Short answer: As a teacher you should always be prepared for a class, not just for the student, but to feel more confident in your ability when the time comes to teach. And if you don't do a great job then it makes ITalki look bad when it really isn't. Long answer: If the class ends up as an improvised conversation, it could be great or terrible due to the teacher's experience and approach to lessons as well as their own ability to keep the conversation flowing. In the case of difficult students who don't talk much as they are shy, it is pure strategy that many teachers struggle with. ITalki is perfect based on my own experience with them. Having control over your classes is great, especially for the price which fits your desires as well as your students.

I personally like to prepare different topics and interesting questions that students can relate to, as well as some idioms/terms/collocations that students can easily memorise and use in our lessons :)

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It's completely up to you as the teacher, Dan. Italki tries to limit the amount of teacher regulation to the very bare minimum. But you are in charge of your own hours, calendar, price and so on. It is also up to you as the teacher to prepare your own materials. Now the word prepare here has a few different definitions. Personally, I like to mix it up. Sometimes I'll make use of worksheets, vocabulary tests and so on but sometimes I prefer to have lessons where we just talk about interesting topics such as relationships, exercise, diet, science, psychology, personal development and so on. This is important to develop fluency and I definitely still need to prepare for such lessons. I use Zoom or Skype but some teachers also make use of the italki classroom. I love teaching on Italki as it is INCREDIBLY user-friendly 😊 Feel free to ask me anymore specific questions. Nick 💯

It depends on the teacher, the lesson type, and what the student is looking for. I try to tailor my lessons to the student’s needs and I do use some materials that I have found or created. However, many students don’t want to use any learning materials as they are just looking to improve their conversation skills.