As an international community, palabea connects people who share the same interests in learning languages and in discovering different cultures. People from all over the world can communicate via audio chat, video chat and text messages to practice foreign languages, to support others and of course to develop friendships around the world.

palabea started in the beginning of November 2007 and is still under development. We are working on improving the usability of the site and on integrating additional features.

Yes. palabea is, and will remain free to join.

From the homepage, you can go to the registration page and sign up. After signing up, we will send you an E-Mail with an activation link, which you will need to confirm. Now you can log in to the speaking world.

Video: How do I become a member?

The first step is to create your profile. Under "edit profile" you can select which languages you speak and which languages you would like to learn. You can also share your interests and upload a profile photo.

Video: Setting up your profile

You can add photos, videos and documents to your profile in order to present yourself to the community, and you can upload training documents which can be shared with others. These functions can be accessed under the menu options "Media" and "Documents".

Video: Uploading documents, pictures and videos

In the main menu under "Community", you will find several search options to find friends for a language exchange. If you select a user profile, you can click on "Send Friend Request". If the other party confirms your request, you become friends.

Video: How do I find friends?

You can improve your foreign language skills by communicating together with native speakers from all over the world in audio or video conferences. Additionally, you can communicate in your native language to teach other users. On palabea, each user is both a pupil and a teacher.

Video lessons and podcasts assist in understanding languages by showing aspects of the language in multimedia form.

In order to aid in the learning of writing and grammar, palabea has created "virtual classrooms" where all members can upload documents which they can work on together and correct one another.

If you are looking for professional instruction, you can find a language teacher under the menu option "on-line teacher." In the profile overview you can find all relevant information. Please note that language teachers do not necessarily offer their services free of charge. An agreement to pay the costs of instruction must be arranged by you individually; palabea is not a contracting party.

On palabea, different forms of interaction are available. Text messages can be sent to other users. Additionally, there is the possibility of using the integrated text-, audio- or video-chat communication tool.

You can send text messages to other members from your "Home" page.

Video: How do I send text messages?

The audio- and video-chat functions are attainable by using the integrated communication tool. Open the communication tool by clicking on the green box (with the speech bubble) at the top of the page. Please note, you can only chat with your palabea friends which you will see in a list when opening this tool. Select a user you want to chat with, click on the call button, and you can speak free of charge with one another.

Video: How do I do an audio- or video-chat?

The Text-chat function can also be attained by using the integrated communication tool. Open the communication tool by clicking on the green box (with the speech bubble) at the top of the page. When you click on one of your friends, you will see the text-chat button on the right . When you click on it, a new window will open where you can type in and send your live text messages.

palabea works best with the following browsers:

Internet Explorer version 6.0 or newer
Mozilla Firefox version 1.5 or newer
Safari
Opera
palabea should also function with other browsers. Unfortunately, we cannot eliminate the possibility of small problems in the website's representation when using other browsers.

For the audio and video conference, the installation of Adobe Flash Player is required. We recommend Adobe Flash Player version 9+. An update for Flash Player is available under the following link: http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer

JavaScript must be activated.

The community at palabea should support one another mutually and be free of annoyances. Nevertheless, if it should occur that you feel disturbed by another user, you can block the user from having any further contact with you. Simply go to the profile of said user and select "block user." Furthermore, you can send the support team at palabea feedback by clicking the "feedback" button on the upper right hand corner which is visible on every page.