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).

2016年11月13日 19:17
评论 · 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.
2016年11月13日
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.
2016年11月14日
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. 
2016年11月14日

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. 

2016年11月14日
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.
2016年11月13日
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Lars
语言技能
中文, 英语, 德语
学习语言
中文
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