Speaky Review: 4 Awesome Features For You

Want to learn languages with people around the world? You don’t need to visit a country and spend thousands of your hard-earned money to do so! The Speaky community is vast, with opportunities to practice language skills such as speaking. 

But is it enough for serious language learners to use the Speaky platform? In this Speaky review, we’ll talk about its features and how a language exchange partner will keep you thinking directly in your target language.

Finding language exchange partners requires signing up for dubious forums and groups or downloading chatting apps. It’s sometimes hard to find someone serious about language learning. Hence, if you’re using the app to stay competitive in today’s market, you should always consider upskilling and improving your skills. 

For some, this might mean that they should learn programming or graphic designing, while for others, this means mastering some of the most in-demand languages. In fact, the latest study suggests that having expertise in a second language can even bump up your salary by at least 10 to 15%!

Given that the corporate world is looking at foreign-language speakers in a whole new (and very positive) light, even schools are actively adding foreign languages as elective subjects to entice students to start language learning. 

Fortunately, if you are out of school already, there are still different language learning apps and resources that you can use today. There are thousands of apps out there, and choosing the perfect app might be a challenge, right?

To help you narrow your list, let us give you our insights on Speaky so that you can check it out and set your expectations straight. After all, this language exchange app has been making buzz online, so it would be wise to know its features to avoid falling into the hype. But, if you are up for that, let’s dive right into it.

What Is Speaky?

Speaky Review Logo

Speaky is a Belgium-based language exchange app that has been around since 2014, intending to create a social media-like app for native speakers and other language learners. Since its existence, its language exchange community has significantly grown, which is why there is no surprise that it has over a million downloads. 

Judging from the comments on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, some users even branded it as the best app for those looking to find language partners.

For the case of Speaky, experiential learning is when you, as a student, will find a language partner (native speaker) who will talk to you using the language you want to learn. 

So, instead of memorizing words, the focus of Speaky is to help you experience the language first-hand and help you become more confident in a specific language. And since you never want to disappoint your language partners, you might motivate yourself to study (which is a good thing).

You’ll find similar features in our Idyoma review, but there are considerable differences in prices and functions. However, this Speaky review will clarify more questions and highlight powerful features that will make you learn a new language better.

What Is It For? A chat and voice messaging app to find a community of language learners, whether you are either a native or non-native speaker.

Languages Offered: You can practice with 110+ Languages

All Speaky Popular Languages

ArabicBulgarianChineseCroatian
CzechDanishDutchEnglish
EstonianFinnishFrenchGerman
GreekHungarianIndonesianIrish
ItalianJapaneseKoreanLatvian
LithuanianMacedonianMalteseNorwegian
PortugueseRomanianRussianSerbian
SlovakSlovenianSpanishSwedish
TurkishUkrainian

Level: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced level

Pros:

  • Their free version has all the features
  • You can do as much writing practice as you want
  • You’ll meet native speakers around the world
  • You can delete your account

Cons:

  • You can’t filter incoming messages and users
  • The features only emphasize speaking or writing skills
  • Lacks options to chat for the same language level
  • Works like a dating app

Who Is Speaky For? For language learners that want to meet other native speakers with quick responses and chat-like features.

How Does Speaky Work?

Learning languages is fun, especially if you can find language partners who are truly passionate about helping you learn their language while you help them understand yours. To start using Speaky, you simply sign up for a free version of their platform on your phone or the web. Once you are inside, you will be asked to choose which languages you are interested in and has a prompt to accept the pledge.

Their pledge is involved the basic rules reminding everyone that there should be no harassment or spamming on the app. It also has a no flirting rule to remind learners that their app is for language exchanges and nothing more.

Once you have signed up, you will pick your interests from their list so that their app will help you connect to users with the same interests. This method will make your whole conversation with native and non-native speakers flow much more manageable.

After that, you will see three main tabs: the language community, messaging, and your profile. Once you click on the first tab, that is where you can choose your partners and see their level, what language they are learning, age, picture, and bio.

It’s pretty much like a dating app to look at. Once you have selected a partner, you can send them a message and start learning from each other.

Speaky User Interface And Design

Speaky Review User Interface

Before using Speaky as a language exchange app, it’s best to see if it’s not buggy or has a steep learning curve. The login and registration process is smooth and doesn’t require too many steps.

Other than a minimized look, the Speaky web version and Speaky app don’t have any difference. It has a user-friendly design that looks like a chatting app, making it easy to navigate where to chat. You’ll also easily filter people according to your chatting preferences.

You’ll see people who you connected with in the Messages Tab. Meanwhile, finding a language exchange partner is on the Community Tab. If you want to change settings and edit your bio, you can do so with the Profile tab.

Moreover, Speaky is available in Android, iOS, and web versions. So, if you’re on any of these platforms, you can download and use Speaky easily.

Speaky Features

Whether you are learning Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, or Arabic, Speaky has something just for you! Since it does not offer any courses at all, the number of languages within the app depends on the number of people who can speak a specific language. 

So given that it is used by over a million people across the globe, it is safe to assume that it has language speakers for over 150 languages, with similar apps like Hello Talk.

Let’s look at how Speaky is the perfect app to instantly find native speakers to boost your learning process.

Meet New Friends Through The Community

Most language resources would make you learn grammar rules first using sample sentences. Others may give you a list of vocabulary using flashcards with spaced repetition methods. Whatever your learning style is, there is always a great app for daily practice.

However, a suitable tool such as Speaky promotes immersion through chats and sending voice messages. It is one of the best ways to get to know the language and potentially have a long-lasting friend! Of course, not everyone is fluent immediately, so you might use Google translate for some of your messages. To check if your friend is eloquent in your mother tongue or that language you want to learn; you can check their profile first.

Unlimited Correction For Your Messages

The free app’s unlimited correction feature is already enough to help language learners easily. You can edit your chat if you have a few mistakes writing or speaking Thai, as it’s quite inevitable for an abugida script.

The message section currently has a built-in translation tool (for the app version) and correction tool. For some users, the translation tool works like a charm since the messages are consistent, and some want instant responses. Still, you can’t rely on translation machines for your learning process.

Filter People You Want To Practice With

Only interested in chatting with women or just men? You can do so with Speaky! Filters are fantastic since you can control which people to just interact with. It will also lessen messages that aren’t solely for language exchange.

There are also filters for which languages you want to learn. Do you want more people to talk to in Portuguese, Gaelic/Scottish, or Ukrainian? All these users will show up on your dashboard. Don’t want to chat with younger audiences or older Speaky users? You can also adjust the age filters to just talk with people with similar interests, topics, and walks of life.

Send Pictures Or Voice Clips

Do you want to do more than send messages to your friends? You can send voice notes to tell them how much you’ve developed your pronunciation.

If you want to learn about Latvian culture and see the tourist sites, you can ask your friend to send pictures of food or places to visit. It works like a text and chats app, but it’s intended for studying languages.

Does Speaky Have A Premium Version?

Speaky used to have a premium version, limiting users for translations, ads, and gender filters. However, if you sign up now, you’ll not have any problems chatting with anyone from around the world. So if you are worried about Speaky cost and subscription plans, you’ll be happy to register, log in, and start talking immediately!

Why Use Speaky As Your Language Exchange App?

Their Free Version Has All The Features

Although they previously had a Premium version that allows you to translate more chats and disable ads, I don’t see any of these prompts anymore. Speaky is ultimately free now, so you need to do your nitty gritty in filtering your chats. You can send messages with no ads, have that translation all you want, and select the users according to their gender or age.

You Can Do As Many Writing Practice As You Want

Learning five to six new languages at a time? That’s amazing! But you can’t switch to more than two languages in similar apps nowadays. These apps are usually behind a monthly paywall, or you need to subscribe to their premium plans early on.

Not with Speaky! You can chat with more than one person if you find the others not as responsive. You can switch to other languages immediately too! Search for the right speaking partner to encourage the natural way of language acquisition.

You’ll Meet Native Speakers Around The World

Speaky Review Features

Are you still stuck at the beginner or intermediate level? A puzzle app for languages won’t do you good if you’re just sticking with the basic sentences. The best way to practice writing, speaking, listening, and reading is to jump to a platform that pushes you to think the way Germans, Chinese, Slovakians, or Spanish do. Speaky has a community of language learners eager to train with you.

Having a good partner in the app can help you train yourself on the everyday slang used by speakers.

You Can Delete Your Account

Ultimately, the best feature for any app now is to have your choice to delete your account. Data privacy is crucial, as is what the reviews are talking about for Speaky. With that said, if you’re unsatisfied with Speaky’s features, you can instantly delete your account and uninstall it immediately. You can even message the customer support of Speaky to ensure that your data is not stored on their servers.

What We Don’t Like About Speaky

You Can’t Filter Incoming Messages And Users

Even though there’s an option where you can set messages to everybody or only native speakers, you can’t be sure if they’ll be messaging you other than for language practice. So, if you want to block other users for a while, you need to set the settings to No one.

Of course, you’ll have to really sift through countless people in the community search feature to find someone who constantly talks with you as a language exchange friend.

Most Of The Features Are Just For Texting Or Chatting

Speaky isn’t the language learning app you’ll go for if you want to become fluent in learning. Since you can only send texts, it’s only intended for writing and reading. 

Not everyone even wants to send pictures or voice notes as they feel uncomfortable doing so. It’s also not a teaching platform like Preply, so you won’t find dedicated tutors to make you sound like a native. Hence, if you really want grammar lessons, intensive training, or even just listening to a podcast, you should look for something else.

You Might Not Find Someone To Talk To In Your Language Level

As far as I’ve tried to look for locals with their first language as Brazilian Portuguese, none has messaged back. It can be tough to talk to users if they have specific preferences that you’ll usually read in their profile’s bio or about me.

However, it might also depend on your target language. You may not find someone that wants to speak to you in Finnish but have many friends that speak Russian.

Moreover, many female users feel unsure about the chats because many have questionable biographies, chatting behavior, and profiles. So you need to be very real about what you put in your profile, or you’ll have to find another app to use.

It Looks More Like A Dating App

Unlike many community-focused apps like Busuu, Duolingo, or Mango that focus on language learning, Speaky is like a fast-paced dating app. You’ll surely learn French or Spanish or any language you prefer.

But, for anyone looking for language exchange partners, it might be annoying to receive flirtatious messages or questionable behavior from the members. You can simply block or report the user using the Report Abuse settings if that happens.

Speaky Review: Find Language Exchange Partners For Speaking Practice

Speaky language exchange is flawless as an easy-to-download and use platform. However, it might not be the best to progress from a beginner to an advanced learner if you don’t know how to really write or speak in your target language. It doesn’t have any grammar tips, sample sentences, or even an AI chatbot to just practice with.

With all this considered, we can say that this is an ideal app for those interested in learning through the concept of language exchange partners only. 

However, please be mindful that the app does not have structured content like in Lingualift nor has a tutor feature like Tandem (where you can connect with native language professionals). 

So, if you are looking for an app where you can genuinely learn languages starting from the very basic, this might not be the best. It is only suitable for practicing languages and meeting like-minded individuals.

Nevertheless, we have an excellent alternative for Speaky that will vastly improve your language learning skills. Want to know more? Then read along!

Achieve Actual Fluency With The Ling App!

Speaky Review By Ling App

There’s no denying that immersion is the best way to think directly in a new language. However, you’ll get frustrated with your newfound friends if you don’t have any foundations for what you are learning. You might even lose interest in learning altogether! So what is a better choice for actual fluency?

The Ling App is an outstanding product for learning 60+ foreign languages with comprehensive vocabulary, grammar, writing, and pronunciation courses. Simya Solutions created this FREE language learning tool to make language study more enjoyable, engaging, and manageable for beginners.

Interested to learn more? Download Ling on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and become fluent in various lessons. Language learning shouldn’t wait for next time! So, what are you waiting for? Be sure to check out the Ling App today!

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2 Responses

    1. Hi Anthony! Thank you for reading! You can contact Speaky customer support for any doubts related to Speaky. And I’d recommend trying the Ling app if you like gamified and engaging learning experiences!

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