6 Awesome Ways to Hack Discord for Language Exchanges

6 Awesome Ways to Hack Discord for Language Exchanges 6 Awesome Ways to Hack Discord for Language Exchanges Once upon a time, the streets were filled with kids.Sweaty, smelly and dirty creatures.Running alongside others their age, their squeals of delight echoing throughout the neighborhood.They played hopscotch, tag and hide-and-seek, and reluctantly said their goodbyes with the setting sun.Then the internet and Xbox cameAnd nothing was ever the same.Kids are now in their rooms all day and all nightâ€"taking bites and sips of snacks and soda between the lulls in DOTA, amidst the clacking keyboard and the whooshing mouse.Meanwhile, they havent even met the neighbor kids. They do, however, know @Andrus457 from Hungary and @Bernhard from Germany because they, too, play PUBG.Move over, Skype.Theres a new kid on the block (bringing chips, gum and a headset!).And even if youre no longer a child yourself, you can make use of gaming tech to practice your target language with learners and native speakers all around the world.In this post, were talking about the communication platform called Discor d, and how language learners  can utilize it for language exchange. What in the World Is Discord?Before Discord, gamers used Skype for real-time communication as they screamed instructions to team members playing on the other side of the globe. But it was a resource hog and affected game performance. In May 2015, Discord was released, providing seamless, simple integration for gamers. The gaming community immediately took to Discord and think it the best thing since Counter-Strike.So wheres the happily-ever-after language exchange in this fairytale?That came next. Discord was originally intended for gamers, but the platform started to attract people with all kinds of shared interests, from stock trading to fantasy football. And, yes, language learners.Language learners have found kindred spirits on the platform. And we now have a case of positive unintended consequences where exchange of information, ideas and language practice is facilitated by this thing called Discord. So lets look at how you can start using it for your language exchanges.And as youre seeking out fun target-language interactions, remember that FluentU is always here for you to keep you from ever running out of stuff to talk about. FluentU is always uploading new YouTube videosâ€"like movie trailers, news, music videos, commercials and moreâ€"and turning them into personalized language lessons for you. This makes it easier than ever to share authentic media with your exchange partners as well as to discuss things like viral content and popular news stories.6 Awesome Ways to Hack Discord for Language Exchanges1) Use the platform to host you and your language exchange partners.Perhaps youve already found language buddies via dedicated language exchange sites and apps like MyLanguageExchange.com  or ConversationExchange.com.  Discord is simply another option for a place where you can connect.Discord is very much like Skypeâ€"if youre able to navigate one, youll be able to work out the other.T hey both have text, voice and video chat, plus screen sharing. But you may find Discords audio clearer and video crisper, and hey, its lighter on your CPU.2) Join a server and meet language exchange partners on Discord.Think of Discords servers as communities of people with shared interestsâ€"in this case, language learning. You have servers that deal with language learning in general, like Language Practice And Learning,  and also servers that focus on a specific language, like Students of Spanish.You can go to sites like discordservers.com or discord.me to search for servers that are relevant to your cause.Fortunately for us, someone named ryry013 on Reddit did the hard work for us and created a masterlist of language-related servers on Discord. Check it out to see what servers are relevant to you. For sure the list is far from complete, as new language servers are created on a daily basis, but its a good starting point.And you can always Google terms like, for example, learn germ an discord server, and get hits related to learning German. Dont narrow your search by using language exchange, though. When you join these learning communities, youll likely not only meet fellow learners, but also native speakers in those circles who are just psyched to help those who want to learn. Who knows, you might not just get a language exchange partner, but a tutor free of charge.So, how do you join a server on Discord once you find one? Click on or enter an invite. These invites are links that look like this: https://discord.gg/xxXxxXxWhen you search for the servers, youll also find the invites to join them. So click on those links and prepare for a great learning experience.3) Use the text chat feature to scope out future language exchange partners.When you first join a server, youll notice that there are two main types of channels: text and voice.Server admins can put up as many different text chats as warranted. Maybe theyll have an #Announcements section, a #Rules sect ion and even a #Grammar section. How the different text chats are organized will really depend on the folks running the server.Members can write practically anything in the text chats, from hi to requests for translations. Reading up on the text channels can be a good way to get the lay of the land. The great thing about Discord is that it keeps a history of messages, so you can play catch up and know what has been talked about in the past few days.As you read, notice those folks who are active, those who are funny, those who are extra helpful. (Also those unwittingly annoying.) Anybody who seems like a senior or leading member of the group? Take note of them. Also be on the lookout for those who regularly field language questions and give answers that knock them out of the park.After your initial surveying, its time to let people know that you exist. So go ahead, write in as many text chats as possible. (Just make sure you stay on topic.)Introduce yourself to folks by saying someth ing like Hello, everyone! Happy to be here. This opens things up for responses. And when people welcome you, write them back. Each and every one! Hit the ground running and immediately engage those people.If, on the other hand, your opening move doesnt get any response, dont lose heart. Simply jump into ongoing conversations by asking questions. For example, if you see a discussion on Spanish grammar textbooks, ask if X book is any good. Or, if you know a good one, recommend it to others.Put yourself out there and call out potential language buddies. Write something like, Anybody up for language exchange? I speak English and would love to learn some German.The text chats can be a good way to get your bearings first. Sometimes, talking to a complete stranger via audio can be nerve wracking. So exchanging a series of text messages can serve as a warm up.When youre warmed up enough, you and your fellow learners or new exchange partners can start direct messaging for more privacy.4) Use voice chats to really hone your speaking skills, or catch a language discussion/class.You can click on a voice chat and instantly be a part of it. Unlike text chats, where you can have multiple ongoing conversations, you can only join one voice chat at a timeâ€"and these will be categorized by admins according to relevant language discussion topics. You might have one dedicated to Korean language practice, for example.Think of voice chats as hanging out with potentially many other people. Anybody can join and talk away. The problem is, when youve got too many people talking in your ears, it sometimes becomes incomprehensible, and beginners might feel that the interaction is happening way too fast. This is why most voice chats are ideal for advanced language learners who really just want somebody to chat with to hone their existing speaking skills.The reverse problem is finding yourself alone in a voice channel. (Well, thats just sad.)There are some voice channels where only specifi c people can talk, and everybody else simply listens. This set-up is a good one for language podcasts, or as a music channel where they might play Spanish songs, French songs, etc.A language teacher or tutor can also give lectures on a channel, to more students than can fit in a normal physical class. (Or, if their class sets up a dedicated Discord server, they can ask students to come in for the weekend for some bonus lectures.)5) Use video calls and screen sharing for intense language exchange sessions.Youll only be able to use video calls with people youre already friends with, so you need to learn how to add people as friends.If you find somebody interesting in a server youre in, you only have to right-click on that persons username and choose Add Friend. If the two of you, however, are not connected in any way, you can access a friend request box from your friends list where you type the persons name, for example, DiscordName#000. (As with anything in life, this form is case-se nsitive.)OK, video calls.You can do one-on-one video calls or set up a group video call with as many as 10 participants.But lets just say you do one-on-one.This is really where you can do most of the language exchange. You can talk about anything and teach each other anything. Theres an art to language exchange, from finding your partners, to choosing topics to talk about. Study up and apply all these lessons when youre on Discord.Discord also allows you to screen share. You can choose whether or not you want to share your whole screen or a specific application window.This tool comes in handy when youre teaching your partner something and you need something visual to explain your point. You can use Word to teach vocabulary or a web whiteboard, perhaps. Or, say youre talking about parts of the body. You can screen share some pic you got from Google Images and point to the different parts as your language buddy follows on the other side of the world.6) Engage in language exchange whil e playing games!As mentioned earlier, Discord was specially designed for gaming. So why not take a page from that book and use Discord to play games while learning a little something along the way?You can do this a few different ways:Change the language settings of your games.  Just as you can change the language settings for your social media accounts to the target language, you can do the same for your games. Instead of showing off your skills and rocking the gaming world in English, why not do it in your target language? Language options will vary depending on the games and system youre using, but it cant hurt to consider your options. Think of the learning opportunities!Play with native speakers of your target language.  Look for teammates that speak the language that you want to speak. Learn by osmosis. Hours of gameplay and you wont only be able to yell schießen!  (shoot) to your German teammates. Youll be able to build friendships that go far beyond role-playing.Play languag e games with people you meet on the servers.  If gaming is not really your thing, and you get dizzy at that barrage of video stimulation coming at you, then why not play simple language games instead? They may not have a complex background story or awesome graphics, but theyll hit you with some very educational fun.For example, on the Students of Spanish  server, theres currently a text channel called #juego-de-palabras  (literally, “game of words”). To play, you need to look at the last word presented and give its translation. Youll then be able to give your own word (in English or Spanish) with the stipulation that your word must begin with the last letter of the previous word. Other people will continue your work. Fun!Okay, thats Discord for language exchangeâ€"in a nutshell.Learning a new language is literally at your fingertips.Were indeed a global village and we can talk to people thousands of miles away as if theyre lounging around in the adjoining room.Take advantage of this reality. Go and explore Discord. Now.Good luck! And One More ThingIf youre digging these language learning tips, youll love using FluentU. FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that natives  speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse Screen.FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.Interactive transcript for Carlos Baute song.You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs quiz mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.Start using FluentU on the website  with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the  iTunes  or  Google Play  store.