The Language Resource Center aims to provide a means for people at the University of Michigan, as well as people from the greater Ann Arbor area, to find others in the community who are interested in a foreign language conversation exchange. For instance, if you are a native speaker of English, but want to learn Chinese, you could find someone here who is a native speaker of Chinese, and interested in learning English.
If you are interested in finding a conversation partner online, through one of the many apps available, the LRC has compiled a comparison chart of features of the some of the most widely used by language learners in our community.
Conversation Groups on Campus
(these groups are usually only active during the fall/winter semesters)
American Sign Language:
U-M ASL Club
- Weekly club meetings for informal, collaborative "lessons"
- No ASL experience is required to attend
- All ASL Club meetings and events have several resources in place to be accessible to Deaf and Hard of Hearing participants regardless of their ASL knowledge
- Dates: Mondays
- Time: 6:00 - 7:00 pm
- Location: 3rd floor of Mason Hall
- Questions? Contact the student board at a.s.l.umich@gmail.com and check the ASL Club Instagram for updated meeting times/locations
French:
Pause-Café: French Conversation Hour
- Learn more at the RLL Conversation Hours Website
- Dates: every Tuesday
- Time: 2:30 - 3:30 pm
- Location: RLL Commons (MLB 4314)
- Questions? Contact Alan Ames (alanames@umich.edu)
- Le Comité Francophone - Wednesdays 7:00 - 8:00 pm Amer's Deli on State St
Le Comité Francophone
- Learn more at the Maize Page for the Le Comité Francophone
- Dates: every Monday
- Time: 7:00 - 8:00 pm
- Location: Amer's Deli on State St.
- Questions? Follow LCF on Instagram for more information
German:
- Check out this weekly newsletter for various opportunities for conversation, games, and creative expression in German
Questions? Contact Hartmut Rastalsky (hmr@umich.edu)
Italian:
Chiacchiere e Caffè: Italian Speaking Hour
- Learn more at the RLL Conversation Hours Website
- Dates: October 6, October 20, November 3, November 17
- Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm
- Location: RLL Commons (MLB 4314)
- Questions? Contact Valerio Rossi (rossiv@umich.edu)
Italian Student Association (ITSA)
- Learn more at the Maize Page for the Italian Student Association
- Dates: every Tuesday
- Time: 6:00 - 7:00 pm
- Questions? Follow ITSA on Instagram for more information and to find the conversation hour locations
Portuguese:
Bate-papo: Portuguese Coffee Hour
- Learn more at the RLL Conversation Hours Website
- Dates: October 17, October 31, November 21
- Time: 12:00 - 12:45 pm
- Location: RLL Commons (MLB 4314)
- Questions? Contact Maria Teresa Mattos (mtmattos@umich.edu)
Spanish:
La Tertulia: Spanish Conversation Hour
- Learn more at the RLL Conversation Hours Website
- Dates: every Friday
- Time: 10:00 - 11:00 am
- Location: RLL Commons (MLB 4314)
- Questions? Contact Julie Harrel (harrelju@umich.edu)
Spanish Club
- Learn more at the Maize Page for the Spanish Club
- Dates: every Tuesday
- Time: 6:00 - 7:00 pm
- Location: 1512 East Quad, but subject to change
- Questions? Join the Spanish Club GroupMe for more information and to find up to date locations
Residential College Language Lunch Tables
(French, German, Russian, Spanish, Japanese)
Romance Language and Literature Student Language Clubs
Offer conversation and tutoring opportunities (French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish)
PLEASE NOTE:
Neither the Language Resource Center nor the University of Michigan endorses ANY participant in and/or from this site. Please use discretion before agreeing to or paying for any tutoring service. YOU are solely responsible for ALL relevant exchanges with any service you choose to use. Please see the Disclaimers section for more information.
Tutors, please be aware of internet safety. We recommend only accepting work in the local community where there is less of a chance for fraud. We have had reports of tutors being solicited to work with students outside of the US, which seem to involve scams. For more information on possible internet scams, visit the IC3 website. Additionally, please be conscious about giving out personal telephone numbers or addresses; we also strongly suggest meeting tutors/tutees in a public place.
