Teacher Quality
You’ll find everyone from long-time professionals to brand new teachers.
Sign Language
Platform
The overall platform has tons of useful features but also some room for improvement.
Value
Huge number of teachers, low prices, and flexible scheduling.
I Like…
There are large numbers of teachers available even for less common languages.
You can find skilled teachers even at low prices.
The flexibility to schedule lessons whenever convenient. The huge number of teachers guarantees you’ll find someone to fit your schedule.
The extra features in the italki Community make it easy to ask questions, get your writing checked, and find a free language exchange partner.
I DON’T LIKE…
Community features are only available through the app.
You may need to try several tutors before finding one that fits your learning and personality style.
It’s easy to not take classes as often as you should.
Price
The prices vary by teacher and language with some being as low as $4 and others as high as $60 per hour. Most will fall somewhere near the $10 per hour range. Right now italki is offering a $10 credit with your first purchase.
*Use this link to purchase a minimum of $20 (US) of Italki credits and receive an extra $10 free! (Bonus added after completion of 1st lesson)*
Quality
The platform is well designed and easy to use, but the content is often uninteresting.
Thoroughness
There are lots of explanations and practice opportunities, but exercises are repetitive.
Value
The price gives lifetime access to material and content.
I Like…
There are a lot of opportunities to speak
Lesson materials are thorough
Lots of practice opportunities
I DON’T LIKE…
Practice opportunities are repetitive and boring
Speech recognition isn’t the best way to learn pronunciation
The audio lessons can be uninspiring
Languages
Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, English, and Sign Language
Price
The price seems to change semi-regularly with frequent discounts. At the time of writing, they are:
$99.95 for Level 1
$249.90 for Level 1 and 2
$259.95 for Level 1, 2, and 3
Quality
Though the information itself is useful, Living Language’s presentation reads more like a database than an educational/interactive tool.
Thoroughness
Again, a lot of the information is there, but it’s scattered. Additionally, some of that information appears incorrect.
Value
Cheaper options offer the same amount of content with more interactive features.
I Like…
You can hop around between levels and topics, including Beginner and Advanced materials.
The subscription comes with a grammar guide, glossary, and forum access.
There’s a decent variety of games, including some games I hadn’t played before.
I DON’T LIKE…
Although the games are fun, they get stale pretty quickly. It’s easy to guess at answers, thereby completing levels without really having learned.
The system doesn’t keep track of your mistakes, so it’s hard to know what areas you need to improve in.
I found several translation and presentation errors that made me question the rest of the material.
Price
An annual plan costs $150, and half a year costs $75. Three months is $50 and 1 month is $39.
Languages: American Sign Language, Arabic, Dothraki, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, and Vietnamese
