Online English speaking club rules

If a speaking club starts at 7pm, don't come at 7:10, 7:15 or later. We understand you might have a problem and that's why you're late, but please respect the time. All online English speaking clubs will start and finish at the time that is listed. We will start without you. If you are going to be late, please let us know.

People have different opinions about different things and this can be based on cultural or religious reasons. Don't start criticising someone who doesn't think the same as you. Accept it, respect it, and question it.

We know swear words are sometimes a great way of expressing your feelings, but try to keep the bad words out of the speaking clubs.

We have free speaking clubs, premium clubs and paid speaking courses. Premium clubs use credits, while course payment instructions are sent after a group is ready. Follow the payment instructions for the option you choose so your place can be confirmed.

Before the speaking club starts, test your microphone and make sure it is clear. It's best to test this by recording yourself speaking for 30 seconds. Also, make sure your internet connection is working without problems. Try a test call before you join.

These are two topics we keep away from, so don't start asking people about their views on Putin or if they think God is real. The only time these topics will be OK to speak about is if the speaking club topic is based around it, otherwise, shhhh.

It's called an online English speaking club because the language is English. The reason why everyone has come to the speaking club is to SPEAK ENGLISH. Not Italian, French, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish or Czech. Save those languages for your next speaking club ;)

If someone uses the wrong word, tense, or mispronounces something, don't laugh. They are here just like you to practise their English speaking skills. It's easy to hate, but be kind and help each other. Everyone is in the same boat here, and if everyone is kind, it'll create a nice atmosphere for our English speaking club.

The purpose of a speaking club is to speak, speak, speak, and speak some more. Avoid one-word answers: explain your reasons and ask other people follow-up questions. Try not to give a very long answer either, because everyone in the room deserves time to speak.

Make sure you're having fun! If something in a hosted or browser-based club makes you uncomfortable, leave the room and get in contact with us. We will do our best to understand and solve the problem.

If you reserve a place in a free hosted club and do not attend or cancel, you may be asked to sit out the next free hosted club. Places are limited, so please cancel as early as possible and let somebody else use yours.

Before reserving a hosted club, check the topic, level, date and London start time. Only register when you genuinely expect to attend. Self-run drop-in clubs such as IELTS Speaking and Random Chat do not require advance registration.

Something that happens more often than we would like is people sign up for a FREE English speaking club and then don't come. This makes us really sad for two reasons. 1) We want to SPEAK to you, and we want you to SPEAK to us! And more importantly... 2) The minimum number of people for a FREE conversation club to run is 4.

If we don't hit that number, the speaking club will be cancelled and the people who came will be very disappointed. We will wait 15 minutes to reach that number, but if we don't hit it, we will cancel. So if you are going to come, make sure you check all the details and times and that it suits you.