iTalki for Japanese - honest review and tips
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- Опубліковано 18 кві 2023
- I have used iTalki for about 3 months to improve my Japanese speaking skills. In this video I'll go into my experience and tips to make the most of your lessons.
If you find this video helpful give it a like. It really helps :) Cheers
My Instagram: / jebraat
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As a Japanese tutor,I completely agree with you.
You can learn grammar by yourself. There are so many good videos on UA-cam. So You should focus on practicing speaking during online lesson.
You can find out that the phrase you learn works or not through conversation.
Person who finished to learn Genki2 is better to start practice conversation. This is my opinion.
I completely agree with you that your time is $. I used to think free language exchanges were the best way to go because they were free but after spending so much time doing small talk and teaching English, I really realized how much of a time saver italki is. Plus learning online is much more effective than in person as I get all my notes written down electronically. I used to learn in face to face but wasted so much time writing notes in a notebook during the lesson and even commute time to a coffee shop (that I also had to pay for).
Good video. I also use community teachers for the same reasons you gave and I couldn't be happier. I don't see how a certified teacher could add any value to my lessons. Also I specifically looked for a teacher that speaks nothing but Japanese (weirdly, on iTalki many Japanese teachers have okayish English which I didn't want) and this is so awesome because when the conversation holds, there is never a fall back to English as my iTalki teacher bearly speaks any English, so she is forced to explain things I don't understand in simpler Japanese, and I am forced to give it my best to understand.
I totally get what you mean. I think it's best to completely stick to Japanese rather than going into english too much.
Thanks for watching 🙂
I want to learn Japanese for my next trip. I been to Japan 3 times
2014 - known zero
2018 - knew how to order and more things
2023 - knew few to the same as 2018
2025 - I want to learn as much to talk to a person in Tokyo, so I want to learn how to say in a date and talk to people to get around in Northern Japan.
Sounds like you are motivated! Good luck with your studies and thanks for watching! 🙂
Thank you for this video and suggestions! I've been thinking of trying iTalki, and will definitely take a class soon!
Glad you liked it 🙂
Have fun with your conversation practice!
Thanks for watching!
I would also suggest that you have both male and female teachers of different ages for broad exposure of the language. I was wondering do you have any suggestion of good Instructors on iTalki that you have used ?
Hi John, I'm really enjoying your videos. Ive been doing iTalki once a week for about 2 months. Ive been using a proffessional teacher but liked your advice on getting a comunity tutor. I have chosen a proffesional teacher for the mean time since I've wanted more structure in my lessons and as a way of making textbook excercises more fun. Currently just over half way through Genki 2. I will admit it is a bit expensive but things seem to working well at the moment. I was wondering how many times a week you do iTalki lessons and how long for each section?? Did you ever do textbook lessons / role play with a tutor or do you mainly just focus on conversations that you think of on the spot??
Glad you enjoy the videos, Jacob! 🙂
I went through Genki 1 and 2 on my own time. The current video I'm editing is actually about how I used textbooks (Genki specifically). Should be out next week.
For the challenge I do about two 1 hour conversation practice lessons each week. The past two weeks I have been doing 3. I plan to do 1 hour a week, while I'm in Japan.
Most conversations are thought up on the spot, but sometimes I would pick a topic beforehand and just ask a question. In my lessons this week for example I asked whether they had any bucket list items and then went from there. Pretty interesting convos, can highly recommend that 🙂
Thanks for watching!
Great vid . Do you think it's more beneficial to stick with 1 teacher or multiple . I've been doing italki for a little bit, my myself
I personally have always had the same teacher, so can not speak for the benefits of multiple teachers, but what is great about having one teacher all the time is that once the teacher gets to know you, you can dive deeper into more obscure topics instead of always having to talk about the same mundane introductory things (Age, Job, Hobbys etc.).
Glad you liked it!
I have 3 teachers at the same time because I do 2-3 1 hour lessons a week. I feel having multiple helps to not let the conversations get stale but also gives you an opportunity to instantly implement what you have learned from one lesson into the next.
Let's say I talk about what I did on the weekend with one tutor, but didn't know a word like "birdcage" (I went to an aviary that weekend). In the next lesson I could use that word again and solidify it.
I do think it makes sense to stick with a couple, for a while. I feel like they open up more when you have been talking for a bit.
Hope that helps 🙂
Thanks for watching!
Hello! I was wondering if you can recommend the professors that you used for Italki? :) Thank you!
I wish I could recommend teachers, but it really depends on what your preference is in terms of teaching style and also your availability during the day.
I highly recommend flipping through the teachers available in your timezone and watching the intro videos. If you find one that seems nice, just give them a try with a trial lesson. Trial lessons are usually around 30 minutes and reduced in price.
Hope you find a good teacher! Thanks for watching and good luck in your studies! 🙂