2.1 Online communities

Online language communities have sprung up in all corners of the internet. There are a number of different places such communities can be found:

• Social networks: Wherever people hang out, communities form. Facebook is the world’s largest social network, and there are many Facebook groups for language learners. Reddit is another source of in-depth language information.Tip: If you are a Facebook user, head to Facebook, and search ‘learn [language]’ in the search bar. Select Groups from the options tab.
• Forums: Forums are less popular than they once were. However, there are still many forums run by private individuals who are passionate about promoting language learning or specific languages. In forums, you will often find many of the most dedicated learners of specific languages, who will be able to answer your most challenging questions and point you in the way of good resources. Popular forums include UniLang [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] and How to learn any language. Tip: Do an online search: ‘learn [language] + forum’.
• Language company forums: Many of the larger online language companies have their own communities, which can be a great source of information and support. You may also find additional features, such as the ability for native speakers to correct or comment on things you write. Two of my favourites are iTalki and Lang-8.