If you don’t speak English frequently in your daily life, you might lack the fluency or the confidence to communicate with others in the language.
A simple way to gain proficiency with conversational English is to interact casually with English tutors. As you practice and have sessions with tutors, you’ll witness a massive improvement in your spoken English abilities.
Here, we'll take a look at the top nine websites to find conversational English tutors online.
1. Preply
Preply is a popular language-learning platform that has over 25,000 English tutors. On Preply, you can search tutors by their rates, availability, location, and specialties. So to view tutors who offer conversational English classes, you can check the conversational box.
Though tutors on Preply do not require any formal certifications, you can get an idea of their skills by reviews, ratings, and the number of active students. Moreover, you can see their introductory video, book a trial lesson, and message the tutor to see if they are a good match for you.
Tutors set their own rates on Preply, but usually, they are in the range of $5-20 per hour. So, Preply is an affordable option if you want customized lesson plans to improve your spoken English.
2. Cambly
Cambly makes it easier for you to find private, proficient English tutors for one-on-one conversational sessions. It offers an interactive learning experience, flexible scheduling options, a customized curriculum, and recordings of live classes.
Cambly offers different subscription plans depending on the class duration and frequency. Roughly, it costs around $16 per hour. As Cambly recruits teachers from only native English-speaking countries, you can expect the tutors here to be more adept.
3. italki
italki is a website that connects professional language tutors with learners for one-on-one classes. Here, you can learn over 150 languages, including English.
The fee varies for every teacher, but is generally in the range of $4-20 per hour for conversational English. Each teacher on italki has an introductory video, an overview of their experience, and their availability calendar. If you aren’t sure whether any teacher would be a good fit, you can book a demo class at a discounted rate.
italki offers some tests and assessments, both free and paid, to help you gauge your proficiency. Best of all, you can interact with the italki community for free to further polish your spoken English.
4. SkimaTalk
SkimaTalk helps English learners and tutors find each other. Only native speakers can teach on SkimaTalk, so it's easy to learn natural, conversational English. Every tutor has different courses, so you can choose the one that meets your goals.
You can first book a single lesson without committing for a long period. Moreover, there’s an option for open conversation sessions where you can talk about anything to improve your spoken English.
The one-on-one sessions are conducted through Skype, so make sure to make an account before signing up on SkimaTalk. Fees depend on the tutors and lessons, but generally, it costs around $11 per lesson.
5. AmazingTalker
AmazingTalker stands out from other language learning platforms, thanks to its algorithmic matching feature. It asks you some questions regarding your goals, age, availability, and budget, then matches you with tutors.
After signing up to the platform, you can view the tutors you have been matched with. You can also manually search the tutors for you. AmazingTalker offers great flexibility with payment, schedule, and lessons customizations.
As you can specify which types of courses you are interested in, AmazingTalker is a great platform to learn conversational English with a native speaker. Charges vary depending on the teacher, but mostly it's $20 per hour for top-rated teachers.
6. Classgap
Classgap is another great language learning website that allows you to learn English at your own pace. Classgap has its own virtual classroom with video conferencing, whiteboard, document editor, and other tools.
You can use advanced search to view only conversation classes. The best part is that you can schedule a free 20-minute class with a tutor and see if you're a good match.
Classgap offers time flexibility as you can reschedule classes even after booking them. The price varies a lot, but expect to get a decent, native tutor here for around $20 per hour.
7. Lingoda
Other than one-on-one sessions, Lingoda offers group classes of two to five students. Learning English alongside your fellow students can help you practice more, get feedback, and improve your spoken English.
Lingoda has native, experienced English teachers and courses customized to your goals. After the class, you can download class materials, quizzes, and exercises for revision. Like other platforms, you can choose your own learning hours. Prices range from €7-11 per class, but you get a free seven-day trial.
8. Verbling
Another platform where you can find language tutors for one-on-one learning is Verbling. There are more than 10,000 tutors on its website, vetted by its team.
All the tutors have a brief description, a video, and a rating with their profile. Each tutor specializes in some particular exam or subject like colloquial English, speaking practice, and so on. You can view the tutors' calendar and book a time that fits in your schedule.
Verbling has its own classroom where tutors can share files, worksheets, and tests. Tutors on Verbling set their own per-hour rates, which average around $24. Best of all, you can book a free trial with any teacher before you pay.
9. Fluency Tutors
Fluency Tutors has around 30 English courses for different purposes, including conversational English and kids fluency. Their conversational English program aims to make you fluent and confident in speaking English.
During the one-on-one zoom sessions, you can suggest topics you want to talk about, like news, hobbies, work, etc. A one-hour class costs $15, while a half-an-hour class costs $10 on Fluency Tutors.
Speak English Fluently and Confidently
If you struggle to speak English fluently or confidently, these websites can help you find a conversational English tutor and improve your spoken English. These tutors can give you guidelines and confidence, but the best way to improve your speaking skills is to keep listening and speaking.
Other than these websites, you can find pre-recorded courses on websites like Udemy to perfect your conversational English.