It was 2018. After studying Norwegian for years, you’d think I’d be pretty good at it. Eh, not quite. So by the end of that year, I was ready to make real progress. I was fed up being stuck in the beginner stage. So, I took to google. When I found italki, I thought it was too good to be true. But I gave it a shot. Now, years later, I’m writing my very own italki review to help you all know what to expect going in. Spoiler: It’s not too good to be true!
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The italki Review in a Nutshell
UPDATE: As of Feb. 2021, the community feature is usable on desktop! So it’s no longer a con.
I can honestly say, I LOVE italki. That’s why I gave it 4.5 stars.
I’m able to practice speaking with native speakers, which is almost impossible where I live. There aren’t a ton of Norwegians in Arizona just waiting around for a conversation!
Because of this, it’s become a vital part of my language learning toolkit, and my go-to method to practice speaking.
As the chart suggests though, there is some “not so great”, mixed in with the great.
But before jumping into the italki review, let me cover the basics.
What is italki?
italki is a website that brings together language tutors and students to have one-on-one virtual lessons. Through video calls that you, the student, can schedule in 30-90 minute blocks, you can practice your target language.
Who is italki for?
italki is one of the only tools that I can say is perfect for any language learner. No matter if you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced learner, I recommend it.
iTalki is great for people who like the guidance of a teacher, and for those who just need to practice speaking in their target language without much guidance. It’s very flexible.
It does require you to speak to your language teacher though, so if you’re still too nervous to speak in your target language, you might want to hold off until you’re ready to make that step.
If you want to work more on reading and writing and not speaking, there are text-based apps (hellotalk for example) that might be a better fit. I’d recommend checking out those instead!
What are the Benefits of italki?
There are three main benefits I can say right off the bat:
- You can practice speaking in your target language with native speakers/professional teachers. This is invaluable if you live in a place where you don’t run into speakers of your target language and wouldn’t otherwise get that practice.
- You can easily work with native speakers. The speaking benefit aside, even if you just schedule time to have a native speaker primarily check the work you do on your own (written texts, for example), the ability to schedule time with a native speaker is really beneficial.
- Gives you an extra push to be consistent. Having a teacher that you meet with regularly can help hold you accountable, and that can keep you consistent. I know that I’m way less likely to skip studying if I know I have a lesson with my tutor scheduled for tomorrow!
Is italki Free?
Whether or not italki is free depends on how you use it. If you use it for lessons with teachers and community tutors, which is the main function of the site, then it’s paid—not free. If you use it to find language exchange partners or for the community feature, it’s free.
To pay for lessons, you can either add money to and use your “italki balance,” or just pay for the lesson directly using your card or PayPal. You can also pay for lessons/add to your balance using bank transfer and Skrill eWallet.
Lessons are relatively inexpensive though, especially if you’re learning a language with a lot of teachers. I’d say the average lessons runs around $15-30 an hour.
This can vary, and there are some lessons that can cost more than $50 per hour. Even so, lessons at that price range are not the norm.
Is italki Safe?
italki is generally safe. You don’t share any personal information with your tutor aside from your name, and you can leave a lesson at any time if you feel uncomfortable. Purchasing lessons happens on italki’s secure site, so payment information is also safe.
When are italki Teachers Available?
italki teachers can have various availabilities, so it makes finding a tutor that suits your availability easy. This is especially true if you’re learning a language that is spoken in various parts of the world—like french. Regardless of your time zone, there will likely be italki teachers with available time slots.
How Does italki Work?
Basically, you find a teacher, book your lesson, and start lesson. Now for the longer answer:
The first thing you should know is that there are two types of tutors: professional teachers and community tutors.
– Community Tutors
Community tutors are, as the name suggests, not professional teachers but tutors.
They’re typically fluent or native speakers of the language and are happy to chat to help learners. Lessons with them aren’t free, but they are usually less expensive than with teachers.
Tutors won’t really plan lessons or give in-depth grammar explanations. They are more of an informal resource for speaking practice. They may be experienced or they may just be someone who likes to meet different people and enjoy chatting in your target language.
– Professional Teachers
Professional teachers are, again as the name suggests, teachers who are qualified to teach. They have documented qualifications in education and language expertise.
They typically provide textbook pdfs, use lesson plans, and are equipped to dive into the weeds of the language you’re learning.
Both professional teachers and community tutors can be beneficial depending on what you’re looking for. I like to book with professional teachers because I want more guidance in my learning and want to be sure who I’m working with has experience with language learners.
How to Book Lessons
To book a lesson with either one, you click “find a teacher” at the top if you’re logged out, or just “teachers” at the top right if you’re logged in, and put in which language you’d like to learn.
There are a ton of filters you can sort by, including whether or not they’re a native speaker, their availability, and price.
Each listing includes which languages the teacher speaks and teaches, their star rating, if they’re a community tutor or professional teacher, their rate, a video introduction, and a snapshot of their availability via a color-coded calendar.
The video introductions are super helpful because you get to hear how they speak, listen to their about me, and get a sense of them as a teacher.
After reading about the different teachers and reviewing their qualifications, you find one you like!
You select your desired lesson type, choose which lesson duration you’d like, and then pick a time that works for you out of the available slots on the calendar.
The calendar feature italki supplies it easy to use and color-coded. Green is available, white is unavailable, black and white stripes is booked by another student, and green stripes (not pictured) is a lesson booked by you.
After that, you choose if you’d like to have a lesson via skype, italki classroom (their version of skype), or google meet. I usually use skype.
Once you do that, it’s recommended to send the teacher a message. You can tell them where you are with the language, what kind of guidance you’re looking for, etc.
Some teachers offer instant booking, in which case, once you schedule it, it’s booked!
If instant booking isn’t available, then you wait for the teacher to accept the lesson. Once they accept it, your lesson is officially scheduled.
The Community Section
This is the side of italki that is free. You can find someone who is looking to learn the language you know in exchange for you helping them with the language you know. Basically a language exchange between language partners.
You can also post in the community section to work on writing skills. Native speakers can correct you. There are also questions you can answer or you yourself can ask a question.
How useful this is depends on how popular the language you’re learning is, and what you’re after!
Since Norwegian isn’t a very popular language on italki, the community section is pretty bare. There are posts from learners, but not much activity from native speakers to correct the works or answer any questions.
However, I have been able to find a few language partners to do language exchanges with!
If you’re looking to find language exchange opportunities, the community section is a great, free place to do that. However, if you’re looking for natives to correct your work without paying for a teacher or tutor to do it, it may be tough if you’re learning a more obscure language.
Just something to keep in mind.
So, now you know how italki works! Let’s get into the actual italki review. I’ll be structuring the italki review to list the pros first, then the cons, and finish with my overall thoughts. Keep reading to get the good and the bad!
The Pros
1. Great for Speaking to Native/Fluent Speakers
My speaking was horrible before I started using italki. The main reason why I love the platform is that I was able to improve my speaking skills dramatically by actually, well, speaking!
I think that at some point, you need to practice everything you’ve been learning in a real life conversation.
I knew this, but finding natives to speak to was the hardest part of my language routine.
Living in Arizona, there aren’t a ton of Norwegian speakers around. And even if you do run across them, they might not want to chat. So italki is great for finding native speakers to practice with.
To be able to schedule time with a native speaker to practice with made conversation practice in my target language much more accessible than before.
2. Easy to Use
It’s really easy to have virtual lessons using skype, google meet, or their newer italki version: italki classroom. Scheduling is also a breeze with their online scheduling system.
3. A Ton of Languages Offered
There are a ton of language offered on italki (over 130!).
All of those languages have access to the same site features. This is different than apps like Pimsleur or Duolingo, where popular languages get features and levels less popular languages don’t get.
Since I study Norwegian, there aren’t very many teachers (maybe around 25) on italki. However, each teacher sets the lesson plan and can use whatever resources they want. They aren’t barred from using certain italki features because the language isn’t as popular as say, Spanish or Mandarin Chinese.
This is the same for all languages, regardless of supply and demand.
4. Price
If you wanted to schedule one-on-one lessons with a language teacher you met on the fly, I doubt those lessons would be as affordable as on italki.
There’s a broad price range on italki, from around $10-$50+. Even though there are more expensive lessons, there are also a ton of reasonably priced ones. italki makes it possible to work with private language tutors at a price that is affordable for many people—and therefore more accessible.
For reference, since there aren’t many Norwegian teachers, most Norwegian lessons run around $25 an hour with a professional teacher. Of course, it’s cheaper if you use a community tutor, but you don’t get quite the same thing.
Pro tip: Once you find a teacher you like, buy a lesson package instead of purchasing one by one. This depends on if the teacher offers them, but if they do, take advantage of them!
A package is usually cheaper than buying one lesson at a time.
5. You Get 3 Trial Lessons
When you first make an account, you get three 30 minute trial lessons for a discounted rate. This is available for all languages, but not all teachers offer them.
These trials are a nice way to try out a few before you commit. They also never expire, so there’s no rush.
6. Easy to Fit into Your Schedule
I took a Norwegian online class through a university over the summer and the class schedule was set, 7-10am Monday through Friday. I typically start work at 9 so I had to let my boss know that I’d be starting late each day. The timing wasn’t ideal.
With italki, I’m in control of when my language lessons are. This is great for any working adults or college students who need the flexibility, and a major plus in this italki review.
The Cons
Yep, this wouldn’t be a proper or honest italki review without listing out the cons. I don’t have many, but here they are:
1. Quality Control
Since you’re dealing with individual teachers, not a program, there’s bound to be differences in quality between different teachers and tutors.
There are community tutors and professional teachers, and they are different.
I had a bad experience with a tutor, and it made me question whether or not I should continue learning the language. If I was using an app where humans weren’t involved (like Duolingo or Glossika), that wouldn’t have happened.
While there are reviews on every teacher and tutor’s page from students, I’d honestly take them with a tiny grain of salt. Not everyone feels comfortable leaving bad feedback, especially where it’s public, and the teacher can also leave a negative review for you as payback.
So just be aware that rave reviews don’t mean every lesson given by that teacher or tutor was perfect.
To prevent a lackluster italki lesson on your own, I recommend watching the teacher’s about video, reading up on their qualifications, and making sure they’re able to lead the kind of lessons (or conversation) you’re interested in having.
2. Resources Can be Tricky
Since you’re working virtually with the teacher, you have to rely on whatever resources they can provide digitally. Or whatever resources you have yourself that you can share with your teacher.
This can be good and bad, depending on how well the teacher is prepared, how technically savy they are, and how technically savvy you are.
3. Must be Comfortable Doing Things Digitally
I love using my ipad to take notes and prefer to use digital textbooks, so this isn’t an issue for me. But if you’re someone who likes to have a physical textbook, you may not like this as much.
iTalki Review: is it Worth the Hype?
Overall, I’d recommend italki 100%. In fact, I *do* recommend italki to my friends. Heck, my friends, coworkers, anyone I know who is learning a language!
The pros of flexibility, affordability, and access to native speakers who are also teachers and tutors just far outweigh the cons in my eyes.
Being able to schedule a 1-1 lesson with a native speaker did wonders for my speaking skills. Despite the cons mentioned in my italki review, I couldn’t imagine learning a language without it. I recommend giving it a try yourself. Find a teacher on italki to see how you like it.