A learner at a sunlit desk, mid-session

TEEI Language · A TEEI programme

The speaking half of a language.

Courses teach the words. Speaking them is a separate skill, and it only comes from practice with a real person. TEEI Language is the practice half of TEEI’s language offering: free one‑to‑one video conversations between learners and volunteers.

See how it works

Open the platform

The platform

What a learner sees when she signs in: the next session, the goal, and the note from last time.

Learner home on language.theeducationalequalityinstitute.org, as the public tour shows it. The people are sample profiles. Take the tour

The TEEI Language learner home. Your goal: hold a 5-minute conversation, 12 conversations so far. Your next session: Olena Kovalenko, tomorrow at 15:00, Oslo, with Join session and How it works. Last time you spoke: the volunteer's note from the previous conversation.

„Erzählen Sie mir von sich.“

Tell me about yourself.

Olena has a pharmacy degree and nine years behind a counter. Her licensing interview is in German. She can translate every word of this sentence. Saying it in the room is the harder half.

Olena is a composite drawn from programme records.

Why practice

Built around practice, on purpose.

Reflex

From translating to answering

In regular conversation, learners stop translating in their heads and start answering. That reflex only builds against a live listener.

Speed

From knowing to using

Study builds knowledge. Speaking builds the ability to use it at speed, under pressure, with a stranger.

Confidence

From one session to the next

Confidence compounds: every session makes the next one easier.

Practice is the engine. So we built the place to practise.

The programme

A volunteer, a video call, 30, 45 or 60 minutes.

A learner books a free video session with a volunteer who speaks the language they are learning. No curriculum, no grades: practice for the life the learner is about to live.

The materialA licensing interview. A landlord. The small talk at work.

Charmaine D., a TEEI Language volunteer partner

It gives them an opportunity to speak to a native English speaker, and they practice their English and it builds their confidence.

Charmaine D. · Language partner

English helped me at work... Before, for me, needs a translator. Now, I don't use it.

Iryna T. · Learner

When you have been speaking with someone for a long period of time, it feels like your friend or maybe a family member.

Iryna B. · Learner

Charmaine, Iryna, and Iryna are real, in their own words.

Teach + practise

Half of learning a language is a classroom.
The other half is a conversation.

The teaching half

Structured Language Courses

A teacher, a group and a programme: two or three classes a week for two or three months, with the materials and tasks in itslearning between them.

The practice half

TEEI Language

One volunteer, 30, 45 or 60 minutes, at an hour she books herself. No programme: the sentence she needs this week.

Monday and Wednesday she learns it.
Thursday she says it.

Learners do both.

About the courses

The platform

Built by TEEI, for exactly this.

Matching, booking, video, records: we built and run the platform ourselves, so the programme depends on nobody else’s product. This is one learner’s week on it.

Open the platform

Find

Pick the hour you are free.

The Times view shows every open hour this week in Olena’s own time zone, and how many volunteers are free at each. She filters by language, by topic, or by nothing at all.

The Times view: a week of open hours from 07:00 to 21:00, with how many volunteers are free at each hour in the learner’s own time zone, and her held session on Thursday at 19:00. Sample data.

Ask

Say what you need, to a person.

A request is a line to one volunteer: what she wants to practise, and when. The volunteer can accept, or answer with another time.

A request to one volunteer, Jonas: what the learner wants to practise and when, answered with another time, Thursday 19:00, and two buttons, accept or another time. Sample data.

Book

One ticket, two clocks.

30, 45 or 60 minutes, once or at a weekly time of her own choosing. The ticket shows the hour in both time zones, so nobody does the arithmetic.

The booking: Thursday 9 October at 19:00 with Jonas, shown in the learner’s time zone and in his, 45 minutes chosen of 30, 45 or 60, repeating every Thursday. Sample data.

Speak

The room is ours.

Video runs on TEEI’s own platform. Captions are on when both agree, and Olena keeps the transcript for herself. The sentence she came for gets said out loud.

The video room on the platform: two tiles, Jonas and Olena, the live caption of his question, and the control row for microphone, camera, captions, screen sharing, a raised hand and chat. Sample data.

Keep

Every session leaves a note.

After the call the volunteer writes what went well and what to bring next time. It waits on her home page until the next session is booked.

The volunteer’s note after the session: what went well and what to bring next time, with the date, the length and the next session. Sample data.

Groups

Six seats, one topic, one host.

Speaking Clubs are small groups on video, hosted by a volunteer, with six seats by default. Olena takes one when she wants other voices in the room.

A Speaking Club seat: the topic, the hour, the volunteer host, three of six seats taken, the learner’s own seat held. Sample data.

Between sessions

Practise the line before you say it.

The writing room, in English: Olena types her answer, the companion replies and marks what to fix. What she keeps goes on one shelf, and she brings it to her next session.

The writing room: the learner’s typed answer, the companion’s reply with one phrase marked to fix and a tip, and the line to write the next answer. Sample data.

Learners use the platform in English, Ukrainian, Norwegian or Polish. Names and times in the drawings are sample data.

Open the platform

The shape of the programme

More learners are waiting than the volunteer pool can carry.

Demand has never been the constraint; volunteers are.

For TEEI Language and TEEI Mentorship, the record includes completed sessions and conversation hours, with measurement dates alongside the figures. The methodology explains what is counted and how.

GETlanguage.theeducationalequalityinstitute.org/api/lc/public-stats

Conversation hours
9,911
Completed sessions
13,147
Member countries
148

Measured Open the endpoint

A sample TEEI Language certificate of achievement, awarded for 10 verified conversations.
Sample certificate

Credentials

Every completed conversation counts toward a Language credential.

A credential recognises participation; it is not a course certificate. Volunteers have a ladder of their own.

Each step comes with a title for LinkedIn, a printable hours statement and a public page anyone can check by its code.

Languages

Pick the language you need to speak.

The platform lists 71 languages, each with its own name beside the English one. You name yours when you sign up, then choose among the volunteers who offer it.

Seven have their own practice pages.

A volunteer card: Miguel in Valencia, his line to learners, the languages he speaks with the level of each and the one he offers, and the button to ask him for a session. Sample data.

You came for English. Miguel offers it, beside the Spanish he grew up with.

Where it sits

One stage of a longer path.

  1. ConnectionBuddy ProgrammeA peer and a place to belong.
  2. Language · hereTEEI Language + Structured CoursesThe practice half and the teaching half.
  3. SkillsSkills AcademySelf-paced courses, live learning and professional experience.
  4. WorkTEEI MentorshipA mentor in the learner’s own field.

The same platform

TEEI Mentorship and Skills Academy run on it too, each its own programme.

TEEI Mentorship connects participants with volunteer professionals for practical career guidance. Conversations can focus on a CV, an upcoming interview, a job search, a career change or development within a particular field.

The same booking, the same room, the same notes, in the vertical’s own green.

About TEEI Mentorship

Open times

Mentors with open times, in her own clock.

A mentee browses approved mentors by expertise and picks an open time of 30, 45 or 60 minutes. Some times confirm instantly; for the rest she sends a request with a short note.

The Times view under Browse mentors in TEEI Mentorship: a week of the mentors’ open hours from 07:00 to 21:00, filtered to one area of expertise, with how many mentors are free at each hour in the mentee’s own time zone, and her held session on Tuesday at 17:30. Sample data.

Mentor

A professional in the same field.

Mentors apply with a confirmed LinkedIn account and are approved by TEEI before they are listed. The platform counts their sessions; the badge says approved, nothing more.

A mentor card: Moira, a hospital pharmacist in Edinburgh, approved by TEEI, her sessions counted by the platform, what she talks about, her languages, and the button to ask her for a session. Sample data.

Goal

Say what the session is for.

A mentee picks one of six goals, then writes the line that matters: the role, the field, the country. The mentor reads it before the call.

The session goal: six choices, with Practise an interview chosen, and the mentee’s own line about the role, the field and the country. Sample data.

Session

The same ticket, 45 minutes.

A mentee books 30, 45 or 60 minutes, once or weekly. After the call, the mentor’s note carries the homework: the CV line to rewrite, the answer to rehearse.

The same booking ticket for mentoring: Tuesday 14 October at 17:30 with Moira, in both time zones, 45 minutes, every Tuesday. Sample data.

The mentor’s note after the session, with the homework: the answer to rehearse and the CV line to rewrite. Sample data.

Mentor levels

Eight steps, counted by the platform.

Each level comes with a title a mentor can add to LinkedIn from the certification page. Moira is at ten.

Its own programme

Skills Academy, on the same account.

Workshops, clinics, expert Q&A, webinars and classes led by professionals. A class runs two to six sessions with the same group, and ends in a certificate issued by TEEI.

Self-paced courses through DataCamp and Google Career Certificates on Coursera, requested from the same account.

About Skills Academy

Coming up in My Academy, the Skills Academy view on the same account: a class on Monday 13 October with the learner’s place confirmed, a workshop invitation waiting for Wednesday, and a clinic on Thursday with three of eight places left. Sample data.

Built by TEEI. Run by volunteers. Free for every learner.

A sample company’s Evenhall record: six volunteers at Nordheim AS held 14 conversations between 1 April and 30 June 2026; on the record, 14 completed sessions, 8.30 measured volunteer hours and 9 learners supported, measured on the platform TEEI runs. Sample data.

A company’s Evenhall: its people’s hours here, on the record. Sample data.What Evenhall is →

Learning a language?Practise with a volunteer Speak one?Give an hour A company?Your people can give those hoursSessions credited to an organisation appear in its Cockpit. You see counts, never names.

Or see the platform itself →See a sample report →

A conversation with a purpose.

What you do
As a language volunteer you support another person’s language practice through conversation. As a learner you practise the language you are learning. Professional career mentoring is a separate offering.
Who it is for
Language volunteers are adults aged 18 or over who are comfortable speaking the language they offer; teaching credentials are not required. Learner admission covers adults from Ukraine, women from Latin America and the Caribbean, and women from Afghanistan. Origin, rather than residence, determines eligibility. Other applicants may encounter a waiting list.
Contribute or learn
Volunteer and learner have separate registration and approval routes. The conversation supports the learner’s learning.
How you meet
Online conversation, one to one or in the programme’s published group format. A language partner takes part in the conversation.
Language
Choose a language to offer or practise. A specific language group must exist before it can be advertised.
Time and recurrence
Set availability and agree or book a time in the programme. Duration and recurrence follow the agreement or specific session.
Your first meeting
Meet the agreed participant in the conversation room. Start with the learner’s language, level and goals, and use the conversation for speaking practice. In an organised group the host guides the session.
Getting started
Volunteer: application, profile and approval before availability and booking. Learner: separate registration and admission check, then language, level and goals before a suitable partner or group.

From the activity catalogue

No specific session is confirmed in this lookup. The programme links show the next option; this is not a promise of available places.

Heidi B. – Volunteer Mentor / Language Partner

Heidi B. · TEEI Language · Participant stories
Read the transcript (English)

Language for Ukrainians platform is an amazing way to connect with people who speak English really

well, and just to practice each week. 30 minutes of oral practice will be great for your language.

I come to the lesson prepared. We discuss different topics. Many Ukrainians would like to

improve their business English, which makes sense, so we discuss different topics: remote working.

We discuss meetings, and how to hold a meeting in English, or how to present at a meeting. Watch

programs in English. You can always put the Ukrainian subtitles on, which really helps you

make the connection between your own language and the English language. Listen to podcasts, read books.

But there are many things that you can be doing day to day that will help improve your language skills,

and speaking English is really important in the, in the business world. Many companies use English as

their main language, because they are global. And if you are now living in a different country, looking

for a new job, working on your English skills is one of the best things that you can, you can do. I think

it's really important that you are practicing regularly, and I really enjoy meeting with my Ukrainian students

on a regular basis.

Would you like to practise a language?

Learner access follows the programme’s audience rules. Choose the participant pathway that applies to you; volunteer applications are a separate route.