Official italki Blog

Official italki Blog Official italki Blog Official italki Blog Official italki Blog Official italki Blog Official italki Blog Official italki Blog One important aspect of learning a language is getting connected into a community of students and teachers.  Thats why we revised our Groups function on italki.  We wanted to make it easier to have discussions about every aspect of learning a language.   What weve done is create official italki Groups for every language.   Each language now has five official groups called: Learning the language Teachers and Schools Tests and Exams Culture and Society Travel, Living Abroad and Study Abroad We made this change in order to consolidate discussions in each language.  All of the previous user-created groups still exist, and you can still create your own group.  As with before, each group is basically a forum where members of the group can create a topic and start a discussions with other group members.   We also wanted to highlight a few interesting ways you could use groups. Many teachers have asked us how they can reach students who are interested in paid tutoring sessions.  Teachers can now post information about themselves in the Teachers and Schools Group (example: Teachers and Schools for learning English).  We think this could be a great place for teachers to market to students, and for students to learn more about a teachers background and teaching style. Another interesting use of groups could be for sharing test knowledge (example: Tests and Exams for learning English.   Now if you are taking a language test such as the  TOEFL (Test of English as a Foriegn Language), the  HSK (the main test for Chinese proficiency), or the  AP Spanish test  (US College Boards test of Spanish competency) you should be able to find discussions about how to prepare for them in the Tests and Exams group for that language.   In general, we just wanted to make it easier for the italki community to connect and communicate with each other.  If you have any questions about how to use groups or want to send us any feedback on the site changes, please click on our feedback link or send us an email (feedback at italki dot com). Your opinions really help us understand where we need to improve the site. And keep reading our blog   well be letting you know about our future updates here. Official italki Blog Official italki Blog We want to wish a happy new year to all our members, teachers, supporters, investors, advisers, and staff.   Thank you for a great 2009! And we look forward to an even more exciting 2010. Best Wishes for the Near Year, The italki Team P.S. The December Unwrap the Joy of Learning promotion ends tonight at midnight, China time.   Thats in 6 hours, so hurry now! Official italki Blog Official italki Blog We want you to get the most out of italki, and so were planning to write a series of blog posts for how you can improve your experience. General tips for finding good language partners 1. First, offer to help other users Many users ask other users to become friends by demanding that they help them learn a language.  This isnt wrong exactly, but its always important to think from the other persons perspective.  Ask yourself why this person would want to become your italki friend? * Person A:  Hi * Person B:  Teach me English I wan learn English very mch * Person C:  Salut, I see that you are learning French.   I was born in Paris, and I am native speaker of French.   I was wondering if you could help me with English for practice in French? bad introduction In order to receive help, you must be willing to give it. Especially at the start, its important to let other users know that youre interested in helping them too. 2. Show something real about yourself Profile pictures When youre online, it is harder to build trust, so its important to try to be real. Not having a picture or using fake pictures makes it harder to connect with other users. Which one of these is a real person? Audrey Hepburn did not join italki Profile information Likewise, profiles with no information makes it harder for other users to know if they should be friends with you. The more youre willing to share about yourself, the more likely other people will be willing to share their time with you.  Again, always offer to help people in your profile. 3. Answer questions, ask questions Answering questions is a great way to show other people that you are interested in sharing your knowledge. In addition, other users who have similar questions may view your answer and find you that way. Asking good questions also shows potential language partners that youre serious about learning a language. Some users are looking for longer-term study partners, and showing that you know something about the language helps the community understand who you are. 4. Having discussions in groups Groups is another place to be seen and to participate in a dialogue. In particular, if you are a teacher or tutor and want to let other language learners know that you are available to teach, definitely go to the help offered / schools and teachers group to post an introduction. If you are student looking for help, you should post here. Likewise, if youre a student, go post in a group like learning the language or in the help wanted / tests and exams area. 5. Dont give up It isnt easy to find good long-term language partners, so dont assume after sending five invitations that there is nobody who wants to work with you. Its also important to know there are many reasons why people dont reply or arent interested. Some users already have many friends, and dont want to add new ones. Some users are just too busy. Our main recommendation is just to keep on trying, and keep on coming back to the site. The language partner search results are generally filtered by who was last online so dont wait to be found. Stay online, and get involved! If you have other suggestions or ideas about how to get the most out of italki, please let us know in the comments below! You can also always send us feedback or email at feedback at italki dot com. The italki team Official italki Blog Official italki Blog Official italki Blog Official italki Blog Official italki Blog Official italki Blog Official italki Blog Official italki Blog Official italki Blog