Note [2022]: The meetings on this page were organised before the COVID-19 pandemic. These days, I recommend that you organise online meetings. If you want, you can use the comment section on this page to contact other LEPsters. Good luck!
Listeners of this podcast in some cities regularly meet up to socialise and practise speaking English. These meetings are becoming more and more popular, and are known as LEPSTER MEETUPS or LEP Meetups.
Here is some information and some links to Facebook pages for these meetups. If you’d like to set up an LEP meetup in your area, see below for some tips. Feel free to use the comment section (below) to ask questions and discuss LEP meetups.
LEP MEETUPS AROUND THE WORLD
Russia 🇷🇺
The biggest and most frequent meetups happen in Russia where listeners regularly get together and have big rambling sessions!
MOSCOW – The “Moscow LEPsters Conversation Club” on Facebook
SAINT PETERSBURG – The “SPB LEPsters Conversational Club” on Facebook
NIZHNIY NOVGOROD – The “Nizhniy Novgorod LEP Club” on Facebook
Japan 🇯🇵
The first ever LEP meetup happened in Tokyo, and in 2017 there was quite a big event when Luke visited and performed stand-up comedy with some friends.
TOKYO – “LEP Meeting in Toyko” on Facebook
Czech Republic 🇨🇿
Long-term LEPster Zdenek Lukas (from Zdenek’s English Podcast) sometimes organises social events for LEPsters who would like to get together, speak English and play board games.
PRAGUE – “LEPster Meetup in Prague” on Facebook
Chile 🇨🇱
There is now a LEPsters social club in Antofagasta, Chile. Details can be found here on their Facebook page – LEPsters Social Club Antofagasta
Meetups have also taken place in UK🇬🇧 (London), Spain🇪🇸 (Alicante) and Italy🇮🇹(Milan).
How to organise an LEP Meetup
If you would like to organise a meetup …here are some tips:
- Find a suitable venue – it should be a cafe, pub or bar where there is a space for people to sit together comfortably, without too much noise.
- Pick a good date and time. Sunday afternoons seem to work well, or an evening during the week (but not Friday because the place might be very busy).
- Set up a Facebook page or similar (e.g. VK) and include the address, time, date, name of the host and instructions on how to find you (e.g. how they can identify you!)
- Contact Luke and ask him to publicise the event. I need at least 2 weeks notice. I will try to announce the meetup on the podcast but I can’t guarantee this – however I can share it with my Facebook and Twitter followers.
- Prepare a few topics or questions to help the conversation flow.
- Have your meetup and enjoy chatting in English to some like-minded people.
For your first meeting you might only get a small number of people, but if you keep doing it the number can grow and grow, and eventually you might have a large social group and some friends for life!