Italki - the perfect Chinese language tool

Language Learning Chinese
1

Hi,

I just wanted to mention this new free website that I discovered called Italki. you can find language exchange partners and conversation partners to help your conversational Chinese!

If you are seeking to improve your colloquial mandarin, then this is the place to go. I’ve just started and I am so excited!

You can register with this link (which basically says that I referred you):
italki.com/?ref=1408157

Thank you!

2

Pretty much depends on the luck of the draw. The site doesn’t really add anything – it’s just a way to get matched up with an LE partner or a paid tutor. I’ve gotten a few good ones and quite a few not-so-great ones. About average, I’d say, for that kind of thing. The price is right, though, if you do an LE.

3

Is anyone else slightly apprehensive about using these online sites to find language exchange partners?

I am a very infrequent user of Skype, I only use it about twice a month to video chat with my family back home, so chatting to a stranger is a little bit outside of my comfort zone. It almost feels like I am inviting a stranger to come into my home.

Is there anything to be worried about? Did anyone else have these feelings when they first started out?

Thanks

4

Italki looks good for finding a tutor; fairly cheap too! Could I make money on there doing English lessons I wonder??

The notes and community correction part is a rip-off of www.lang-8.com. I’m curious as to whether it’s better or worse; Italki seems to attracts professional tutors so the quality of the corrections should be superior.

[quote=“Milkybar_Kid”]Is anyone else slightly apprehensive about using these online sites to find language exchange partners?

I am a very infrequent user of Skype, I only use it about twice a month to video chat with my family back home, so chatting to a stranger is a little bit outside of my comfort zone. It almost feels like I am inviting a stranger to come into my home.

Is there anything to be worried about? Did anyone else have these feelings when they first started out?

Thanks[/quote]
See my post about sharedtalk.com

forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi … 0&t=126847

It’s so quick and anonymous that it doesn’t feel personal or weird; just chat, move on, chat, move on. I would never give out Skype or email details, too personal and too much “pressure” if that makes sense.

5

[quote=“Milkybar_Kid”]Is anyone else slightly apprehensive about using these online sites to find language exchange partners?

I am a very infrequent user of Skype, I only use it about twice a month to video chat with my family back home, so chatting to a stranger is a little bit outside of my comfort zone. It almost feels like I am inviting a stranger to come into my home.

Is there anything to be worried about? Did anyone else have these feelings when they first started out?

Thanks[/quote]

I don’t have any problem with it generally and have been scheduling 2 -5 sessions per week for over a year. But I don’t use video if that makes any difference.

Also I don’t use Italki to find language exchange partners, I’ve never had much success with language exchanges and prefer to just pay someone for their time. I’m a lousy teacher anyway. Without Italki I would have very little opportunity to speak Chinese.

6

One thing that these LE sites and apps could borrow from dating sites and apps is a listing of common interests. That way, midway into an LE, you don’t discover that you would never talk to this person, anyway. Then you could search for people by language and interest.

I use HelloTalk, though, to the same effect, and with the same issue.

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I use iTalki regularly but like kelake I prefer to pay someone rather than exchange.

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Italki looks like it might have good potential to pay for chat.

I’m thinking maybe 3 hours a day 3 days a week

Lots of people willing to chat for US$5 - $10 per and up per hour

I wonder how you pay?

9

It’s okay. Like any setup, it depend on whom you get (but there’s no long. commitment so that’s a plus).

You pay by purchasing credits.

I have had the best success by getting people who didn’t claim to be teachers and who actually knew nothing at all about teaching. I would just gently instruct them to do exactly what I wanted.

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