turning now to the drawings , fig1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a learning community 10 embodying the present invention . via a network 12 , preferably the internet , learning community users or members , including a plurality of students s 1 . . . sn and a plurality of native speakers n 1 . . . nn in various languages , communicate by means of computing devices , with a learning community server 14 . typically , a student or native speaker would be communicating by means of a personal computer , but those skilled in the art will appreciate that many other types of computing devices could be used , including , but not limited to , a smart telephone , a personal digital assistant ( pda ), a pocket computer , or a laptop computer . the communications may be by text , verbally , or any other method . server 14 provides access for members to a plurality of service modules 16 . although these modules are shown herein as co - located with server 14 , those skilled in the art will appreciate that they may , themselves , be websites to which server 14 redirects members . among the available service modules , there is a tutorial or pedagogical teaching module 18 , which provides intensive online training in a plurality of languages . module 18 may operate in conjunction with a language teaching program running on a student &# 39 ; s computing device . a game module 20 provides a variety of games and language activities offering verbal and written training in various languages ; and a reference module 22 provides a collection of dictionaries , thesauruses , and similar references in various languages . video and audio entertainment in various languages is offered by an entertainment module 24 . a chat module 26 permits typed and verbal chats in various languages among members . in a preferred embodiment , paying users , such as students , may enter a username and login , and are given access to all of the language activities in their target language . those activities include a variety of interactive exercises and games that may be done with a native speaker in the target language . the activities are preferably structured , so that the usable vocabulary is limited to those words that the language learner can be expected to understand in the target language . preferably , the student will be presented with array of graphics and images related to an inquiry to immerse the student in the subject matter and enhance learning and retention of information . a method and apparatus for doing so is disclosed in copending u . s . patent application ser . no . 12 / 412 , 472 , owned by the assignee of the present patent application . additionally , such activities may be customized to the paying language learner , and may use any of the techniques and teaching methodologies described in copending application ser . nos . 11 / 618 , 485 , 11 / 846 , 188 or 12 / 052 , 435 . prior art techniques of language learning and customization may be employed as well . as it is desirable to have activities that involve conversational interaction with native speakers , it is necessary to obtain native speakers with whom the language learners can interact . for example , if an english speaker trying to learn japanese pays for the right to engage in the structured activities that involve interaction with a japanese native speaker , there must be a manner in which to motivate japanese speakers to spend time conducting structured activities with english speakers . while the obvious manner to do so might be to have the english speaker similarly engage the japanese native speaker , the problem is that the japanese speaker may not wish to pay to learn english if he already speaks basic english . moreover , allowing the japanese speaker to be similarly engaged in english without paying would require the structured language learning activities to be given away free to all users in various languages . the solution to this embodied in the present invention is to realize that there are likely many japanese users that , while not willing to pay to learn english using a structured language course , may nonetheless be willing to donate some time in structured communications or playing structured language games and activities with a learner of japanese in exchange for some basic , unstructured conversation in english , for example with a native english speaker , or another language , to practice their language skill . hence , the english part of the activities between the japanese native speaker , and the paying japanese language learner , may be simply a photograph to discuss , or some other non structure language exercises . in such a situation , if the japanese native speaker wishes to learn english “ from scratch ” the methodology will not work — he will have to pay for the language learning course . however , if he wishes to simply practice english to fine tune his skills , he can do so for free by engaging in language learning for a short time that will assist the english learner . thus , the premium activities are those that are structured to teach a target language to a student in a curriculum , for example , with the system controlling what words will constitute proper responses to the language activities based specifically upon what words the student knows , or potentially a customized or semi - customized curriculum for language learning . on the other hand , the “ free ” language activities are a set of unstructured , non - customized activities , such as “ discuss this photograph ” or “ explain what you do at work ”. these types of activities are not well suited for practicing specific words of a customized or semi - customized curriculum . in addition , rather than the japanese native speaker being given an opportunity to practice only in the english language with the english speaker , he can practice in any language with any speaker . in this regard , this application hereby incorporates by reference the entirety of copending and commonly owned u . s . application ser . no . 12 / 143 , 148 , entitled economic language learning system . in the &# 39 ; 148 application , a system of economics is disclosed where native speakers may exchange practice time with language learners in various languages , and wherein speaking time , time of day , language and other parameters are used to “ value ” learning time to practice sessions can be exchanged among users . in adding the teachings of the present invention , an additional parameter in the valuation can be whether the user is a paying or free user as described herein . fig2 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary preferred process for handling access to the chat module 26 in the preferred embodiment 10 of a learning community in accordance with the present invention . the process starts at block 100 , after a member requests access to the chat module 26 , and , at block 102 , the member requesting access selects the language for the chat . students purchase paying privileges in advance , and may purchase such paying privileges in one or more languages . moreover , while only two levels are used herein — premium and non - paying — the same techniques can be applied to plural levels of student , with each level costing more and giving access to more capabilities , and better language practicing and learning techniques . at block 104 , a test is performed to determine whether the member requesting access is a student ( a premium or paying member ) in the selected language . it should be understood that a member may be a student in one or more languages and a native speaker in one or more other languages . for example , an individual who is a native speaker in the english language could be a student in the spanish language . the nature of his access to the chat module therefore depends upon the language that he selected . if it is determined at block 104 that the member is a student for the present language , control is transferred to block 106 , where the student is given full access to the chat module . on the other hand , if it is determined at block 104 that the member is not a student for the present language , control is transferred to block 108 , where the member is given limited access to the chat module . at block 110 , accessed only by members with full access , a test is performed to determine whether the full - access member ( student ) has requested a premium chat . if not , the member is transferred to a public chat room at block 112 , where he remains until he signs out , at which time the process ends at block 114 . while in the public chat room , a member may carry on typed or spoken communications with other members . a student receives a notification on the screen of his computing device of all native speakers who are available for chat , with an indication of those that are qualified to carry on premium chats . it is contemplated that native speakers would be qualified for premium chats , for example , by means of a test . in the preferred embodiment , the student may issue an invitation to a private chat which can be accepted by any qualified native speaker and they can make arrangements for a premium chat . however , it would also be possible to permit the student to invite particular native speakers whom he is familiar with . during the present chat , the student could click a prescribed area of his screen to authorize the chat , and be presented with a window in which he can authorize the chat and be presented with authentication information to be given to the native speaker . when the student authorizes the chat , a private message is sent to the native speaker with all the scheduling and authentication information . the student can terminate the public chat room session and reenters the chat module for a premium chat . it should be appreciated that a student could also make arrangements for a premium chat , for example , by e - mail , after which he could authorize the chat . if it is determined in the test at block 110 that the student has requested the start of a premium chat , control is transferred to block 116 , where a premium chat room is opened for the student and a list of his authorized premium chats is displayed , from which he may select the intended session for the present premium chat . if his chat partner is not present , the student may simply wait for him to sign in . on the other hand , the student may be presented with a list of members who are in the public chat room who are qualified to carry on premium chats , and he can momentarily carry on a private chat with one of them and invite him into the premium chat room . in doing so , he would click on the appropriate authorization area of the screen and enter the necessary information to authorize the premium chat . this information is sent privately to the selected native speaker . when the student terminates the premium chat , the process ends at block 118 . the accounting must also be updated , meaning the system then must reflect that the native speaker who engaged in the premium chat ( but who is not a paying customer n the target language of that premium chat ) t is now entitled to a certain amount of “ credit ” in another language of his choice . in other embodiments , the public chat room is eliminated entirely , and the native speaker , at the time of the premium chat , immediately follows with a non - paying activity in the native language of the paying customer . in this embodiment , all chats are set up with two portions , a paying part of the structured language games , and corresponding non - paying part with the unstructured , non - premium services in the native language of the paying user . returning to fig2 , after a member is given limited access at block 108 , control is transferred to block 120 , when the member must indicate whether this is a response to an invitation to a premium chat . if he indicates that it is not , control transfers to block 112 with the members given access to the public chat room . on the other hand , if the member indicates that this is a response to an invitation to a premium chat , control transfers to block 122 , where the member must provide authentication information for the premium chat . if at block 122 authentication fails after a given number of attempts , control transfers to block 124 , where a message is sent to the member informing him that authentication has failed , and control transfers to block 112 where the member is given access to the public chat room . if the authentication at block 122 is successful , control transfers to block 116 whether members is given access to the premium chat room for the authorized chat . while in a premium chat , a native speaker earns participation credits , which he may “ spend ” to gain access to services not normally available to him . for example , a native speaker &# 39 ; s access to games or entertainment may be severely limited . however , he may use participation credits to gain access to a subgroup of games our entertainment that would normally not be available to him . the number of credits a native speaker earns may be determined by such factors as the length of his premium chat and the availability of native speakers in his language . a native speaker in an uncommon language might receive substantially more credits per minute and a native speaker in a common language . as a further example of how a native speaker might be rewarded , his chatting activities might normally be limited to his native language . however , in exchange for participation credits , he could be permitted to chat in another language of his choice . for example , a native spanish speaker might be permitted to chat in a chat room in the english language in order to practice his english . in still other embodiments , it is possible to earn enough credit by participating as a native speaker in premium chats with a language learner to even get enough credit for access to premium chat capabilities in a different language . although preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes , those skilled in the art will appreciate that many additions , modifications , and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims .