As many polyglots and language learning experts – like Benny Lewis with his Fluent in 3 Months approach – assert, the best way to learn a new language is to start and speak it as early in the language learning process as possible. You might know this from yourself: Have you studied a foreign language for many years in high school but never been able to actually communicate with a native speaker? And isn’t that what the purpose of language learning really should be: Speaking?
Now being out of high school, you might still want to learn foreign languages. The most obvious – because traditional way – would be to attend some group classes in your local town, maybe at your university, just like in high school. But will these get you the speaking practice you need or will you only be able to read and write in your target language after an immense time investment in these courses?
Italki is a platform offering personal, one-on-one online classes with native speakers of your target language. The platform serves to connect professional teachers as well as tutors from around the world with students willing to learn their languages. This means that depending on the countries where your target language is spoken and the exchange rate of these countries’ currencies to your country’s one, you can take private classes for no more than you would pay for group lessons attending local courses in your home country.
So what do you think? Do you agree that online opportunities like this one will eradicate local group class offerings? Would you yourself try out Italki or have you maybe already made experiences with this or similar platforms?
Dear Julia, thanks for your blog! A friend of mine has actually recently introduced me to Italki and I definitely want to try it out! I am a teacher myself, and I teach Dutch once a week. While I focus on grammar and writing, I also try to get my students to speak, but I know they are mostly like to speak Dutch only once a week – in class.
I think that Italki is a great opportunity. It allows students to really learn to speak a language, and it allows teachers to really focus on one student. It gives you also the opportunity to decide when you want to teach/learn, and you can choose as a student the price you pay (the more experience a teacher has, the more you pay, if I am not mistaken).
I am definitely thinking of trying out italki myself as a teacher, and perhaps even as a student. Did you try it out?