FAQs

General

Who is this site for?

MyIntercambio is for individuals over the age of 18 that are either native English or Spanish speakers.

Reciprocity (or tandem learning) is at the heart of the MyIntercambio community and so we ask that all members are either native English or Spanish speakers interested in learning each other's language. If you are not a native speaker of either English or Spanish, but really want to learn English or Spanish, we recommend multilingual sites such as LiveMocha or Babbel.

Why do I have to put my real name on MyIntercambio?

MyIntercambio is a community of real people, not usernames. People come here to meet other people who are really interested in achieving their language learning goals.

We encourage members to take their language exchanges into the real world but we also understand that meeting up in real life with someone you met online can be an iffy situation.

For this reason, we ask that everyone on MyIntercambio own their identities, and this includes real names.

Technical

I haven't received the validation email. What do I do?

First check your spam folder for it. If it isn't there, please send a message to with the email address you signed up with and your full name.

How do I make sure I receive notification emails from MyIntercambio and its members?

Make sure you create a filter to accept all mail from on your email service.

For Gmail: Never send to spam
For Hotmail: Create a Safe List for incoming messages
For Yahoo Mail: How do I add an email to my address book?

Why can't I see myself on the maps?

You need to clear your browser's cache.

My location on the map isn't accurate!

Your location is based on your IP address so it's only an approximation. Maps will only reflect the accurate address of event venues, but never people.

Language Exchange

What is a language exchange?

A language exchange is a meeting between two or more people who want to practice a foreign language with a native speaker. The language exchange is usually divided into two halves with each half spent speaking only one language.

Typically, a face-to-face language exchange lasts for about an hour or more but is typically shorter online.

In a language exchange, you practice conversation, pronunciation, accent and listening. You also can pick up new vocabulary, slang and cultural insights from your partner. You might even gain a local friend!

What am I not supposed to do in a language exchange?

A language exchange isn't a time to saddle your language exchange partner with questions about grammar rules. Like most people, your language exchange partner probably acquired, not learned, their native language and simply won't have the answers for you.

Just imagine if your language exchange partner asked you to explain when to use “I had gone to the bank” and “I went to the bank.” Would you know how to explain that clearly or would you probably add to the confusion? Probably the latter.

Also, a language exchange is a language exchange, not a date. Please don't make other members feel uncomfortable by asking them out on this site.

What kind of language exchange should I do? Online or face-to-face?

If you are a beginner, you should should start with MyIntercambio's built-in instant messager or private messaging system. You can go slowly and there's no pressure to reply right away.

If you are at an intermediate level or higher, you can go ahead and start with voice chat or face-to-face language exchanges.

If you're not ready to start conversations just yet, you can still practice your writing and speaking skills by submitting short exercises that other members can give you feedback on.

How do I find people to do a language exchange with?

You can search for people on MyIntercambio by their native language, proficiency in foreign language, location, gender, age, type of language exchange (online or face-to-face) and even if they smoke or drink!

You can also just browse the world map of members and find friends there! This is more useful for arranging face-to-face language exchanges or targeting a specific accent you're interested in practicing.

I don't think face-to-face language exchanges are safe. How do I know that other guy isn't an axe murderer?

Meeting face-to-face with someone you've only met online can be scary. Before agreeing to meet in real life, you should read your potential language exchange partner's profile page.

You should only meet with people who have a full name (first and last), a custom avatar, and have more or less completed their profile (eg, filled in the About Me section). If the person has written blogs or uploaded videos, that will help you get a sense of who that person is and even their proficiency level in your language.

The more activity your potential language exchange partner has on MyIntercambio, the more ties he has to our community. People with zero or very little activity haven't built up much of a reputation on MyIntercambio.