Do you have an idea for how we can improve Langroops? Are there any other services you wished we provided? This is the place to sound your voice and make a difference! Post any suggestions, ideas, and dreams you may have for Langroops.
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Hi Eitan & Team. I noticed that when you look for groups, if, for example, there are no existing groups in the language you've searched, you get a screen like this:
From a UX standpoint - I think you can do more to engage with your user. For example - why not have a message saying "No groups exist yet in this language. Why not apply to create a new one?" along with a link for creating a new group. Assuming that people new to Langroops might start off by searching for groups - this might be a great way to enlarge the number of Langroops that are offered...
Hi,
An ex Langroop user told me that he left because he was not getting enough opportunity to talk.
Groups and sub groups are so big some times and then everybody won't get enough chance to talk. I think the ideal size is 3. Yeah, sometimes it's not possible because of the ratio between different language speakers.
The moderator needs to make the participants aware that they should encourage each participants to talk. Some times it happens that only two persons in the subgroup talks and others just watch. They will gradually leave.
I think providing a topic earlier and ensuring that everybody gets chance to speak about it the same topic in the language they are learning is also useful.
Thanks & Regards
Ashok
Hi, yes, I have a few suggestions for improving this idea, which is already really great.
First - in language exchanges, I think that you should develop a model for the exchange, teach the model and encourage community leaders to adopt it in their groups. One thing I notice quite often in the exchanges I participate in is that a meeting is set, and many people just stare at the screen because no one really knows what to talk about. I also have a customer I work with (I'm a translator) who deals a lot with how to conduct successful Zoom meetings, and I've learned a lot from that experience as well, which I'm happy to share with you.
Here's a possible model (of course, it's not the only correct model and I'm sure that improvements can be made):
There should be defined roles at each weekly meetup: one person should be defined as the "techie" and deal with letting people into the room, dealing with sound or video issues, screen shares, etc. Another person should be the moderator of the meetup, and that person's job is to "keep things going" in the conversation.
A topic should be selected each time before the meeting begins. This topic should be something that many people find interesting, and one that people can relate to regardless of their native language. The moderator should be somewhat knowledgeable of the topic.
The meetup should have time devoted to speaking both languages, so maybe, the first 20 minutes for Language A and second 20 minutes for Language B. That way, everyone who comes knows that they'll have plenty of opportunities to practice speaking a foreign language.
The "moderator" should be a native speaker of the language being spoken during that time. The moderator's job is to ask questions and give feedback to people practicing the language (that is not to say that other native speakers can't step in and give feedback as well - but you should have at least one person who knows that this is his/her role in the group). Of course, the moderator should be someone who enjoys teaching his/her native language.
Of course, the "techie" should be very familiar with the Zoom interface. The whole idea is to free up the moderator, so that he/she doesn't have to deal with technical issues, and can be more effective as a moderator.
Of course, the techie and moderator don't always have to be the same people at each meetup.
The model should be available to people who sign up to be community leaders, either as an article or as a video.
I hope this is helpful.
Ilan