Tbh This is just a rant, but I just want to preface this that I became n1 and fluent (in as many situations as my English is fluent) in Japanese, largely because of Hello Talk.
However, this was most likely because I WASN’T 18 yet!
After turning 18, one day I was bored so I reinstalled the app. There’s a ton of features, many of which I realized were ass.
The “teaching sessions” are just some ladies eating food while they speak in some weird English w/token gaijin that can’t speak any Japanese but sits there and listens.
The age restriction going away is crazy. After going from +- 2 or 3 your age to literally being talked to by 56 year olds, the gap is insane.
Apparently Japanese adults HATE speaking in Japanese. Which I understand, they want to learn English, but it’s like everyone on that app now treats it like a job. It’s not a fun place to make friends
Rant OVER
5 comments
That’s a problem in every app that’s based on community interacting. Reddit also suffers from this and you really just need to find the right people to talk to.
My fiance tried using it for italian and almost everyone that wanted to start a conversation just wanted to hook up…language learning at its finest 🤦🏽♂️
it works you just aren’t using it right
1. uninstall app
2. shelve Japanese for a while
3. work until you are in your 40s or 50s and financially secure
4. get actual lessons from iTalki which require you to pay money that you finally have
5. install helloTalk
6. laugh at 18 year olds
7. the cycle continues….return to step 1, but for another person
I‘ve met 3 Japanese friends on Hellotalk, two of which I met in real life and they helped me settle in Japan. You just have to filter out the trash and connect with people with whom you share interest.
Hello Talk it is easy to make language learning friends with to practice with on a basis of equality. I use it sometimes.
It is true that everyone wants to speak English on there but you need to tell them that you want to speak Japanese also. If they won’t practice with you on a basis of equality then talk to somebody else another person. This is easy. If you can’t do it then Hello Talk even added a new feature where you can talk to your partner for length of time that is specified in one language then same time in another different language.
I do not understand the age problem. I am 29 and I talk with people of many ages on Hello Talk but most people in 20s and 30s age groups. Maybe you got bad luck that time you tried to use it.
The problem isn’t with the app. It is either with you or with the people you are talking to.