Lars
Length of sessions - rather short?

Hi all, quick questions to the learners. I am new to Italki and realized the suggested learning session length normally is an hour long. Do you know why that is so short? Is it accepted / possible to book the same teacher for more time in a row by just sending multiple requests so it is 2-3 hours total instead of just one? I do not have much experience with online learning, and offline courses are always longer (2-3 hours).

13 nov. 2016 19:17
Opmerkingen · 6
3
I think one hour is really long enough. The lessons are one-on-one. so you have to concentrate all the time and can't let your mind drift off, like you would in a group class. Also, if you take offline classes, you normally would take a break in the middle of the class. But I think it should be possible to book two or three classes in a row, if the teacher is ok with it. When you found a teacher you really like, just ask if it would be ok for her/him to have longer classes.
13 november 2016
1
As a suggestion - even though I don't always do this myself - it's best to try out a teacher with a half hour lesson. I've had half hour lessons that seemed like 10 hours (and not in a good way!) and one hour lessons that I wish could go on way longer. Some teachers offer lessons that last 90 minutes, but an hour is pretty good.
14 november 2016
1
Although I do from time to time teach a few very motivated students who book two or three hours in a row, and we enjoy the fun productive sessions, I believe that one hour sessions are best for most people, most of the time. If this is true, why are “bricks and mortar” classes three hours long? 

1. In a group class, with a conventional teacher, you’re lucky if you even get to talk ten minutes during a three hour class. Italki classes are one on one, and a teacher should get you talking 60 - 90% of the time. Seriously.

2. Traveling across town to take a language class could take over an hour round-trip, more or less. It makes no sense to spend time commuting for a short class. On italki, all you have to do is boot up your computer. This is an issue for students, teachers, managerial and janitorial staff. 
14 november 2016

An hour flies by.  I used to do as many 90 minute sessions as 60 minutes because 60 minutes flies by, esp with sessions based on content (e.g. videos; overview, questions about vocabulary, summarizing, questions, discussion) ... 55 minutes flies by.

I've had people taking up to four hours in one day (not consecutively) when they're heading into an exam / job interview.  One scenario is this: "I'm taking two weeks vacation from work to prepare for IELTS so I want to study two hours three days a week."

There is so much that happens here that isn't well-represented on the new site.  Italki cleared our history so now students can only see current bookings (as opposed to trends over the previous three or fours years, a lot of students who have taken 50+ 60+, 100+ sessions are now invisible on my profile if they're not commenting) ... but yes, two or three hours a day is not so unusual. 

14 november 2016
For a beginner like me, one and a half hour is perfect.  I've had 2-hour sessions. They went by fast with a teacher I really liked. With another teacher, it was not the same.
13 november 2016
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