I personally use Verbling. I think it is a wonderful tool and I have always have so much fun with my lessons with my Chinese teacher.
Have you used either one? What was your experience like?
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I haven’t heard of Verbling before, it looks the same as italki.
It is on my to-do list to start using italki (or verbling), but I feel a bit anxious trying to learn like that.
I am definitely going to try it though with in the next 2 months at some point.
I gotta admit I was beyond anxious on my first Verbling lesson. Really trying to speak the language can definitely be intimidating. But I can promise you if you decide to give one of these sites a try it definitely gets easier on every lesson and it even starts to become a lot of fun 
It just is about choosing the teacher that is right for you and of course one that is patient. I am lucky to have a Chinese teacher that is forgiving of my mistakes and for the fact that I still speak kind of slow.
I hope you do give it a try! It definitely builds confidence for using the language “in the wild” 
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Never used Verbling… I’ve used Memrise, Duolingo and Babbel though!
I will definitely start to use one of the sites within the next 2 months then.
As you said, need to build my confidence for using the language “in the wild”, lol.
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Wait, Is Verbling the one where you chat via webcam with the teacher?
I’ve used italki, never used Verbling. In fact, I am not sure if I’ve even heard of Verbling before.
I probably heard of italki way back in late 2014, but it was only in mid-2017 that I started taking lessons. It took over 2 years for me to pluck up my courage to try having a lesson. I guess graduating from uni also helped, since that was the end of my language classes.
I’ve not used italki to (successfully) find language exchange partners because the few times I tried most of the people weren’t that reliable (and we never got around to Skyping). It’s awkward enough as it is talking with a stranger for me. I don’t need the added pressure of trying to make sure I’m not wasting the other person’s time.
All I can say is, as an introvert, and perhaps also because of my culture, I find it weird to video chat with someone. I guess I’m somewhat camera shy. And… microphone shy? Even after a year of doing it I still get some nerves before every call. I try to find teachers who are willing to do 1/2 hour lessons and charge reasonably for that, since most tend to want to do hour-long sessions which is reasonable from their perspective but can be painful on my off days. I don’t think it really got very much for me even after a year. Maybe a little easier, but not by much. I still dread the lessons even if I end up enjoying them. 
I honestly don’t know if my speaking ability really improved from taking lessons like this, as opposed to say in a more traditional classroom setting. But I think that this arrangement is more suitable for me because it’s more flexible and cost-effective. You can arrange for a class as and when, without having to commit every week, though of course it’s best to have classes regularly.
I will hesitate to say such lessons are fun, since that’s too much of a blanket statement. Some lessons are and time passes quickly. Some are not. It depends on what topic comes up, and it depends on the teacher as well.
What I can say is that lessons like this can be lonely. There are no classmates to talk to, no peers around the same level as you. Sure, you can find others online, but it’s not the same as being in the same class with other people. It doesn’t bother me of course, the fewer people the better it is for me. But even so, I have this feeling that I’m probably missing out on something.
But if you are trying to find a teacher, I recommend trying for at least 5 lessons before deciding for or against. It’s really hard to tell just from 1 or 2 lessons. It also pays to find more than one teacher at a time, just in case a teacher suddenly stops offering lessons or increases their price to something that’s beyond your price range. (Yes, that happened to me.)
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That’s right!
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Wow it sounds like you had a rough experience with Italki, I am sorry that happened that you!
I got lucky I suppose, I always enjoy my lesson with my teacher and I generally feel like she is more of a friend these days than just a teacher. It makes it easier for me going in with that attitude since I am a big introvert as well. I haven’t had the experience of a language class at a university (Although I did just enroll and I will be starting this Autumn) but I am curious to see how it compares to my Verbling lessons.
I definitely can understand it from your perspective though. If your Verbling/Italki teacher is the only person you are speaking the language to I can see how it can be lonely. I am thankful to have another Chinese friend that I also speak to to prevent this feeling.
But for me personally I feel the one-on-one instruction is beneficial for me. I know the teacher, at least in that moment, is just focused on me and my progress. And I don’t have to worry about feeling inferior to anybody else. (Which might happen in a large classroom setting)
All in all, I definitely agree there are some benefits and some drawbacks also to this style of learning. But I also think it really depends on what teacher you get to determine the experience you will have. Maybe I am just rambling now at this point so I will end this here lol
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Glad to hear it! I wish you all the best luck
Just remember you can always find a new teacher if you have one that is not working for you!!
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Haha, I don’t think my experience was really that bad. 
I mean, there were some good teachers that I liked immediately. Most took some warming up to. Sometimes they stop giving lessons because of their own life situation (moving to another country for various reasons, for example - happened to 2 of my teachers) as italki isn’t a full-time job.
Yes, there were some that were rather unprofessional (e.g. not prepared, not on time, some even throw the responsibility of speaking 100% on me without trying to engage me), but the good thing is I can stop almost immediately.
I honestly think that I’ve had better experiences with those who teach online as a full-time job. They are that much more committed.
I get the whole feeling inferior thing, especially when it comes to speaking. I almost always froze up when I was called on in class, even though I knew the answer. In the end, it didn’t matter for those uni classes since my written grammar and vocab was enough to ace the tests. I think in my own way I probably intimidated the rest, especially since we were graded on a curve.
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Let’s push the new platforms, there is a new language learning platform has been launched WeYakYak.com. At WeYakYak, students can find hundred of native speakers of English, Spanish, Arabic, Italian, etc. and can schedule unlimited trial lessons to find the right one for you. Teachers are highly professional and well qualified at WeYakYak platform.