Crosstalk: a language exchange when you don't have a partner

Why people love a tandem language exchange

A good language exchange is one of the nicest ways to learn. You find someone who speaks the language you want and wants to learn yours, and you trade, half the time in one language and half in the other. You hear how people really talk and pick up things no textbook covers, and now and then the other person becomes a friend.

It also takes work. Finding a language partner whose level, schedule and time zone line up with yours can take weeks. Sessions get cancelled. Half of each session is spent in your own language by design, because you're helping them too. And by the third or fourth call it's easy to run out of things to say and end up talking about the weather.

What crosstalk is

Crosstalk is a conversation where each person stays in their own language. You speak English, the other person speaks Spanish, and you both understand enough to keep it going. Plenty of bilingual families and couples talk this way every day. A parent speaks one language, the child answers in the other, and nobody stops to translate.

On mossyrune, crosstalk is part of the games. On beginner and intermediate you can answer a character in your own language, and the character understands you and replies in the language you're learning. When you feel ready, you try a sentence or two in that language, and you go back to your own when you get stuck. You can do this for as long as you like, at whatever hour suits you.

What it looks like in a game

mossyrune has a set of 3D games that run in your browser. You walk around a small world and talk with AI characters by voice or by typing, and what you say changes what happens. In the dungeon game you're locked up with an old prisoner, a nervous merchant, a dramatic ghost and a bored guard, and you get out by bribery, by flattery or by cracking a three-number combination. In the bomb game you have to find the bomb and save the town before the timer runs out.

Say you're learning Spanish and you ask the old prisoner, in English, how anyone gets out of here. He answers in Spanish, simply if you're on beginner, and nods toward the guard while he says it. You follow most of it from the words you know and the gesture. Next time you might try the question in Spanish yourself.

Why understanding can carry the conversation

Most people understand more of a language than they can say. Crosstalk makes use of that gap. You keep the conversation moving in the language that's easy for you and put your effort into following what comes back, and you really do need to follow it, because the next step in the game depends on what the character just told you.

The characters are built to be understood. They gesture, show expressions and hold up the things they're talking about, and beginner mode keeps their language simple. You can replay any line, control the pace, and switch on the interpreter panel or hints when you want them.

When you still want a real language partner

For friendship, culture, or someone who'll tell you what people actually say at a party, a real exchange is better, whether that's a tandem app, a local meetup or an online community. A game character won't become your friend.

Use crosstalk for the reps. It's there at midnight and doesn't mind hearing the same question five times, and you never owe it half the session in English. A week of practice here also means you turn up to your next exchange with more to say.

Languages, price and what you need

You can play in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Indonesian, Bengali and English, with more in beta. It runs in any modern browser, including on your phone, with nothing to install. You need a free account to play. New accounts get enough free credits for one full game. After that it's about one credit per minute of play, on a monthly plan or with a credit pack that never expires.