italki.com is a free language learning website where you can find everything you need to learn a language online. italki applies Web 2.0 concepts, such as social networking, user-generated content, and crowdsourcing, to language learning. italki is home to a global community of language learners representing over 90 languages worldwide. This website is one of the first social networks focused on learning foreign languages and continues to be an innovator in this space with features such as multimedia chat, socially-driven questions and answers, open-source file sharing, and collaborative knowledge-based wikis.
italki believes that being able to communicate in a foreign language is an increasingly critical skill, and that the internet is radically changing how a language can be learned. While globalization is making foreign language skills a necessity, technology and italki are making acquiring them easier. With italki, anyone, anywhere in the world can learn a language for free.
italki Milestones
2008
May - New version of italki: italki Knowledge
May - Eric Pang and William Bao Bean join italki
June - Tom Soohoo becomes an advisor
June - Steven Huang joins Board of Directors
2007
July - italki receives first round of angel funding ($150,000 USD)
December - New version of italki: italki Answers, Shared Files, and support for 12 languages
2006
March - Domain name italki.com is registered
September - Founders begin planning italki
December - Initial launch of italki.com
italki Team
Yongyue Jiang - CEO
Eric Pang - President & COO
Hisun Wu - VP of Community Development
Directors
Yongyue Jiang
Kevin Chen
William Bao Bean
Stephen Huang
Advisors
Tom Soohoo
Dr. Dongdong Chen (Academic advisor)