I read somewhere about italki instant tutoring and that it was removed but that it was coming back at some point. That sounds like an awesome feature! When can we expect it back?

Thank you.

I read the "Learning Article : 6 Tips For Getting The Most Out Of Language Classes On italki" and thought that there must be some behaviors or things, that students often do, that the teachers don't find very endearing, so what are your "don't do"'s for students or funny experiences that you might be able to tell? :)

I have tried out italki for a week now and talked to three tutors/teachers multiple classes each. I also read somewhere that there are a lot of people on italki who have accounts but who never schedule lessons so that is also a reason why I wanted to write about this as it has been an absolute revelation for me in terms of language learning and I have never been happier with a service before.

I took the long way to Japanese fluency, without never actually living in the country, beginning to study it about 16 years ago and when I first visited Japan after about three years of study, I found that I couldn't speak the language at all. It took me another two or three years before I made my first Japanese friends in my home country and I actually began using the language at a regular basis. Now I use it daily and am quite fluent in it but it was always somehow clear to me that learning a language meant countless hours studying grammar and memorizing words from word lists and I also always though that it takes ten years to actually learn a language.

I started studying Chinese a year ago and took a course at the local university, which definitely gave me a foundation but was absolutely of no benefit whatsoever in terms of actually speaking the language. However, now after that year of study and a week of italki with 6 lessons I feel that I actually speak more Chinese than I spoke Japanese after three or four years of lone self study. The tutors have all been absolute professionals and fantastic at leading the conversations with someone who is using his max brain capacity just trying to pronounce the tones and trying to remember the words. Luckily I'm also a kind of person who doesn't really mind making a fool of myself in front of a stranger so scheduling a lesson isn't such a scary thing for me, but if there are people out there reading this who are afraid to do it for whatever reason, I'm telling you that there is no need to feel apprehensive about it! All of the tutors I have talked with have been the most wonderful, warmhearted, helpful, and supportive teachers that I have ever had and my only regret is that I never tried online tutors before! It is also the most personal teaching experience that I have ever had. Now I think that fluency can actually be attainable in far less time than ten years even without living in the target country.

What are your experiences of online tutoring or are you putting off scheduling a first lesson for some reason?