There is something about picking up a new skill that makes me feel amazing. Whether that skill is for business or simply for pleasure, it’s a passion of mine to continue learning new things.
With that said, lately I’ve been on a kick to learn a new language. It’s a skill I’ve always wanted to pick up, but have put aside for the last couple years because of other skills that I felt were more important to master.
Now that I have a little more free time to dedicate to learning a new language, I decided to go ahead and jump head first in to learning Spanish!
For the last three months I’ve been using a website called DuoLingo which is a free service for learning a new language. However, I soon realized that if I truly wanted to master Spanish I needed someone I could hold conversations with and ask questions when I didn’t understand something.
This brought me to the website italki. Unlike Duolingo, italki is not free, however, what it offers outside of Duolingo is the ability to find a teacher and receive one on one tutoring in learning a language and actually holding a conversation with that person in the language you are learning. It allows complete immersion in the language learning process.
Each teacher has different rates per hour but you can get a discount if you book multiple lessons with the same teacher. For example, I found an informal Spanish teacher who lives in Venezuela for $6/hour. This person speaks both Spanish and English fluently and has been an excellent resource so far in learning her language.
The site also offers reviews of all its teachers from other members of the site allowing you to easily sort through the highest rated teachers on their platform. This makes it simple to find a teacher that understands exactly what they are doing and know how to properly teach a new language!
While I believe sites like Duolingo are fantastic resources, italki provides what they currently can’t. Application of the skills your learning!
I’ve completed five one hour lessons so far and have learned more in those five hours than I have from months of using Duolingo. In fact, because of my lessons on italki, Duolingo has become an even better resource because I understand a lot of the why behind the Spanish language that I didn’t before.
My only regret is that I didn’t start using italki sooner. I started using Duolingo because I was nervous of speaking with someone halfway across the world using a language I barely knew, however, after my first lesson with my teacher I realized I made the right choice!
If you’re interested in learning a new language I highly recommend italki and their services. They have put together a wonderful service for anyone looking to learn another language and I don’t think you’d find a better service for doing so!
If you sign up for through this link, you’ll receive a free $10 credit once you purchase your first class!