Is a online tutor worth it?

9 comments

1. That depends on how much this online tutor asks and what the services are.

   The user who recently paid something around 2 000 euros to “master” Japanese in 2 months from an online tutor aas most certainly scammed.

2. I’ve offered tutoring for students in the US and Canada, so my informed opinion:

   The bar to clear for tutoring is low. Anyone can tutor. This isn’t to say there are a ton of bad tutors out there – on the contrary you can find a lot of knowledgable and passionate people out there.

   Don’t be afraid to do a few trial lessons. You can certainly interview or vet tutors to see if their attitude or teaching style works for you. Maybe you decide on two tutors – one’s good at explaining grammar, while another is just easier to talk to for conversation practice.

   Be up front with your wants and needs. If you mostly want to work on conversation, be clear about it. If you have a disability, let your tutor know. If you want to use a specific material, please let your tutor know your wishes.

   Have a realistic expectations. One student wanted to be “conversational” within a few weeks before his trip to Japan. I can’t do that. I can get you comfortable with survival phrases, but you won’t be shooting the breeze.

   Also have clear achievable goals to bring to your tutor. I can get you through Genki 1 in so many months. I can help polish that essay.

   Also realize that 1-2 hours of tutoring a week won’t be enough. You’ll still need to study and practice on your own time too.

3. My tutor on iTalki is great for beginners. She is kind and easy to talk to. I think it’s worth it if you want to improve your speaking and listening, and learn more natural ways to talk.

   She types out our conversations so that afterward you have a pdf file I can download and study. It’s great for making sentence flashcards with too.

   My tutor’s name is Tomoko Suda, and here’s a link.

   Tell her Andy says hi!

   https://www.italki.com/i/reft/HEDFHA/GDfdBG/japanese?hl=en&utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=share_teacher

4. I think having a tutor can be very worth it for accountability reasons

   If you’re just studying totally by yourself without any peers or anything, it’s very easy to fall off track. If you’re paying a tutor and you meet every week at 2PM you know you’re going to show up to your appointment – and you’re going to be a lot more likely to have done your homework.

   BUT – if you are a super super diligent person you can learn just fine without one. I study livestreamed all of Minna No Nihongo 1 without ever having a lesson. That always shocked people at starbucks, that I had no teacher at all.

   https://www.youtube.com/c/StudyWithXeno

5. Overall: No!
   In the beginning N5〜 Probabily help …. After no more🤷‍♂️

6. If you have a lot of money, 100% worth if you find a good one. I tried out like 20 tutors before I found one I liked though, as I’m very picky.

7. Yes. The one-on-one conversations are pretty fun and I feel like I learn a lot.

   Scroll through italki and pick some tutors that you think you could be friends with. It’s a good way to stay motivated and work some healthy social interaction into your day.

8. I’ve always been iffy on tutors right now due to me being very new to Japanese but at the same time I think it might help? What’s your thoughts on basically beginners getting tutors?

9. I am as dumb as they come so I thought if anyone would need a tutor it would be me. I began with online teachers this year because I wanted structure and found grammar to be difficult to understand.

   I’ve found some aspects about teachers invaluable. For example with vocabulary they can tell you if a words in common use, which situation to use it in and the connotations of the word. They can help to explain things in multiple ways and give examples. They can give you conversational practice and correct you on things.

   However after months of trying different teachers and ways to study I noticed self study is very important. I forgot a the vast majority of words I learnt, and all the kanji. I now use a paid website with an Spaced Repition System for this. I also learn some words on my own which then go in the SRS. I can learn more words and kanji on my own as I can do it everyday for as long as I have free time and it doesn’t cost me what a tutor does.

   I also try to learn a little bit of grammar on my own too. However as I mentioned in my second paragraph tutors can be invaluable. Now I have one good teacher. I prepare a list of questions for based on what I’ve studied. She answers them all. We mostly practice reading and translating, roleplaying and some conversation practice. She corrects me on things and It seems to be working well.

   It’s up to you if you want to get a teacher because some people do learn the language on their own. There’s lots of good resources out there. But I’m currently taking lessons 3 times a week because of the benefits it gives me which I already explained.