All you NEED to know before booking a language tutor!

The title says it all! Don't go into a language lesson online without using these tips. Good luck! 💕

⭐️ Related blog posts:

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:58 First point
03:06 A quick tip~
04:00 Second point
04:41 Third point
06:51 Fourth point
08:02 Fifth point
08:39 Being on time
09:31 Accent/dialect and time
10:52 Ratings
11:18 Bonus tips for students!

#languagelearning #languagelearningtips #italki
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[christinemcgoveran]

I’m an English tutor on Cambly who has taught over 1100 students and 3000 classes. I can’t agree more with these tips. I learn just as much from my students as they learn from me. One more tip I have is to tell your tutor (if they don’t ask) why you are learning the language you are learning and what you do to practice. I have done this with every student I have taught. It helps me learn their goals and motivation, so my lessons will be helpful for them.

[corinna]

I actually prefer to be corrected, as long as it's done from a genuine place of wanting to help me improve (although obviously constant interruption would be irritating). I'm always worried about saying something wrong or using the wrong word, and I'm also a perfectionist, so if I say something wrong or use the wrong word, I want to know right away, instead of them letting me continue thinking I was "correct" when I wasn't.

[jeanthomas]

Love this topic! I'm an English tutor on iTalki and I especially loved your tip about coming to class with some level of preparation. I always tell my new students in our first lesson--come to class with questions! My students who do that always improve faster.

And I can't tell you how many times a student has asked me to correct them in the moment! Even with their permission, I can't do it! 1) The way I was raised tells me it's rude to interrupt people, 2) it ruins conversational flow, 3) I am not nit-picky about tiny mistakes that don't change overall meaning, and 4) I don't want them to have a negative association with English, just as you described. So I'm definitely the type of tutor who quietly corrects. I put my corrections in a document as they talk and give them the document at the end of class.

Thanks for sharing, Lindie! <3

[cookiewithoutraisins]

As a Polish teacher (preply here!), after you book a trial class, please let your tutor know, what your level is. Especially if you choose a tutor that lists themselves as a divverent level than you are. I had students show up on a conversation class without knowing how to read the alphabet, I had students who were easily holding a conversation with me, who booked a begginer lvl class. If you're not sure, you can tell the teacher the grammar you know, or the topic that you can already talk about etc.

[livin_a_fairytale]

I booked a lesson with a teacher by accident, and I fell in love with her teaching. Even though her introductory video is not what drew me to her, she is the best language tutor out there. At least for me.

[aiorosgalaviz]

As a Mexican, I'm glad that you chose to learn our dialect, I think it sounds really beautiful and you're doing great. Great video btw!

[tales_n_tea]

Getting interrupted can be such a turn off in a language lesson, especially as a beginner. I've always been annoyed when people interrupt me, but in a language learning setting when you're just a beginner it is terrible. As a language tutor myself I try to avoid it as much as I can, unless the mistake is on a keyword to what the student is talking about. This has given me the best results so far.

[asdrubalivan]

Watching because I'm scheduling my first iTalki lessons ever this week!

[mindful]

I used to have a tutor who was looking at her phone and replying messages while I was reading . She also last minute changed session timing. It was annoying . The most annoying one was a tutor who said she couldn’t continue because she had some difficulties etc but I know it wasn’t true. I believe she didn’t want to teach me step by step and was expecting someone who was already conversational in that language . Later I found out she has an Instagram page . She probably was more invested in making videos on Instagram.

[iamweronika]

I tried Preply for Italian. The first girl was running a lesson from a busy cafe and people (some friends) were coming and greeting her. Also people behind her were looking into my camera. Also he was late.
Terrible 😮
I asked for an replacement. The second tutor ghosted me completely.

Now I go to Italian groups on Facebooks and have 3 trial lessons scheduled this week. Hope to finally choose one.

Great tips ❤ good luck studying!!

[laurakaramcruz]

Great video as always, Lindie! I teach Portuguese on italki you've mentioned so many important things! As a student, I also think it's really important to connect with the tutor, as I feel more comfortable to learn the language, make mistakes etc. And as a tutor, I always try to create a safe environment for my students to learn while also making sure I know what they expect from our lessons right from day 1.

[purinsyndrome]

lindie coming in clutch right when i'm thinking about booking a tutor! thank you so much

[italozavarella]

Thank you Lindie for all your valid points to accelerate language learning, coming from someone who speaks a bunch of languages I value your opinion 😃😃😃

[rag_llm]

An immediate "pass" for me is tutors that have a bad microphone. You have to be real careful on this one because you might not mind listening to a voice with a lot of room reverb (echo) for an intro video, but after 2 months you might find it really painful. Other things I listen for are excessive mic thumps (no pop filter and using a studio mic, which normally is a good thing) and just plain bad audio or frequent street sounds.

I also pass on anyone that has a bad camera. Blurry, dark, or choppy video is not something I can handle for a long time like the amount of time you will spend with a language tutor. I even saw one video where I literally could not hear the tutor speak! I think some tutors just blind upload their videos and never review them.

[CarlosMiau]

Very helpful to listen a student's perspective on italki.
I can relate to every single aspect you mentioned, it's been over two and a half years tutoring for the website.
Thank you for this "unfiltered" video!

PS: in the correction aspect, what my students fancy is me typing their spoken sentences corrected as they speak on the italki classroom/chat so they can check it when our lesson has finished. If they read it and do not understand why, I explain the correction as the lesson flows

[Dptransomu]

These are very helpful tips. Thank you!

[deutschmitpurple]

Thank you so much for this informative video. When I watch your videos, I feel myself better and happy

[laurend]

Such a useful video for teachers as well. Thank you for mentioning Verbling, it's where I teach French and also where I found my Italian tutor and she is amazing!

[patchy]

Isle of Tenerife,
Spain,
Africa.

For sure, Lindie, it would drive me crazy if a teacher of a language I'm learning used English or any non-target language during the sessions.
Many people wrongly assume that one of the aims of a teacher is to assure that the student has understood everything said during the lesson.
NO!
The aim is to expose the student to the language, and if this involves leaving the session still with doubts and gaps in the content discussed, even better!
That's often when the subconscious mind decides to step in and starts to form a separate language core for this mysterious new element, and start running new neurotransmitters to build up structure and fluency.
I give Gaelic lessons (often on Italki), and without using one word of any other language during the sessions I always have even complete beginners conversing with me within the first session or two, I kid you not!
I'm hoping to start learning Siamese and find a teacher who teaches it like I teach Gaelic, all immersive.
Or do you think the unique alphabet, the tones, and the ton of vowels make it too difficult to learn for a European?
I love your videos and amazing insights, Lindie.
I'm guessing the tardy teachers you mentioned are of Spanish language, right?
It's part of Spanish culture, I'm afraid.
I've also just started teaching my brother Jonno (yes, he of Crazy Bastard Sauce) Mexican Spanish using my immersive routine, adapted for him, and I'm delighted to see it's working just as well with him as with my Gaelic students.
You're such an inspiration, Lindie.
✨☘️💖☘️✨

[Daviddaze]

Sziastok. Language with Lindie channel. ! On YouTube, there's a tutor with 50 videos and transcripts. ' Hungarian with Angie' is enjoyable. Her Facebook page mentions using Zoom sessions. You've mentioned Sziszi before, also there's Szuszi., with youtube videos. Also there's a Bible App
available, called 'Bible Offline' - Mr. Rocco, on playstore. There's 27 languages in settings, if i remember correctly. Read your bible in Greek, Spanish, and even Hungarian! There are several versions of ' bible offline', Mr Rocco iis the version with translations. Koszonom