Jason: Chatting online with Skype or other media is not formal. There is no special thing to say as native or foreign student of a language. SKYPE has a feature which shows you that a person is online. There is a Green Oval next to their name, which tells you that the person is online. If the oval is White, it means the person is Offline or that their presence online is hidden from other members. Look in your text box, if you use Skype, where the person who has given you their contact information will usually type a "Hello" or a "Hey There!" as Shabnab.M indicates. Sometimes, it is customary to spend a couple minutes typing things like. "How are you?". or, "I am happy to see you." Then it is polite for one person or the other to type a message saying; "Can I call you?" or, "Please call me now." You can hear the change in sound in your headpones when the call is answered. You can just start by saying; "Hello. Hello." It is polite to turn your camera on so that the other person can see you. Some people are extremely shy and will not turn their camera on. That is something you can just accept. When people know you better, they will turn their camera on. Sometimes it helps to type the words you say. I usually use some text in E-mail as a study material for my student. It helps you and your partner to have a text to practice and read, as spontaneous conversation in a new language is frightening for some students. The text allows people to read together until they are acquainted. . .

r u there. hey there