How To Recognize Your Weaknesses To Stop Them From Damaging Your Success

How To Recognize Your Weaknesses To Stop Them From Damaging Your SuccessWeaknesses are an obstacle that most of us who have applied tutoring services to improve our academic performance in the past did not recognize as a critical issue. In other words, we thought our weaknesses were so minor and not worthy of such a serious act of self-improvement that it wouldn't matter. But now we see that weaknesses can do far more damage than good - both to our academic performance and also to our self-esteem and self-image.Weaknesses can be called obstacles for students of all ages, and of all levels of ability. They can come in any shape and form. Their form might be as evident as you to your parents, as subtle as your schoolwork, or as embarrassing as your behaviour at an exam. But what is really important is that they pose a challenge. A challenge that you can't afford to ignore, whether your parents or your teachers suggest it or not.For some students, strengths will stand in the way of your academic success, and weaknesses will make it even harder for you to do well. This can happen whether you are struggling with English or Maths, or if you are just trying to do so by yourself. It doesn't matter if you're on a prep course in AP, IB or GCSEs, you can still find it very hard to face up to your weaknesses and even worse, to accept the challenge and use your strengths.What is more, this situation doesn't have to happen to the perfect person - in fact, it can happen to anyone. Some people just have a lot of strengths, so they don't need to worry about their weaknesses, but the problem often becomes compounded when these strengths come into play. That is because the amount of strengths available to you is not enough to make up for all your weaknesses.So how do you use your strengths in a way that enables you to solve weaknesses without compromising your strengths? I used to think that weaknesses were just a sign of my ignorance. I would feel depressed or embarrassed by the m and put it off until I had been asked by someone to solve the problem.That was the crucial thing that needed to be understood: I had to take responsibility for my own weaknesses. That meant that I had to accept the challenge and try to make the best of it. It also meant that I needed to improve my strengths in order to help me overcome weaknesses. And that meant that I would have to do something about my weaknesses.To do that, it is important to consider your possible weakness. If it is something that could be learnt or discovered, you could learn to live with it. A huge part of overcoming a weakness is learning to accept and love the fact that you have one, and that you can learn to accept and love it.

How to Quickly Find a Private Tutor

How to Quickly Find a Private Tutor Searching for Tutors Near Me: A step by Step Guide ChaptersWhy all the Urgency?Taking Action: Step OneInitiating Contact With Your Home TutorSuggestions to Help Ensure ResultsDiversifying Your Tutor SearchHuman nature dictates that we only seek help when we need it: seldom do we have the anticipation of craving assistance until crunch time, and then we're caught out!Don't let this happen to you. Follow this guide in order to quickly find the best tutors who has the exact knowledge, skills and ability to help you in your time of need.Needing a tutor urgently is no reason to hit the panic button. Source: PixabayConsidering the pressure you face, it would be well worth sacrificing sufficient time to find those teachers who are most active on the site and respond quickly to queries.However, Superprof helps you save time in other ways. At the bottom of each page, you will find profiles for other teachers of the same discipline, eliminating the need for constantly returning to your search page.You can also read testimonials left by previou s students to help you determine if this is the best tutor for you.When you find a tutor whose abilities match your need, be sure to 'click' the heart next to his/her picture. That profile will then show up in the favourites tab at the top of the page.This step is a vital time saver for the next stage of the process.Superprof takes the stress out of finding a tutor. Source: Pixabay Credit: John Hain CalumDrama School Entrance Teacher 5.00 (15) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ToriSpanish Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors OliviaSchool support Teacher 5.00 (2) £21/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkESOL (English) Teacher 4.76 (17) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YuweiChinese Teacher 4.33 (6) £19/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JenniferMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LouiseAutoCAD Teacher 5.00 (3) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RickyPercussion Teacher 5.00 (7) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolasGuitar Teacher 5.00 (2) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MyriamOrganic chemistry Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JonathanEconomics Teacher 5.00 (9) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Oluwakemi imoleMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AlexPhysics Teacher 5.00 (1) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors AdamSinging Teacher 5.00 (14) £48/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ValentiniMusic reading Teacher 5.00 (2) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MilenaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RashmiEconomics Teacher 5.00 (1) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsInitiating Contact With Your Home TutorNow that you have collected a selection of potentially suitable tutors on the 'favourites' page, it is time to draft your request.Explain what motivates you to seek help. Highlight when you are available for learning and touch on your preferred method of instruction â€" one on one in your home or at theirs, online, or any combination thereof.Do not hesitate to express the urgency of your situation!Obviously, time is of the essence. Writing multiple requests can be quickly done by first drafting a template, and then copying it to each prospective professor, amending details as necessary.Feel free to contact several tutors at once. Receiving multiple responses means that you get to choose the cream of the crop!Suggestions to Help Ensure ResultsIn spite of your best efforts, you may run into a few dead-ends in your search for the best tutor of the subject you require individualized instruction on.Perhaps all of the tutors in question already have full schedules and are not accepting any new students, even for the short-term. Try broadening your search to a larger radius. Perhaps your ideal tutor is just a few miles out of town.Instead of in home t utoring, consider online tutoring. Private tuition online has proven effective in all but the most physical of studies, such as dancing or swimming.You too will be elated at finding the perfect tutor! Source: Pixabay Credit: Jerry KimbrellYour schedule is too restrictive to permit any sessions outside of what you have already planned on. Here, flexibility is key. You might be able to shift some of your other obligations, at least for the time that you will be in learning mode.No teacher is available to instruct you in your home.Declaring a willingness to meet in the teacher's home would remove that stumbling block. Or perhaps you could agree to meet in a public area equidistant to both of you.Online learning would be a good solution to this challenge, too.Diversifying Your Tutor SearchIn spite of your best efforts, you've found no satisfaction with online results. Or perhaps interfacing with a computer doesn't sit well with you when your need is so specific.It is time to consider ot her strategies.Does your pre-teen need homework help? Is your primary school student struggling with grammar, reading or writing? A college or higher level student might fit the bill.The great advantage of a (relatively) young tutor coaching your learner is that they are likely to understand each other and possibly bond - a proven benefit to successful learning.How to recruit such help: Word of mouth is a quick, easy way, especially if you live in a community with a lot of school-aged children. Who knows? Your neighbor's child might be your child's new Chemistry tutor!You can also post notices on bulletin boards at grocery stores, libraries and on college campuses.Is your teen sweating the upcoming GCSE or fretting over his A-Level?Engaging the services of a certified professor  for standardized tests prep is not out of the question.The advantage of this arrangement is that such educators are well-versed in the subject material and perhaps even know what to expect on exam day.How to recruit such help: visit local schools. Math and science teachers routinely dedicate their evenings and weekends to providing supplementary education to pupils with learning weaknesses.You could also cast a glance at your local paper's classifieds section. It is not uncommon for a certified teacher who wishes to transition to one on one tutoring full-time to test the waters locally by placing an advert.In fact, it wouldn't hurt for you to place an ad yourself, announcing that you are looking for private tutoring.What about that big presentation you're due to give?Head directly to the Continuing Education Center nearest you!Universities all over the UK, even renown ones such as Cambridge and Oxford offer continuing education and 'short classes' â€" intensive sessions that last from one to only a few days. Perhaps your local institute of higher learning also has such courses available?The Learning and Work Institute, is making great strides in helping adults sharpen their professiona l skills. Perhaps they are active in your local community center?And getting the rust off your golden pipes before your parents' big anniversary party?Your local music school may well have an accomplished performer who can coach you through voice exercises.Here, a note of caution. Hiring a tutor with tons of raw talent but little technique will certainly give you soaring vocals to aspire to. However, s/he might not be able to tell you how to attain the modulation you need for that delicate ballad you aim to sing.That aside, the advantage of engaging an artist-in-training: initially driven by need, you might be bowled over by his/her sheer passion and find yourself carried away, without realizing how quickly you're improving.As a last resort, whatever your educational need: if you have not a minute to spare, you can enroll at any of the multitude of tutoring centers whose purpose is to provide supplemental instruction.Your cost will most likely be higher than if you work with a priva te tutor, especially an online tutor. However, these agency fees may be offset by a tax credit.  Unfortunately, tax credits do not apply to you unless you are self-employed and can write the course off as a business expense. You might consider searching for free tuition with a number of charitable organisations.It is difficult to anticipate needing help, especially if you are normally self-sufficient and assertive.Isn't it nice to know that, when confronted with a learning situation demanding a hasty solution, there are literally legions of people prepared to leap to your aid?Now you know where and how to announce your urgent need for private lessons.

Difference between Lend and Borrow - English Lesson via Skype

Difference between Lend and Borrow - English Lesson via Skype Lets talk about the difference between Lend and Borrow.Do you think that English is a hard language to learn? Well, English confusing words dont make it very easy for you, dear ESL students.Lend vs Borrow. Borrow vs Lend. Are you confused when and how to use them in English?I know, I know, many of my students are confused. And this is exactly why Ive decided to create a video lesson. So hopefully by the end of it you will know exactly what is the difference between Lend and Borrow. But you have to watch it to the end!And for those of you, my dear students, who prefer reading to watching, there is a detailed transcript below. (I personally hate watching any videos when I am on the bus.)Do make your life easier and find out the difference between Miss and Lose here. Difference between Lend and Borrow Hi thereIm Harry and welcome back to  my English grammar lessons and were  going to talk to you about another  English expression. And today what were  going to actually talk about is the  difference and the confusion between the  words  BORROW  and LEND.So many of my  students and people out there learning  English get them confused. When do we  borrow and when do we lend?  Theres  actually an old English expression*  which  goes:Never a borrower or lender beThis  really means you should never borrow  money and you should never lend money.  If  you dont do either those things  actually the world is going to be pretty  good for you.So how do we use them?When we BORROW  something,  we take or we  get something from somebody.Okay.  We take  or we get.And when we LEND, we give to somebody.  Okay.  But not permanently.  We  give it to them for a short period of  time and then we expect to get it back  or we expect them to return it to us.A very simple example is when you go to the bank y ou want some money to buy a car. You dont have the money in your account  and the bank will be prepared to lend  you the money.They will give you the  money to buy the car.And  you will borrow the  money from the bank.  You will take it  from them and you go off and you buy the  car and youre a happy camper.  Okay.  But  of course,  you have to return the money. You have to pay it back.So money that  you borrow you must pay back to the bank.And the money that they have lent to you   thats the past participial that they  have lent to you,  they expect you to  return it.Okay.  With interest of course.So thats a simple situation in the bank  of borrowing and lending.If you go to the library less expensive. You wont get a car loan, of course, but youll get books.So you go to the library and you  get some books.  So you borrow books from  the library. Okay. You take one or two  books,  you receive them and you promise  to return them in a few days or a few  weeks.So that the library le nds you the books. You borrow them. You read them. You return them and take them back. Okay. Difference between Lend and Borrow - Image to share Or with brothers and sisters.Brothers and sisters like to lend and borrow things.Sister has all the good records. At least when I was young, my sister had all the good records. And we used to sneak into her room and wed take some of the records to play them on the record player. Those are the  old old days.  And we would borrow them. Okay.  So my sister would come in and say: ‘Where are my records?  Where’s  my record?’  â€˜I only borrowed them. Dont worry,  Ill give  them back when Im finished.’  So she lent  them to us (well, sort of).  We took them and  borrowed them and then we returned them. Okay.So you might have a friend that has  something that you need.  A  bicycle, for example. And you  need a bicycle to go on a cycle with  your friends. You dont have a bike of  your own so you say to your friend:‘Could  I borrow your bike for the weekend? I  want to go on a cycling tour with my  friends.  I dont have my own bike.  Its  down at home and I dont have time to come  a nd get it.  But you know,  Id like to borrow  yours. I  look after it and I return it when Im  finished.’‘Yeah,  no problem,  I lend it to  you.  Im not using it.  Just take it  when you need it.’  Okay.So borrowing and  lending.  Neither a borrower or lender be. Okay.Talk to you again soon and remember you can join me on the website  www.englishlessonviaskype.comRemember,  youll get a  link on those to some of our wonderful  grammar courses.  Weve got a special  offer coming up soon that will advise you about in the meantime youll see some of our grammar courses. They are really good value.Buy them today and  improve your English and Ill talk to  you again soon.*Apologies, I got slightly confused the first time I was mentioning this phrase.  The correct saying is from Shakespeares Hamlet, 1602:  LORD POLONIUS:  Neither a borrower nor a lender be;  For loan oft loses both itself and friend,  And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Move Out - Phrasal Verb of the Day

Move Out - Phrasal Verb of the Day Todays phrasal verb of the day is: Move OutInfinitive form: Move OutPresent Tense: Move Out/ Moves Outing form: Moving OutPast tense: Moved OutParticiple: Moved OutMove Out is a separable English phrasal verb. It is normally used in the following ways:When you permanently remove all your belongings and personal items from a place where you live or stay.1. I heard Greg and Sarah are getting a divorce. Who do you think will move out first?2. The Smiths cant stand their neighbors. Mrs. Smith said that they are moving out of state and will live in their coastal home in California.When you move someone or something out of a place to another location.1. Its a good thing that the fireman had managed to move all the people out of the building before the fire consumed the place.2. Daniel moved all the trash out and placed it in the bins while the rest of the students watched.Changing position.1. Superman is awesome! He can move out of the bullets way after it is shot.2. When an ambulance appr oaches, motorists have a choice to either move out of the lanes closest to this vehicle, or to reduce speed.The video clip below is from one of my all time favorite movies, Pulp Fiction. The character who uses Move Out has an unusual way of speaking. See if you can understand him.Exercises: Write your answers in comments and we will correct them.Fill in the gaps from the video above:Its your future, I see a cab ride. _____ ___ of the sticks fells.What advice is the character in the suit giving the other two men?Complete the sentences below with the correct form of Move Out.1. Are you sure youre old enough to ___ __ of your parents house?2. Craig is sick and tired of the urban life, so he decided that ____ __ is the best option.3. I initially ____ ___ here to work.4. As soon as the little girl  ____ __ of the way, the policeman shot the  killer.5. Lily decided to drop by the office before  ____ __ .Change the example sentences above to negative sentences (or positive, if the sente nce is already negative). Then change them to questions.

3 common misconceptions people have about teaching English online (as told by a real teacher)

3 common misconceptions people have about teaching English online (as told by a real teacher) Hello! I’m Shannon - an energetic, caring, goofy and ukulele-playing teacher. I currently live in Toronto, Canada, where I work as an online English teacher with VIPKID. I love that my commute to my classroom is approximately 30 cm, from my bed to my computer desk. From the time my alarm beeps, it takes me about 30 minutes to make a coffee, fix my hair, clip on my pearls and put on a nice shirt so I can teach in my pajama pants. A little more about me: In 2011, I graduated with my BA. After graduating, I worked as a university recruiter for about five years, traveling around Canada to speaking with high-school students about post-secondary education opportunities. I loved working with students on a daily basis, so I decided to go back to school to study for my bachelor’s degree in education. In 2016, I landed my first teaching job through Teach Away, teaching kindergarten students in South Korea. In 2017, during my second year in Korea, I started teaching English online a few evenings a week to supplement my income. Read this: 5 reasons why licensed teachers should try online teaching When I finished up my second contract in Korea, I took a two-month break from teaching and went on a backpacking adventure around South East Asia. Now that I’m back in Canada, I’m taking online English lessons four mornings a week as I try to figure out where in the world I want to travel to next. Anyway, back to the topic at hand! Myths and realities of teaching English online. When it comes to teaching English online, educators have a lot of questions about how the job compares to teaching in a physical classroom. (At least, I know I had!) While it is a different experience and requires tweaking traditional teaching methods to adjust to teaching on an online platform, it can be just as rewarding. So let’s dispell some of the myths about teaching English online together! Watch this: A day in the life teaching English online 1. I need lots of teaching props and tools. Nope! Everything I use in my classroom fits into one shoebox. I’ve got a mini white board, dry erase markers, an old sock turned into a puppet, reward system cutouts, alphabet cards, a notebook, a few small stuffed animals, a mini toy car and a ball of sticky tack. I guess I should admit that the one thing I regularly use in my lessons that does not fit in my shoebox is my ukulele - but that is not a required online English teaching tool. On occasion, I will momentarily run off screen to grab other applicable items lying around my apartment. Sometimes I pop on my chef hat when we talk about food or hobbies, my snorkel mask when talking about underwater life, or I’ll grab my trusty jar of peanut butter to explain the word “squish,” but these are just bonus items. My shoebox of goodies is all I really need to effectively teach a lesson. I can easily throw my shoebox in my bike basket to take to my friend house, in my suitcase on a plane or even just under my arm to the basement on a sweltering summer day when it’s too hot upstairs and I want to save on my AC bill. The items in my shoebox are super helpful when I am teaching, but truly, the most important thing you need as a teacher is a genuine smile and a positive attitude. Those are much more important than knickknacks, fancy backdrops, alphabet cards or lesson plans. An enthusiastic teacher who shows genuine interest in their student is the most important factor contributing to student learning. Sign up to Teach Away today for access to the latest teaching jobs around the world. 2. You can’t build a relationship with your students. Also nope! Every week, I usually meet a handful of new students in my classroom, but I would say that most of my students are repeats. Before each lesson, I facilitate a brief QA session in which my student and I take turns asking each other three questions and providing an answer. Not only is this an opportunity for the student to practice their conversational English skills, but it fosters a stronger student-teacher relationship. We chat about our hobbies, what we ate that day, family members, what the weather is like, what our weekend plans are, favorite colors and so much more! I also have an excel document where I jot down notes on my students to help me remember little details, such as “Sam has a salsa dance competition this week”, “Lily has a pet pig named Lulu” or “if John was an animal, he’d like to be a lion”. Not only can I use this information to personalize my lesson but the kids are excited to tell me about what is happening in their life. For example, during a lesson on measurement, I asked Lily to estimate how long her Lulu is in centimeters and millimeters. She loved it! 3. The lesson is set in stone. Nope, no and another big fat NOPE! One of my favorite things about teaching English online is that all of my lessons are made for me. With my company, I’m provided with powerpoint slides of pictures to inspire conversation, writing activities, stories, questions and language games. That being said, every student has their own personality, likes, abilities and learning needs. I may teach the same lesson to multiple students, but it is NEVER the same experience. While it is important to stick to the learning goals of that particular lesson, the way you execute it is up to you. For example, on one slide you may find a picture of a bear with the sentence, “bears live in caves.” One student might need to focus on the pronunciation of the word “bear”. With another student, you may focus on animal habitat vocabulary and ask questions, like, “where do bees live?” and “where do ants live?” You may discover that you have a very high-level student and choose to ask thinking or opinion questions like, “why do bears live in caves?” Or, “if you were a bear, what would you do?” Another day, you may have a student who really likes music and you could decide to compose a song about bears with them. If you see a stuffed teddy bear on your student's shelf, you can ask them to use it to demonstrate a grammar point, such as, “my teddy bear is eating.” I’m sure you’re already thinking of your own ideas based on these little examples! This keeps things exciting for the student and teacher alike. The more fun you’re having as an online English teacher, the more excited you will be and that energy will, in turn, transfer to your student. So there you have it - some of the most common myths about online English teaching officially busted! When I’m chatting with my friends about home-based jobs, I always highly recommend giving online English teaching a go. I love that this job has allowed me to be flexible with my location, working hours and vacation time. Best of all, I always look forward to seeing my student’s smiling face when our lessons start! If you have any more questions about teaching English online, ask away! The amazing Teach Away team is ready to answer. Recommended reading: Are you ready to teach online? This calculator shows how much you can earn teaching English online Want to teach abroad? Try teaching English online first.

Boost Your Brainpower With Brain Food!

Boost Your Brainpower With Brain Food! Nutritional therapist, Jane Jo Lewis recommends eating well to optimise both mental and physical health. Low GI wholegrain foods such as oats, brown cereals and pasta along with wholegrain bread, can help slowly release glucose into your body; a great source of energy- ideal for long stretches of revision or exam prep. Good sources of fatty acids including; linseed (flaxseed) oil, soya bean oil, pumpkin seeds, walnut oil and soya beans are suggested for a good functioning brain. Whilst binging on blueberries and tomatoes may be effective in improving or delaying short term memory loss- making it the perfect snack when cramming in some last minute revision. Whilst these foods alone do not sound overly appetising, BBC good food offer some brain functioning, healthy recipes that are budget friendly. Boost Your Brainpower With Brain Food! Nutritional therapist, Jane Jo Lewis recommends eating well to optimise both mental and physical health. Low GI wholegrain foods such as oats, brown cereals and pasta along with wholegrain bread, can help slowly release glucose into your body; a great source of energy- ideal for long stretches of revision or exam prep. Good sources of fatty acids including; linseed (flaxseed) oil, soya bean oil, pumpkin seeds, walnut oil and soya beans are suggested for a good functioning brain. Whilst binging on blueberries and tomatoes may be effective in improving or delaying short term memory loss- making it the perfect snack when cramming in some last minute revision. Whilst these foods alone do not sound overly appetising, BBC good food offer some brain functioning, healthy recipes that are budget friendly.

How italki is helping me learn Spanish!

How italki is helping me learn Spanish! How italki is Helping Me Learn Spanish How italki is Helping Me Learn Spanish There is only way to learn to speak a language:  speak it, speak it, and speak it some more. While the easiest way to immerse yourself in a language is to travel â€" or, better yet, move â€" to a country where the language is spoken, all is not lost for those of us who can’t do that just yet. Thanks to the wonders of Skype and free websites like italki.com, we can immerse ourselves in any language from the comfort of our living room couches!  (Actually, in my case, it’s the dining room table. I still haven’t quite mastered the art of using a laptop on my actual lap.) If you’re looking to ramp up your language learning, then you might want to consider signing up for italki. * Please note:  this review is very long. I can’t help it. I’m full of words. Believe it or not, I actually cut out a good quarter of each post before I actually publish it. If you don’t like posts with a lot of words â€" well, you probably won’t like this blog. Sorry. First of all, it’s important to point out that italki itself isn’t a language program. It won’t teach you grammar, or provide you with video lessons, or offer you with step-by-step how-to-learn-any-language instructions. What it will do is provide you with access to a much more valuable resource:  actual, thinking, communicating human beings.   Registration on italki is free. Once you’ve registered, you’ll set up your profile, including which languages you speak and which languages you’re learning. There’s lots of “social stuff” on italki: upvoting, friending/following, discussion threads and so on. While some people might love the social media stuff, I don’t bother much with most of it. My goal is to connect directly with Spanish speakers who can help me, or with French speakers who need my help. In my opinion, these are the five best ways that italki is helping me learn Spanish: 1. Find a language partner A language partner is someone who speaks the language that you’re learning, and who is learning the language that you speak. If you click on “Language Partners” at the top of your italki screen, you can search for someone to connect with, being as specific as you like. My specific search â€" female Spanish-speakers learning French â€" brought back dozens and dozens of results. Once you have a list of results, you can read people’s profiles and find someone who seems interesting. When I first signed on to italki, I followed people and they followed me back, but nothing ever came of it. My “followers” count went up, so I suppose I might have looked a bit more popular, but it wasn’t actually helping me learn Spanish. I’m much more specific now. After clicking the “follow” button on someone’s profile, I send them a note requesting that they follow me back, spelling out exactly what I’m looking for. I include time zones in three major Spanish-speaking cities. This might seem a bit too straightforward for some people, but I don’t want to waste lots of back-and-forth time. As lovely as a person might be, if our schedules don’t mesh, then she isn’t the language partner I’m looking for. I send very specific follow requests on italki. Yes, I realize that I accidentally typed “who” twice. Once I connect with a language partner whose schedule matches mine, we set up an initial Skype meeting. From there, we can decide if we would like to meet regularly for practice sessions. So far, I’ve had nothing but good luck with language partners. I meet weekly with five fun, encouraging, friendly women â€" a different one every weekday. I use a webcam for all of my language exchanges â€" I like to see a person when I’m talking to her. I know, though, that some people prefer not to use webcams at all. If you’re not comfortable with video, make that clear from the beginning, and you should be able to find someone to talk to using audio only. 2. Hire a professional teacher or a community tutor If money is tight, or if you’re happy with your progress, then language partners might more than meet your needs. I wanted to progress more quickly, so I decided to hire a professional teacher to help me learn. On italki, you can choose between two types of paid lessons: professional lessons and informal tutoring. Teachers offering professional lessons have to have some kind of certification, whereas informal tutors don’t. Teachers are generally more expensive than informal tutors, but many of them are very reasonably priced. Some of them are so inexpensive, in fact, that the language teacher in me feels a bit bad about how low their rates are. Many teachers and tutors offer trial sessions, lower-priced half-hour sessions for new students. Some of these trial sessions can cost as little as 10 credits, or one dollar. This lets you “sample” a teacher to make sure that your styles and personalities mesh well. Each student is only allowed to take three trial sessions, perhaps to discourage people from taking trials without committing to any teacher.  (I personally disagree with the three-trial policy, but it is what it is.)   One great thing about the italki booking system is that there’s no back-and-forth needed. You access the teacher’s schedule, click on an available time, and send a session request. Best of all, the schedule is automatically converted to your time zone, so you don’t even have to figure out what time your session actually starts.  I booked two trial sessions, with the idea that I would take two weekly lessons with the teacher that I clicked best with. Then I clicked with both of them. Rather than choosing between them, I decided to do one weekly session with each of them. My fantastic italki Spanish teachers, Mati and Auri. Connecting with Skype tutors ended up being one of the best things that I’ve done to speed up my language learning. Between my conversation partners and my tutors, I’m spending a whopping seven hours on Skype every week, five and a half of which are in Spanish. While this might seem like a lot, the time flies by, and I credit Skype conversations for 80% of my progress. 3. Write a notebook entry The best place to seek out corrections is in your written work. While a patient and encouraging teacher or language teacher will correct you at times when you’re speaking, it would be counterproductive to expect them to correct every single mistake. Too many interruptions would break the flow of conversation, which is the whole point of doing a language exchange. In a notebook entry, though, you’re laying down your work with the understanding that native speakers will correct it, change it, and point out your mistakes. One of my notebook entries, with corrections suggested by a native Spanish-speaker. Don’t forget to return the favour and try to correct other people’s work as well. There are always notebook entries that go without corrections, which must be very disappointing for the writer. When choosing notebook entries to correct, it’s best to stick to your own language or to a language that you know very well. I’ve seen corrections made by a non-native speakers that were very inaccurate.  4. Find a penpal I connected with one potential language partner, but no matter how hard we tried, we just couldn’t schedule a Skype meeting. Instead, we decided to be penpals. We write to each other using the italki private message system two or three times a week. Eva writes to me in English, and I send her message back to her with a few corrections and suggestions. Then I respond to her message in Spanish, and she corrects my work. I struggle with writing in Spanish. A lot.  I’m surprised by how helpful it is to have a penpal! I appreciate being able to take the time to think about what I want to say, and to really dig in to the corrections that Eva makes on my work. I also like having a penpal because â€" unlike with notebook entries â€" we can develop a relationship and have longer and more personal conversations. 5. Ask, answer and read questions I click on this feature when I have a few spare minutes and want to help other learners. People post brief questions in any language, and native speakers answer them. You can look at all of the questions, or sort them by language. I try to answer as many French questions as I can, focusing first on the ones that haven’t been answered yet. Reading questions and answers in the language that you’re learning can help you clear up understanding, build vocabulary, and learn expressions. A few Spanish questions on italki. Out of the five components that I mentioned in this post, I think that asking and answering questions is the one that I use the least. Still, it can be a very useful way to interact with native speakers without much of a time commitment. What I would like to see at italki Of course, no review is complete without a mention of what’s lacking. Here are a few things that I would like to see at italki: a live chat feature that would allow you to exchange messages back-and-forth with a native speaker. three trial sessions allowed for each language being learned, rather than three trial sessions total per student. a way to connect with community tutors without setting an appointment in advance. Sometimes I have 30 spare minutes that I’d like to spend in conversation. It would be nice if community tutors could sign up for “drop-in” sessions. Potential students could message them and, if they’re available, the session could start immediately instead of being booked 24 hours in advance. If you aren’t regularly talking to people in the language that you’re learning, then you’re missing a huge piece of the language learning puzzle. Sites like italki can help you find that puzzle piece. Once you start talking to real, live, unpredictable human beings, you’ll be amazed at how quickly your ability to speak progresses! Go ahead and sign up for  italki. Find a partner. Write a notebook entry. Start actually communicating with people. After all, human communication is the reason that languages even exist in the first place! A few final notes: This is a completely unbiased review. Italki does have a referral program that allows referrers to earn credits, but the link that I posted in this review is not an affiliate link. The only thing that I’m hoping to get from anyone who decides to join italki is the satisfaction that one more person is seeking out native speakers to communicate with! If, however, you would like to support me by providing me with one free lesson (at no cost to you) when and if you buy any credits,  you can use this referral link when signing up for italki. I’m not looking for any more language exchange partners at this point. But if you’re an intermediate or advanced Spanish-speaker and you want to practice for half an hour every week or two (just Spanish â€" no French or English), please  contact me! Top [This originally appeared on  http://www.tobefluent.com/2013/07/31/how-italki-is-helping-me-learn-spanish/  .  We had no idea  Stephanie had written this but were pleasantly surprised when we found her blog post.  We felt that it was such a great blog post, that we had to share it with all our italki members as it has some great information on how to maximize learning on italki!  Reposted with permission.] How italki is helping me learn Spanish! How italki is Helping Me Learn Spanish How italki is Helping Me Learn Spanish There is only way to learn to speak a language:  speak it, speak it, and speak it some more. While the easiest way to immerse yourself in a language is to travel â€" or, better yet, move â€" to a country where the language is spoken, all is not lost for those of us who can’t do that just yet. Thanks to the wonders of Skype and free websites like italki.com, we can immerse ourselves in any language from the comfort of our living room couches!  (Actually, in my case, it’s the dining room table. I still haven’t quite mastered the art of using a laptop on my actual lap.) If you’re looking to ramp up your language learning, then you might want to consider signing up for italki. * Please note:  this review is very long. I can’t help it. I’m full of words. Believe it or not, I actually cut out a good quarter of each post before I actually publish it. If you don’t like posts with a lot of words â€" well, you probably won’t like this blog. Sorry. First of all, it’s important to point out that italki itself isn’t a language program. It won’t teach you grammar, or provide you with video lessons, or offer you with step-by-step how-to-learn-any-language instructions. What it will do is provide you with access to a much more valuable resource:  actual, thinking, communicating human beings.   Registration on italki is free. Once you’ve registered, you’ll set up your profile, including which languages you speak and which languages you’re learning. There’s lots of “social stuff” on italki: upvoting, friending/following, discussion threads and so on. While some people might love the social media stuff, I don’t bother much with most of it. My goal is to connect directly with Spanish speakers who can help me, or with French speakers who need my help. In my opinion, these are the five best ways that italki is helping me learn Spanish: 1. Find a language partner A language partner is someone who speaks the language that you’re learning, and who is learning the language that you speak. If you click on “Language Partners” at the top of your italki screen, you can search for someone to connect with, being as specific as you like. My specific search â€" female Spanish-speakers learning French â€" brought back dozens and dozens of results. Once you have a list of results, you can read people’s profiles and find someone who seems interesting. When I first signed on to italki, I followed people and they followed me back, but nothing ever came of it. My “followers” count went up, so I suppose I might have looked a bit more popular, but it wasn’t actually helping me learn Spanish. I’m much more specific now. After clicking the “follow” button on someone’s profile, I send them a note requesting that they follow me back, spelling out exactly what I’m looking for. I include time zones in three major Spanish-speaking cities. This might seem a bit too straightforward for some people, but I don’t want to waste lots of back-and-forth time. As lovely as a person might be, if our schedules don’t mesh, then she isn’t the language partner I’m looking for. I send very specific follow requests on italki. Yes, I realize that I accidentally typed “who” twice. Once I connect with a language partner whose schedule matches mine, we set up an initial Skype meeting. From there, we can decide if we would like to meet regularly for practice sessions. So far, I’ve had nothing but good luck with language partners. I meet weekly with five fun, encouraging, friendly women â€" a different one every weekday. I use a webcam for all of my language exchanges â€" I like to see a person when I’m talking to her. I know, though, that some people prefer not to use webcams at all. If you’re not comfortable with video, make that clear from the beginning, and you should be able to find someone to talk to using audio only. 2. Hire a professional teacher or a community tutor If money is tight, or if you’re happy with your progress, then language partners might more than meet your needs. I wanted to progress more quickly, so I decided to hire a professional teacher to help me learn. On italki, you can choose between two types of paid lessons: professional lessons and informal tutoring. Teachers offering professional lessons have to have some kind of certification, whereas informal tutors don’t. Teachers are generally more expensive than informal tutors, but many of them are very reasonably priced. Some of them are so inexpensive, in fact, that the language teacher in me feels a bit bad about how low their rates are. Many teachers and tutors offer trial sessions, lower-priced half-hour sessions for new students. Some of these trial sessions can cost as little as 10 credits, or one dollar. This lets you “sample” a teacher to make sure that your styles and personalities mesh well. Each student is only allowed to take three trial sessions, perhaps to discourage people from taking trials without committing to any teacher.  (I personally disagree with the three-trial policy, but it is what it is.)   One great thing about the italki booking system is that there’s no back-and-forth needed. You access the teacher’s schedule, click on an available time, and send a session request. Best of all, the schedule is automatically converted to your time zone, so you don’t even have to figure out what time your session actually starts.  I booked two trial sessions, with the idea that I would take two weekly lessons with the teacher that I clicked best with. Then I clicked with both of them. Rather than choosing between them, I decided to do one weekly session with each of them. My fantastic italki Spanish teachers, Mati and Auri. Connecting with Skype tutors ended up being one of the best things that I’ve done to speed up my language learning. Between my conversation partners and my tutors, I’m spending a whopping seven hours on Skype every week, five and a half of which are in Spanish. While this might seem like a lot, the time flies by, and I credit Skype conversations for 80% of my progress. 3. Write a notebook entry The best place to seek out corrections is in your written work. While a patient and encouraging teacher or language teacher will correct you at times when you’re speaking, it would be counterproductive to expect them to correct every single mistake. Too many interruptions would break the flow of conversation, which is the whole point of doing a language exchange. In a notebook entry, though, you’re laying down your work with the understanding that native speakers will correct it, change it, and point out your mistakes. One of my notebook entries, with corrections suggested by a native Spanish-speaker. Don’t forget to return the favour and try to correct other people’s work as well. There are always notebook entries that go without corrections, which must be very disappointing for the writer. When choosing notebook entries to correct, it’s best to stick to your own language or to a language that you know very well. I’ve seen corrections made by a non-native speakers that were very inaccurate.  4. Find a penpal I connected with one potential language partner, but no matter how hard we tried, we just couldn’t schedule a Skype meeting. Instead, we decided to be penpals. We write to each other using the italki private message system two or three times a week. Eva writes to me in English, and I send her message back to her with a few corrections and suggestions. Then I respond to her message in Spanish, and she corrects my work. I struggle with writing in Spanish. A lot.  I’m surprised by how helpful it is to have a penpal! I appreciate being able to take the time to think about what I want to say, and to really dig in to the corrections that Eva makes on my work. I also like having a penpal because â€" unlike with notebook entries â€" we can develop a relationship and have longer and more personal conversations. 5. Ask, answer and read questions I click on this feature when I have a few spare minutes and want to help other learners. People post brief questions in any language, and native speakers answer them. You can look at all of the questions, or sort them by language. I try to answer as many French questions as I can, focusing first on the ones that haven’t been answered yet. Reading questions and answers in the language that you’re learning can help you clear up understanding, build vocabulary, and learn expressions. A few Spanish questions on italki. Out of the five components that I mentioned in this post, I think that asking and answering questions is the one that I use the least. Still, it can be a very useful way to interact with native speakers without much of a time commitment. What I would like to see at italki Of course, no review is complete without a mention of what’s lacking. Here are a few things that I would like to see at italki: a live chat feature that would allow you to exchange messages back-and-forth with a native speaker. three trial sessions allowed for each language being learned, rather than three trial sessions total per student. a way to connect with community tutors without setting an appointment in advance. Sometimes I have 30 spare minutes that I’d like to spend in conversation. It would be nice if community tutors could sign up for “drop-in” sessions. Potential students could message them and, if they’re available, the session could start immediately instead of being booked 24 hours in advance. If you aren’t regularly talking to people in the language that you’re learning, then you’re missing a huge piece of the language learning puzzle. Sites like italki can help you find that puzzle piece. Once you start talking to real, live, unpredictable human beings, you’ll be amazed at how quickly your ability to speak progresses! Go ahead and sign up for  italki. Find a partner. Write a notebook entry. Start actually communicating with people. After all, human communication is the reason that languages even exist in the first place! A few final notes: This is a completely unbiased review. Italki does have a referral program that allows referrers to earn credits, but the link that I posted in this review is not an affiliate link. The only thing that I’m hoping to get from anyone who decides to join italki is the satisfaction that one more person is seeking out native speakers to communicate with! If, however, you would like to support me by providing me with one free lesson (at no cost to you) when and if you buy any credits,  you can use this referral link when signing up for italki. I’m not looking for any more language exchange partners at this point. But if you’re an intermediate or advanced Spanish-speaker and you want to practice for half an hour every week or two (just Spanish â€" no French or English), please  contact me! Top [This originally appeared on  http://www.tobefluent.com/2013/07/31/how-italki-is-helping-me-learn-spanish/  .  We had no idea  Stephanie had written this but were pleasantly surprised when we found her blog post.  We felt that it was such a great blog post, that we had to share it with all our italki members as it has some great information on how to maximize learning on italki!  Reposted with permission.]