italki Review: Excellent for Finding Affordable, High-Quality Online Language Tutors
Speaking is one of the most challenging areas for language learners.
As a beginner, I once summoned up the courage to ask for something in a store where my target language was spoken. The owner looked me up and down and said: “You talkin’ to me?”
This unexpected reaction somehow threw me off.
This is why practicing your speaking skills is so important!
Fortunately, there are a lot of platforms and language learning apps out there that offer assistance in this field, including the one I’ll focus on today: italki.
This post is my in-depth italki review after using the platform for over five years. We’ll go over how it works, pros and cons, features, italki alternatives and more.
Overview
Name: italki
Description: A language tutoring website with a strong community of native speakers and language learners.
Languages offered: Any language!
Offer price: Rate varies by tutor, starting as low as $4 per lesson.
Summary
The italki website is a great platform for connecting with native speakers, improving your speaking skills and learning new words and phrases that textbooks won’t teach you. The value you get from the site varies by tutor, but you can shop around until you find a good fit for you.
-
User friendliness - 8/10
8/10
-
Delivers on promises - 10/10
10/10
-
Authenticity - 9/10
9/10
-
Value for price - 9/10
9/10
Pros
- Has tutors in over 130 languages, including various dialects
- Lets you work within your own budget and pace
- Has free community and language exchange features
Cons
- Doesn’t allow for last-minute booking
- Structured lessons can lead to less authentic and spontaneous learning
Contents
- What Is italki?
- How Does italki Help You Learn a Language?
- How to Use italki to Become Fluent in a Language
- The Pros of Using italki to Learn a Language
- The Cons of Using italki to Learn a Language
- italki vs. Other Language Learning Programs
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
What Is italki?
italki is a Shanghai-based language learning platform that was created in 2007.
Once you create a profile, you can search for the perfect tutor in your target language and filter the results by price, availability, country and more.
There are over 130 languages offered on italki, from Spanish to Tibetan. So even if you’re trying to learn a rare language, italki probably has a tutor.
Signing up for italki and getting access to all their features is completely free, without an option to upgrade. You only pay when you book a lesson with a tutor, which is determined by their chosen hourly rate.
How Does italki Help You Learn a Language?
Learn from Native Speakers for Cheap
italki has two types of tutors—Professional Teachers and Community Tutors.
Professional teachers usually have college degrees, years of experience teaching their language(s) and developed lesson plans.
On the other hand, community tutors are just native speakers who enjoy helping people learn their language through fun conversations.
I personally use community tutors way more often than professional teachers.
For one, because they’re usually cheaper. And secondly, even if you’re a beginner, most community tutors are good teachers.
If you want to focus on improving your conversational skills, I definitely recommend booking a community tutor. But if you’re preparing for a proficiency test or exam or want structured lessons and a curriculum, a professional teacher might better suit your goals.
Improve Your Reading and Writing Skills
You might think, “how can a platform like italki help me with reading and writing?”
The answer: italki’s Community feature.
Once you sign up for an account, you get access to this feature for free, which lets you browse articles about language learning and write posts.
I use the post feature all the time. It lets you write in any language you want, publish it and then get feedback from native speakers.
Any time I learn a new grammar structure or verb conjugation, I practice it by writing 10 sentences.
After I write my sentences, I type them into italki and ask native speakers to correct me.
And as a native speaker, you can help learners of your language, too! I’ve left several comments on English learners’ posts, offering them corrections.
Participate in Fun Challenges
A few times a year, italki offers its italki Language Challenge.
It’s free to register, and you can choose to commit 12, 16, 19 or 20 hours practicing your target language.
When you reach your goal, you get prizes!
To complete your goal, all you have to do is book lessons with a tutor and complete the lessons before the time duration is up. I’m currently registered for the 12-hour goal, and I have 13 days left to complete 9.5 hours of lessons.
These challenges are fun and super motivating. Plus, the only price you pay is your tutor’s hourly rate (or multiple tutors, if you choose to try more than one!).
Use italki in Combination with Listening Resources
italki is a great resource for speaking, writing and even reading if you read notebook entries in your target language from other people.
Of course, if you’re advanced enough to have lessons in your target language instead of your native language, then italki can also become a listening resource.
But usually, you’ll need to get that boost somewhere else.
How to Use italki to Become Fluent in a Language
Set Up Your Profile
This is a straightforward process since most of it will be taken care of when you make your account.
Your profile displays your name, picture, bio and basic information about you, like where you’re from and your gender.
Next, it’ll also display your language skills—your native language and target languages, along with the level you have in each.
If you speak more than one language but aren’t actively learning them, you don’t have to mark them as “learning languages.”
Search for a Tutor
After your profile is finished, you can start hunting for tutors!
Start by clicking the “Find a Teacher” tab.
Once you do, it’ll take you to a page that displays all the available teachers for the language you are learning.
If that’s not the language you want to learn right now, you can click on it to find a dropdown menu and select a different one, plus which skills you want to practice.
After choosing your language, you can start refining your search, as discussed earlier.
Let’s briefly go over the different options italki gives you:
- Teacher is from. By clicking this tab, you can choose where you want your future tutor to be from. This is especially helpful if you’re learning a particular dialect or accent.
- Speaks. If you want your tutor to speak a language other than their native one, you can click this tab. Or, click it to specify that you want a native speaker.
- Lesson price. Choose the price range you want your tutor’s hourly rate to be. The lowest you can go is $4 per hour, and the highest is $80.
- Lesson time. If you can only do lessons on certain days, you can identify them by clicking “Lesson time.” Then, italki will only show you the tutors available when you are.
- Teacher types. Remember how we talked about Professional Teachers and Community Tutors? If you have a preference, specify it by clicking this tab.
- Lesson category. If you want to focus on a specific skill, tell italki which one you want to work on. By clicking “Lesson category,” you can choose from General, Business, Test Preparation, Kids and Conversation Practice.
Book a Tutor
Each tutor has an introductory video you can watch, where they’re from, a bio about themselves, their availability calendar, resume or work experience, student reviews, hourly rate, lesson options and more.
Often, tutors will offer different kinds of lessons.
For example, this Japanese tutor offers Conversation Practice, Japanese for Beginners and Learning with Textbook, where he teaches from the “Minna no Nihongo” textbook.
After finding a tutor, book the lesson you want or a 30-minute trial lesson.
After choosing a time, your lesson request will be sent to the tutor for acceptance.
Show Up to the Lesson
When you book the lesson, italki asks which platform you’d like to have it on.
You can choose from popular video chat platforms like Skype, WeChat, Zoom and more. Or, you can keep it simple and use italki Classroom.
Wherever you choose to have the lesson, show up on time and enjoy getting to know and learning with your new tutor for however long you booked them!
Mark the Lesson Complete and Leave Feedback
Once your lesson is over, italki will ask you to confirm that it was complete.
If for some reason you couldn’t make it, the teacher couldn’t make it, someone canceled last minute or one of you no-showed, you can also confirm that it wasn’t completed and either request your credits back or transfer them to the tutor anyway.
Please note though, you’re required to pay the tutor if you cancel within 24 hours before the lesson starts to respect their time.
After you mark the lesson complete, italki will ask you to leave a rating for the tutor. And if you want, you can leave an optional review. And the tutor will also be able to leave private feedback for you!
Please note that if you don’t confirm the lesson’s completion after a certain time, italki will confirm it for you so the tutor can get paid.
The Pros of Using italki to Learn a Language
Learn a Variety of Languages and Dialects
Many language learning platforms are selective regarding the languages they offer, and in this way, italki is probably one of the least restrictive.
First, you’ll find popular languages in the search bar. italki then provides a directory of languages in alphabetical order, making yours easier to find.
With less common languages such as Assiniboine and Basque available, it’s not only a wonderful way to get introduced to languages you may not have considered learning, but it also gives minority and endangered tongues a chance to shine.
italki goes one step more and narrows itself down even further into specific dialects.
This kind of detail is so refreshing as a language learner!
If you’re trying to learn a specific dialect (like Taiwanese Mandarin), you can most likely find it on italki. And if you can’t search specifically for the dialect, you can find a teacher from that country or region.
I’ve been learning Spanish for several years now. I specialize in the Venezuelan dialect because that’s where my dad is from.
So when I look for Spanish tutors on italki, I specify my search by selecting Venezuela in the “From” section.
Learn a Language at Your Own Price
I already mentioned that your chosen tutor’s hourly rate is the only price you pay. But did you know just how low some tutors go?
When browsing tutors, you can refine your search to show tutors who fit your budget. And some tutors charge as little as $4 per hour.
I was learning Tagalog in the summer of 2019, and I consistently booked lessons with a community tutor from the Philippines two or three times a week. Her rate was $4 an hour, and I’ve had several Spanish tutors who charge $5-6 an hour.
Tutors are thoroughly vetted by italki so no matter how much the tutor charges, you know you’ll be getting quality.
Get a Language Partner
One of my favorite features of italki is language partners.
After several years of using the site, the most beneficial aspect I’ve discovered is the opportunity to make friends in your target language that (with all precautions taken) can turn into lifelong friendships and travel opportunities.
Native speakers can follow and message you, and vice versa.
I love this feature because by increasing the number of connections to your target language, you’ll feel an even stronger motivation to stick with it and practice more.
Learn at Your Own Pace (and Schedule)
When you book a tutor, you don’t feel like you’re signing a contract. In fact, you can first book a 30-minute trial lesson with a tutor at a lower price than their standard rate.
After you’ve found a potential tutor, you can view their availability calendar to see if they have any times available that work with your schedule.
If not, you can just look for another tutor!
If you do want that “contract” feel (or just an extra push to make sure you show up and meet your goals), many tutors do offer package deals.
By choosing this route, you can purchase up to 10 lessons at once and schedule them whenever you’re ready, and usually at a discount price.
I did this with the Tagalog tutor I mentioned earlier, and it really helped me stay on track.
Additionally, many tutors offer multiple lesson duration options. This is great because if you really like a certain tutor, but can’t afford their hourly rate, you can choose their 30-minute lesson option at a lower price.
Many tutors offer 30-minute, 45-minute, 60-minute and 90-minute lessons.
The Cons of Using italki to Learn a Language
Lack of Real-world Situations
Is italki a good substitute for real-world situations?
The simple answer is no.
italki is probably the closest thing you can get to a real-world environment online, especially if you use it for finding language partners or having challenging conversations with native speaker tutors.
But you won’t ever experience spontaneous conversations like at the grocery store, bank, hospital, restaurant, etc.
Sure, the tutors can teach you idiomatic expressions and native ways of expressing something during a one-to-one lesson, but it’s still an artificial environment to some extent.
You Can’t Book Lessons 24 Hours Before
One thing I don’t like about italki is that you can’t book a lesson 24 hours before your desired start time.
As a student, this can be frustrating.
I work from home, so changes in my schedule happen often and when I get free time, it’s usually sudden. So only being able to book lesson times 25 hours out means I can’t take advantage of unexpected free time.
However, I also understand that this policy is in place for the tutors. If someone expects a high-quality, structured lesson, the tutor will need at least 24 hours to prepare one for them.
On top of that, you usually have to wait for your tutor to accept your lesson request, which can take a while—especially if you’re in different time zones.
italki vs. Other Language Learning Programs
italki vs. Duolingo
Duolingo is famous for trying to “gamify” language learning.
One of the oldest platforms, Duolingo teaches your target language by taking you through a series of game-like lessons that include translation exercises, matching, listening and more.
You have a personal, one-on-one teacher who customizes your lessons on italki. However, Duolingo follows a pre-made course structure that prevents you from skipping ahead.
So if you want to learn a language fast, be able to speak from day one or have a specific goal you’re preparing for (such as taking an exam or going on a business trip), I’d recommend italki over Duolingo.
italki vs. FluentU
FluentU takes authentic videos created for native speakers—like music videos, movie trailers, series clips, YouTube videos, commercials and more—and turns them into language lessons with interactive subtitles.
Because of this, FluentU pairs quite well with italki.
While watching a video, hovering over a word you don’t know in the subtitles pauses it and instantly shows you a definition, pronunciation and example sentence.
And clicking it adds it to your personalized flashcard deck.
Finally, each video ends with a quiz and your flashcards are scheduled for regular reviews based on spaced repetition.
Unlike Duolingo, FluentU doesn’t follow a pre-made course structure. Instead, the videos are sorted according to level (beginner, intermediate and advanced).
italki vs. Babbel
Babbel follows a specific course structure to teach your target language with lessons highly relevant to real-life situations.
The lessons include a variety of multimedia functions to help you learn and practice new words, such as “listen and repeat,” matching, translating, conversation fill-in-the-blanks and more.
While the lessons are a bit more relevant than those on Duolingo for all languages, it’s quite pricey for an app.
For example, a 6-month subscription is $66.90 and a lifetime membership is $349.
Considering you can get an italki tutor for $4-$5 an hour (depending on the language), having a teacher who customizes your learning plan can be cheaper than paying for a Babbel course.
Plus, you’ll only have access to one language with Babbel unless you pay for the lifetime membership.
Overall, italki is a great platform for connecting with native speakers, improving your speaking skills and learning new words and phrases that textbooks won’t teach you.
