing it for many, many weeks, it was nice to hear a little encouragement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfuyz9lxE0s – For some reason or another, the way this video explained rolling r’s really clicked for me. I won’t say it will do the same for you, but I recommend you check it out.

https://thelanguagedojo.com/2008/03/how-to-roll-your-r/ - I like the tip about loosening up the tongue before trying to practice. Reminds me a little bit of stretching before exercising.

As a final word, for me, learning to roll r's was a lot like learning to whistle. The only thing that seemed to work in the end, and I cannot stress this enough, was simply trying to roll my r's all the time. Make it into an annoying habit. Heck, I got to the point where I would watch movies and be making horrible, guttural sounds the entire time. And eventually you will accidently make the correct sound. And then a little later you will accidently make the correct sound again. That's my approach- learning by complete accident.


Photo Credit: Gabriel Seisdedos

lrngo users in over 190 countries

Castle Square in Poland.
What it Takes to Learn Polish
If you have recently decided to embark on a language learning journey to learn Polish, then you’ll need to be prepared for what it takes to be a language learner. If this is your first time learning a new language, you’ll need to be prepared for some of the challenges you may face, as well as the best way to go about the learning process.

The first step to becoming a language learner is dedication. Learning a new language is an ongoing process, so it is important to make a schedule and stick to it. Immerse yourself in the language whenever possible and keep practicing. To do this, you’ll need the right methods and resources, so read on and discover all of the opportunities you have to learn Polish for free.

There are plenty of sites out there that make it their goal to bring Polish to you in a variety of ways.

As you probably know, LRNGO provides a platform where you can connect with a language exchange partner. The idea is that learning exchange recognizes that everyone has valuable skills that they can teach, as well as skills they wish to learn.

Mówić po polsku (Polish for “speaking (in) Polish”) is a great site for learning the basics of grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The site is easy to navigate and even hosts YouTube and podcast lessons, giving you a variety of platforms to work on!

Learn Polish seems to have it all. From an online dictionary, translations, articles, and a ton of other categories, this site is a great place to explore Polish on a basic level and branch out to intermediate level practice.

PolishPod101 is great if you learn best through videos. With basic Polish in 3 minutes, vocabulary, and listening practices, this YouTube channel is definitely worth checking out.

Polish101 is perfect for some fundamental work, as well as provides useful links to Polish radio and news sites so that you can test and practice your Polish in the “real world”.

Digital Dialects is the place to go to practice what you’ve learned to see what you’ve aced and what you need work on. These online exercises are a fun way to study and test yourself.

That isn’t to say that you won’t face any challenges. Learning a language is no small task, and you will make mistakes. Look at mistakes and struggles as a valuable part of the learning process and keep going! Learning Polish as a second language is feasible!

Fluent in Three Months has a great blog post about learning Polish from a personal viewpoint and how, despite its reputation as an extremely difficult language to learn, it is more than possible to pick up as a second language, so if you need some inspiration, advice, or words of encouragement, check it out and remember: with determination, dedication, and practice, you will learn Polish!


Photo Credit: Dennis Jarvis

lrngo users in over 190 countries

Exchanging texts on a cell phone
Language Exchange for Beginning Language Speakers
So you have heard of a language exchange, and you want to be a part of one, but you know next to nothing about the language you want to learn. This presents an interesting dilemma. To make this clearer, let’s consider a concrete example. You are interested in learning Spanish and you know English. You find someone else who is interested in learning English and knows Spanish. You contact each other, but you quickly realize that there is a problem: neither of you know the language that you are trying to learn, so you can barely communicate. In other words, you realize that the language exchange would progress at a painfully slow pace. What can you do? There are a number of options.

  • The simplest way to do a language exchange when you are a beginning language speaker is to limit your language exchange to text messages, emails, or other forms of non-facial correspondence. The benefits of this this type of exchange, of having a kind of language exchange “pen-pal”, are potentially enormous. For one, communicating via email or text messages allows you to spend as much time as you need constructing the sentences that you want to send back and forth. Secondly and perhaps most importantly, communicating in this way will help keep you motivated during those difficult first months where you are struggling to string together your first complete sentences.

  • You can also have a language exchange with someone with whom you share an intermediate language. What do I mean by that? In the example already given, let’s say that you also know French. If you know next to nothing about Spanish, I would highly recommend trying find someone who also knows French and who wants to learn Spanish. French therefore can serve as your intermediate language, a crutch that both you and your partner can use to communicate as you both get a hold of basic words and concepts.

  • Language exchanges do not have to be between just two people. If you include a third or fourth person in your language exchange, everyone can work through your basic language difficulties together. Once your group begins to have a better mastery of the basics of the languages, you can split into smaller groups, but tackling the problem with many people together can help you get over that initial hump much easier.

  • If you are using lrngo.com, it is important to remember that you do not have to do a pure language exchange. Let’s consider another example. Again, let’s say you are interested in learning Spanish. In order to get around the language barrier, do a so-called “learning exchange” with someone who is interested in learning some another skill that you can teach and who is also bilingual. For example, let’s say you are an incredibly passionate gardener. Find someone who is bilingual on Lrngo.com and who is also interested in learning how to garden in exchange for teaching you Spanish. Since the person in question is bilingual, he or she can give you preliminary instructions in English as needed. Similar to the idea of “intermediate languages” already discussed, you can use English to communicate as a crutch until you have learned the basics of Spanish.



Photo Credit: Melina Sampaio Manfrinatti

lrngo users in over 190 countries

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