Language Connect for Ukraine: How 8,000+ Ukrainians Are Building Confidence One Conversation at a Time

Free 1-to-1 language practice with volunteers worldwide. No apps. No algorithms. Real people, real conversations.

Key Takeaways

• Language Connect for Ukraine connects 8,000+ Ukrainian learners with volunteer conversation partners for free 1-to-1 video practice
• The platform focuses on real conversation practice, not structured lessons or gamified apps
• Learners control their own schedule, choosing volunteers and topics that match their needs
• Volunteers need no teaching experience—just patience, support, and fluency in at least one language
• The programme is part of TEEI’s integrated ecosystem: courses → practice → mentoring → employment
• Professional credentials recognize sustained commitment for both volunteers and learners
• Corporate volunteering opportunities offer flexible, measurable CSR engagement
• The platform supports multiple UN SDGs and is registered on Benevity and Goodera

Quick Facts

The Problem We Solve

When Ukrainians flee war, they bring their skills with them. What they leave behind is any confidence in communicating those skills.

A marketing director who managed million-dollar campaigns cannot explain her experience in a German job interview. A software engineer who led a team of 20 freezes when asked basic questions in English. A mother who ran a household cannot navigate a school enrolment form in Polish.

Language apps can teach vocabulary. Online courses can explain grammar. But speaking confidence comes from speaking. There is no shortcut.

Since 2022, millions of Ukrainians have been displaced to countries where they must function in unfamiliar languages. They need to navigate housing applications, medical appointments, job interviews, and school enrolments. They can study for months and still freeze when someone asks them a question.

Language Connect for Ukraine exists to fill this gap.

What Language Connect Is

Language Connect for Ukraine is a free, global platform that connects Ukrainians with volunteer language partners for live 1-to-1 video conversations. It is not a language course. It is not an app with gamified lessons. It is something simpler and, for many learners, more valuable: real practice with real people.

The platform runs on Kintell’s video infrastructure, the same technology that powers our Mentors for Ukraine career mentorship programme. Ukrainians browse volunteer profiles, choose someone whose availability and focus area matches their needs, and book a session. The volunteer accepts, and they meet over video to practise.

That is it. No placement tests. No rigid curricula. No pressure to perform. Just conversation.

How it works for learners

1. Browse volunteer profiles by language, topic, or availability
2. Book a session at a time that works (the platform handles time zone conversion automatically)
3. Send a short message about what you want to practise: job interview preparation, everyday conversation, pronunciation, business communication
4. Join the video call through your browser or mobile app
5. Leave feedback and book again with the same volunteer or try someone new

Sessions typically run 30 to 60 minutes. Learners control their own schedule. Some practise weekly with the same volunteer for months, building a relationship that goes beyond language. Others book sessions with different partners to hear different accents and conversation styles.

Hear From Our Learners

Viktoriia found Language Connect after the full-scale invasion disrupted her life. Through regular conversations with volunteers, she rebuilt not just her English skills but her sense of connection to a wider world.

Iryna has been using Language Connect for over 18 months. What started as language practice became something more: genuine friendships with volunteer teachers across the world.

At 21, Andrii values the diversity of perspectives he encounters through Language Connect. Practising with volunteers from different countries gives him exposure to accents, expressions, and cultural contexts he could never get from a textbook.

Valeriia captures something essential about why conversation practice matters: you cannot learn pronunciation from a book. You need a native speaker to hear the sounds, correct the mistakes, and help you develop an ear for the language.

Ready to start? Find a Conversation Partner → | Для українців: Почати практику →

The Numbers Behind the Programme

Since launching in 2022 as part of our Together for Ukraine response, Language Connect has grown into one of TEEI’s flagship programmes:

• 8,000+ Ukrainian learners have used the platform to practise languages
• Hundreds of volunteer conversation partners from around the world
• Thousands of 1-to-1 sessions delivered
• Hundreds of new users joining every month

The most requested language is English, but volunteers offer conversation practice in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, and many more. The platform is open-language by design: if a volunteer is fluent, they can offer it.

The people behind those numbers

Numbers tell part of the story. Individual commitment tells the rest.

Charmaine De’Ath has completed 707 language tutoring sessions since joining Language Connect. Amy Frewing has completed 355. On the learner side, Lesia has attended 375 sessions while mastering English and rebuilding her life in a new country.

These are not people who signed up, completed a few sessions, and disappeared. They are people who showed up week after week, building real relationships across borders and time zones.

Earlier this year, we launched a Professional Credential System to recognise exactly this kind of sustained contribution. Volunteers and learners now earn verifiable digital badges and certificates based on their session count:

For Language Connect Tutors

For Language Connect Learners

Every credential can be added to LinkedIn and verified instantly by anyone who clicks it. For volunteers, this documents the hours they have given. For Ukrainian professionals, it creates a tangible career asset demonstrating commitment and consistency during an extraordinarily difficult period.

Hear From Our Volunteers

Alexandra discovered that volunteering changed her as much as it helped learners. The experience of supporting people through language practice developed her patience and emotional intelligence in ways she did not expect.

For Gideon, the most rewarding part of volunteering is watching learners grow in confidence. It is not about teaching perfect grammar; it is about helping someone feel capable of speaking.

Akuvi volunteers in both English and French, bringing a cross-cultural perspective to her sessions. The platform’s open-language design means volunteers can offer whatever languages they speak fluently.

What Learners Practise

The platform does not prescribe what learners should work on. Sessions cover whatever the learner needs:

• Job interview preparation: Practising answers, getting feedback on phrasing, understanding what employers expect
• Workplace communication: Email etiquette, meeting participation, small talk with colleagues
• Daily life: Shopping, appointments, phone calls, explaining situations to officials
• Academic language: Preparing for university study or professional certifications
• Casual conversation: Simply getting comfortable speaking without freezing

Volunteers are not expected to be teachers. They are expected to be patient, supportive conversation partners who help learners get used to speaking with native or advanced speakers.

Part of a Larger Ecosystem

Language Connect does not operate in isolation. It is one piece of TEEI’s integrated approach to supporting Ukrainians affected by war.

The pipeline: Courses → Practice → Mentoring → Employment

We have learned that displaced professionals need different types of support at different stages. Language Connect fits into a broader ecosystem:

1. TEEI Language Courses Structured group classes with volunteer teachers, running 2 to 3 times per week over several months. Learners build foundational knowledge with curriculum support from partners including Babbel and Oxford University Press.

2. Language Connect (1-to-1 Practice) After or alongside courses, learners book conversation practice to turn classroom learning into real-world confidence. This is where passive vocabulary becomes active speech.

3. Mentors for Ukraine (Career Mentorship) Once learners have the language confidence to discuss their careers, they can access 1-to-1 mentoring with professionals worldwide. Mentors help with CV reviews, interview preparation, job search strategy, and industry-specific guidance. Over 2,000+ mentees and 400+ mentors have joined the programme.

4. Upskilling & Employment Programme Free online courses in digital skills, data analytics, project management, and more, supported by partners including DataCamp and Splunk. Language practice directly supports this training: learners use Language Connect to practise the technical vocabulary they need.

5. Employment Outcomes The end goal is not language proficiency for its own sake. It is the ability to communicate professionally, interview confidently, and succeed in a new labour market.

This creates a pipeline where learners can move between formal training, conversation practice, career mentoring, and employment opportunities, all on interconnected platforms with shared data and support.

How programmes reinforce each other

A learner in our data analytics course might book Language Connect sessions to practise explaining technical concepts in English. A mentee preparing for job interviews might use Language Connect to rehearse their answers before meeting with their career mentor. A course graduate might return to Language Connect months later to prepare for a promotion interview.

The programmes are designed to work together. Progress in one supports progress in the others.

How to Volunteer: A Step-by-Step Guide

Becoming a Language Connect volunteer takes about 15 minutes. Here is what to expect.

Sign-Up Process

Time Commitment

What a Typical Session Looks Like

No lesson planning. No homework to assign. Just conversation.

How Companies Can Get Involved

Language Connect offers a straightforward, high-impact skills-based volunteering opportunity for corporate teams.

Why Corporate Volunteering Works Here

SDG Alignment

For companies with ESG commitments around education, refugee support, workforce development, or skills-based volunteering, Language Connect provides a clear, defensible programme with documented outcomes.

Workplace Giving Platforms

TEEI is registered on major CSR platforms. Employees at participating companies can find us through their workplace giving portals and log volunteer hours directly.

Partnership Options

Corporate Benefits at a Glance

Getting Started

The Philosophy Behind the Programme

We started TEEI to provide education and career support to displaced Ukrainians. From the beginning, we have resisted framing our participants as passive recipients of charity.

The Ukrainian professionals in our programmes had careers before the war. They are economists, engineers, marketers, doctors, and managers. They are not starting from scratch; they are rebuilding in unfamiliar circumstances.

Language Connect reflects this philosophy. Learners are not assigned volunteers or placed on waiting lists. They browse, choose, and book, the same way they would schedule any professional meeting. They are in control of their own learning.

Volunteers are not treated as saviours. They are conversation partners offering something practical: time and attention. No special training is needed because no special training is the point. What learners need is practice speaking with real people, not more instruction.

This framing matters. It shapes how learners see themselves (as capable professionals acquiring a skill) and how volunteers see their contribution (as useful help, not rescue).

What Comes Next

Language Connect is a mature programme. The technology works. The model is proven. Growth continues steadily with hundreds of new learners joining every month.

Our near-term priorities include:

• Expanding volunteer recruitment for high-demand languages, particularly English and German
• Deeper integration with our upskilling and employment programmes
• Better support for highly active volunteers who sustain the programme
• Systematic collection of employment outcomes linked to language practice

Longer term, the same platform infrastructure can support language learning for other populations. The model we built for Ukraine is not Ukraine-specific; it is a scalable approach to human-centred language practice that can work anywhere.

For now, though, our focus remains on the 8,000+ Ukrainians who have already used Language Connect and the thousands more who will find it in the months ahead.

Join Us

For Ukrainians: Start Practising Today

Browse volunteer conversation partners and book your first free session. You choose the language, the topic, and the time.

Find a Conversation Partner →

Знайти партнера для розмови →

For Volunteers: Share Your Language Skills

No teaching experience needed. Sign up in 15 minutes, set your own hours, and start having conversations that matter.

Become a Conversation Partner →

For Companies: Engage Your Employees

Language Connect offers flexible, measurable, skills-based volunteering. Employees use their native language skills to support Ukrainian professionals rebuilding their careers.

Explore Corporate Volunteering →

Already have an employee volunteering programme? Visit our Employee Volunteering hub or contact us at partnership@theeducationalequalityinstitute.org.

Support Financially

TEEI is a registered US 501(c)(3) nonprofit and Norway NGO. Your donation is tax-deductible for US taxpayers, and employer matching programmes can double your impact.

Make a Donation →

The Educational Equality Institute (TEEI) has reached 20,000+ Ukrainians across 50+ countries since 2022 through career mentorship, language education, and digital skills training. Language Connect for Ukraine is one of six flagship programmes under our Together for Ukraine initiative.

Learn more at theeducationalequalityinstitute.org.