An Honest italki Review: 5 Things You Must Know

italki review

Looking for an app that connects language learners to available teachers online? In this italki review, we will dive deep into the intricate details and discuss what features and specific benefits this online language app offers and how different it is compared to its competitors.

After all, there must be a reason why the italki app is one of the most famous platforms that many are raving online, right? Just like Ling, italki has been very valuable for language learners to search for the best app for beginners, intermediate, and advanced learners alike. So, if you are up for an unbiased, detailed review, then let the learning begin.

italki Overview

italki is not just an online teaching platform for connecting teachers to students. It also helps people connect with other language learners. italki gives the opportunity to find teachers that will fit their learning preferences. 

How Did italki Start?

From language educators’ perspective, teaching styles and modern approaches do not necessarily “fit the glove” right away. No matter how much time is spent preparing lesson plans, there are just instances where a learner might need something different in order to understand the lesson- some find it easier to learn a new language through talking, games, or simulation. For this reason, language enthusiasts like you should only consider working with professionals who can quickly adapt their teaching style based on your unique needs.

One example of an application that paves the way for you to get connected with as many teachers from different parts of the world as possible is italki by Kevin Chen and Yongyue Jiang. Founded in 2007, the italki classroom has been the home to many language learners as well as professional teachers, community tutors, and even language exchange enthusiasts.

Given that it has been around for quite a time now, the italki community is pretty huge compared to its competitors. Their brand has been mentioned by authoritative sites such as Business Insider, Investopedia, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. So, if we are going to talk about credibility and popularity, italki is definitely worth your time… but could it be the best app out there? That’s what we are going to find out next!

italki review logo

italki Review: What Is The Language Learning App All About?

With a sheer number of reviews on social media, YouTube, language learning blogs, and forums, perhaps this is not the first time you have heard about the italki app. Basically, italki is not just a language learning platform, but it also works as a social media website where you can freely interact online with other students, your language partners, and with a professional teacher of your choice.

Contrary to common belief, italki does not have in-house italki tutors or specific online lessons that are ready to be consumed, like what you can find from Memrise, Duolingo, or Ling. It just works as a platform that “facilitates” the process of finding the right tutors and language exchange partners. Think of it as a big marketplace where you can book private lessons with an italki teacher posting his/her services. With this being said, the lesson prices can depend on many factors:

  • The exact price point that the italki tutor will set
  • Someone’s experience teaching online or face-to-face
  • Specialization (is your tutor more skilled in the academic type of language, business, or just free talk)
  • Qualifications and certifications

Depending on your budget and additional filters, you can instantly connect with a good teacher and practice speaking right away. Of course, before the class begins, you have to be upfront with your expectations towards the session- perhaps you can send your new teacher some guidelines regarding your learning style and whether or not you want to focus on grammar rules or just do a free talk session.

If you will ask us, the key reason why this app is such a hit among many language learners is that it allows anyone to have online classes with specific teachers who they think fit their needs. That is totally not going to happen if you subscribe to a language school in real life, as, more often than not, the school will assign teachers randomly.

iTalki review how italki lessons go

How italki Lessons Go

To use italki, you simply need to sign up and choose which languages you want to learn. Once you have selected, you will be redirected to a page where you can choose from the available language tutors and see their lesson prices. As a rule of thumb, please do not take it against the company if you find out that there are fewer teachers for lesser-known languages. Do remember that they are just aggregating the teachers, and they cannot push anyone to teach something they are not skilled or comfortable with.

Quality Of The Language Teachers On The Platform

To pick a teacher, you simply have to click on their profile, where you can review their video introduction, qualifications, availability, and their rating. By checking their info, you’ll get a grasp of whether their specialization will fit your needs at all or not. Given that they have varying prices for their private lessons, please do not expect pricier instructors to always give their best. You can always take a leap of faith and learn from a teacher who just created their profile.

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How Native Language Speakers Can Use italki

If you are a native speaker of a language or a professional teacher, you can subscribe and become an official italki teacher. From there, you can set your schedule, prepare lessons, and teach whenever you want. The profit here will depend on the price you will set for every booking.

iTalki review 5 Truths About The italki Platform

5 Truths About The italki Platform

As we reach this part of the post, we hope that you were able to learn why italki’s free features are worth your time, especially if you are a passionate language learner. However, if you are still stuck in the rut, below are 5 major truths that summarize what we have discussed above.

  1. The italki app is really good, but it is not every day that you can instantly find a teacher who is suited to your needs and language goals. While the instructors have the “video introduction” part on their profiles, there are instances wherein the actual class is just too lousy. Some may come to class unprepared, while others may go out of their way and create their own curriculum or squeeze in as many activities /drills as they can during lesson time.
  2. According to some of the users, there are sometimes too many teachers in one target language, while there are very few for other languages.
  3. The italki app is very flexible, and it allows you to save on your italki credits easily as you can filter every search right away. This makes the process of finding the right italki teacher, native speaker, or community tutor much easier.
  4. italki has trial lessons, which are great, especially if you want to dip your toes and try to see if a specific language teacher is engaging or will fit your standards.
  5. If you are a language teacher or a native speaker looking to earn some extra bucks, you can find students and schedule lessons around your regular workload without any hassle. This way, you can teach languages only based on your availability.

Wrapping Up

As we have discovered above, learning a language through italki is truly possible no matter what time zone you are in or what part of the world you are based. It’s plainly a flexible app that is truly student-centered. Unfortunately, the price and the quality of the language tutor can vary depending on the filters that you will apply when searching for one. At the end of the day, finding the best teacher in their app is possible, but it is not always a fit on the first few tries. And as we all know, the expenses can quickly add up without you even knowing it.

So, if you are looking for free resources that can help you master some of the major languages in terms of speaking, writing, and reading, then some of Simya Solutions’ language learning platforms can help you out. Depending on what you want to focus on, we have apps that will surely fit the bill:

  • The Ling app – an all-in-one platform complete with 60+ language lessons, fun games, and challenging quizzes, which you can use anytime and anywhere. Progress at your own schedule and get free premium lessons developed by real native speakers, professional teachers, and language specialists.
  • Write Me – with writing lessons for over 20 languages, you can practice the writing system and memorize the alphabet of some of the most popular languages around the world.
  • Ling Live – on the hunt for a language tutor with real professional teaching experience? Strictly follow a structured curriculum and learn a language with confidence by connecting with a highly-vetted language teacher who can tailor-fit activities and lessons based on your level and learning style. Check them out today and get a trial lesson!
  • Vocly – fancy learning vocabulary from over 50+ foreign languages? With Vocly, you can easily find all the basic words based on categories that are based on real life. If you are tired of lugging around thick books, dictionaries, and worksheets, the nuggets of wisdom you can find from Vocly will impress you in an instant. Who said that the only way to learn is by connecting with native teachers, right?
  • TranslateMe – searching for something that is more straightforward? Get the best translations to over 100 languages right in one app when you download TranslateMe to your device.

So, what are you waiting for? Try out these useful tools and start learning languages like a real pro!

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