I recently just had a lesson with a student preparing for the IELTS speaking exam. One of her speaking prompts was to explain an interesting website. She chose to speak about italki of course! One of the things we discussed is the most unique benefits italki offers students which is the ability to choose the teacher rather than be assigned one.
I would like to know: What do you look for in a Professional Teacher? What are the first things that draw you in to booking a lesson with a specific teacher?
Here are some things to think about when discussing this question:
1. Does it matter to you if the teacher is a native speaker?
2. Do you take into consideration other students' reviews?
3. Are you on a budget? Do you agree with the phrase "you get what you pay for?"
4. What do you look for in a teacher's video?
I am thinking of taking some language lessons myself and would like to know your opinion. I would also like to be certain that my teacher profile accurately represents me and what my potential students are looking for in a teacher. Thank you for your comments my friends. Happy language learning!
1. Personally no I don't mind if the teacher is a native speaker or not. What matters (to me) is if they have a proven track record in successfully teaching the language. A qualification wouldn't hurt either! Sure if you want to learn more colloquial terms you'll want to go to a native (or maybe someone who has been living in the country for a long time) but that's something that can be picked up easily enough along the way once the more "formal learning" is underway.
Also, it's been my experience that native speakers can't always effectively explain why a feature of the language is the way it is, and the best explanation you could hope for is "Why is it said like that? Well because it just is".
2. I definitely take them into consideration. Naturally, if there's an overwhelming amount of negative reviews I'd approach with caution! I'd be inclined to give the teacher a chance because it's possible that they may be new to the game and no one's excellent when they start.
Or maybe the student - teacher relationship didn't mix and that landed them with a bad review.
Or maybe the student just wasn't putting in the effort, wasn't improving, then blamed the teacher.
Or maybe the teacher really is that bad! Never know unless you try them out first.
3. Yeah I'm on a budget. Right now, I'm only learning 2 languages on here because that's all I can afford and I definitely looked for teachers on the cheaper side. I looked at a combination of price+amount of lessons taught+reviews. That being said, I think both my teachers could get away with charging more, and I'd probably happily pay that price, since they're both great teachers and I've learnt a lot from them.
4. Nothing major really. Proof that you can speak the languages you have on offer is probably top priority. An explanation of your experience teaching (and learning!) is definitely a good idea too, and maybe talk about your preferred teaching style.
