I booked a package with an American teacher half a month ago, and I just started taking her class recently.
I just finished two sessions, I find it that she conducts sessions very perfunctorily. It seems she never really listens to me, every time I have to prompt some questions, what she always does is just nod.
If I don't talk, she will not talk either, which always creates many awkward pauses, for the record, it is really very awkward.
I really find it very tiring for me, you know, I have to think of all kinds of questions for us to discuss(seems like I am the teacher responsible for whooping it up), She really does not care what I say,you know,like talking with a robot that just responds to you automatically,and keeps smiling.
Her rating is 4.8 and every review is positive.
So far I also rated her 5 stars every time but never left any feedback.
I really think the rating and feedback system is flawed, which really doesn't help you when you are searching for a teacher.
And the cancellation system is also very bad, you have to write a message, ask the teacher to reply and file the message to Italki. Why can't Italki just set a button to let us cancel if the teacher really sucks, and I think some money deduction for the cancellation is also necessary.
To sum it up, don't book a package for the sake of lower prices, book a class first to see if the teacher suits you, or you package money goes down the drain.
God,italki
I agree that I would never want to start out buying a package instead of a single lesson. The teacher´s style and personality makes a big difference.
Many students give 5 stars the way you do, even when they really are not that pleased. That is why here on italki a 4.8 teacher might be one that is not really very good or might be one that is really good but just had one or two very critical students. I think dividing the number of lessons taught by the number of students can sometimes give an additional hint: the well-liked teachers often have a higher number of lessons per student (unless they do a lot of Instant Tutoring, which would bring this number down.)
I would encourage you to try several teachers instead of just sticking to one, even if you like that one. Each teacher has different strengths. Even good teachers do not know everything and sometimes I have found I understood something wrong the way one teacher taught it and understood it better the way another one taught it (with the ¨other one¨ that I understood better not always being the same one- not just a better teacher but some are more in tune with explaining different things and have other things they can´t get through to me as well.)
