aidanstudies

i'm simply obsessed with languages. studying chinese, portuguese, italian, & spanish.

[aidanstudiess]

A comprehensive guide to taking language lessons on italki

Italki is one of the most popular language learning platforms out there. For those who don’t know, the platform is a space for you to find language learning tutors or teachers for live, one-on-one classes. For an absolute beginner on the platform, italki can be a bit intimidating, depending on the language you’re learning and the fact that the classes are entirely online. Do not fear: in this guide, I will highlight how to find a good teacher, how to find the best lessons, and everything and anything else you’ll need to know.

Finding a good teacher

The first step is to, of course, find a good teacher. Depending on the language, the surplus of teachers available can vary. Some languages like Spanish will have next to a thousand tutors while languages like Afrikaans may not have too many. Regardless, you must take some things into account when looking for a teacher.

1. Use italki’s filters at the beginning of the search to narrow down the selection of what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a specific price, there’s no need to look through 10 teachers charging more than what you can afford. If you’re looking for a specific type of class, you shouldn’t be looking endlessly for the right teacher who teaches it. Use the filters to narrow down exactly what you want.

2. Watch introduction videos and read bios. Every italki teacher has an introduction video for you to watch, and most will have a detailed bio about them. Take into account these things to see what personality you most vibe with.

3. Look at the lessons offered. Sometimes, you want a specific type of lesson, while other times, you’re not sure what you want with a teacher. Teachers can offer a variety of lessons: conversation practice, general lessons, informal tutoring, grammar lessons, etc. 

4a. Take a trial lesson. You have the opportunity to take a few trial lessons on your italki profile, and this is the perfect way to start experimenting with teachers. In my own experience, trial lessons will take into account what you know so the future lessons can be well adapted to your needs.

4b. Find out your ideal lesson time. Before scheduling a lesson, take into account both the times you can hold the lesson and the length of time you want the lesson to go for. Lessons can range from a half hour up to 2 hours. For beginners to the platform, I recommend going for only 30-45 minutes to see how it works.

5. If one doesn’t work, try again. The one thing I can not stress enough with italki is that the first teacher you take lessons with is not the one you must take lessons with again. My very first italki lesson was with a Chinese teacher I simply didn’t vibe with, and I didn’t go past the trial lesson. That’s okay! Make sure your lessons are with a teacher you enjoy taking classes with.

6. Once you find a good teacher, take into account the amount of classes you want to take. You could aim for 1 class every two weeks, 1 class a week, 1 class a month, etc. Whatever works for you!

Having a good lesson

Having a solid italki lesson is something that can make the difference. Many people do not vibe well with online lessons, so here are some tips and tricks for a solid lesson.

1. Ask. Questions. I can not stress it enough. If you don’t ask questions, the teacher is going to automatically believe you’re doing just fine. Don’t know a word? Ask what it is. Don’t know how to use a specific grammar feature? Ask how to use it.

2. Contact your teacher outside of class. If you have a language related question outside of class, contact them! Teachers are there to help you. Don’t be scared to ask for help with a specific topic; you can even ask to cover the topic in your lessons.

3. Realize if the lessons do or don’t work. If you find yourself constantly struggling and not making progress, or if you find yourself not vibing with your teacher, there’s no reason for you to force yourself to take lessons. It’s more money down the drain for something you’re not enjoying. Listen to your gut!

4. Don’t be shy. Online calls are always nerve-wracking. But don’t be shy! Engage with your teacher and step out of your comfort zone. I promise, it’s worth it.

In conclusion, italki is what you make of it. Your time on italki can be enjoyable with the right tutor and right lessons for you. I hope this guide has helped you with your studies!

[aidanstudiess]

5 Tips for Learning Multiple Languages at Once

If you’re someone like me who is constantly fascinated by the world of languages and linguistics, you understand how frustrating it is when there are so many languages you want to learn with little time or motivation to study them. I get it. The struggle is real.

Regardless, I’ve come up with a few tips on how to balance learning multiple languages at once, especially if you’re impatient and don’t want to wait to learn a set amount of languages. I hope this is helpful - let’s get into it!

Tip 1: Batch Languages

The way I’m approaching the new year ahead for language learning is to batch my languages into quarters and study a few at a time before moving onto new ones. That way, I can study what I’m feeling the most up to and when it’s time to move onto a new language, I can swap it out and put it into “maintenance” mode (aka a period of time where I work on maintaining my level and make sure it doesn’t decrease). 

For example, I’ve planned my year into four quarters. From January to March I have planned to focus on Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Italian, while Portuguese and Spanish remain in maintenance mode. From April to June, I will most likely swap out Italian for Portuguese and put Italian in maintenance mode.

Another thing you can do (like I’m doing) is have a few languages that will remain target languages yearly then move between other languages. For example, I’m planning on having Chinese and Japanese by my main foci for the entire year as I do not want to lose them and are very interested in them. Besides learning the two, I will be alternating romance languages. In quarter 1 I will learn Italian, quarter 2 Portuguese, and so on.

Tip 2: Free Time

In my opinion, a lot of people have so much free time that they just don’t take into consideration. We all have busy lives, but at the end of the day, we have some time that is ours whether we realize it or not. Free time doesn’t even have to mean time that you’re not doing anything - free time can be when you’re eating a meal or riding the bus. 

For maintaining multiple languages at once, you need to take into consideration the amount of time you have so it can better adjust to your goals and routine. For example, if you only have around an hour of free time every day, don’t plan to be doing an incredibly extensive amount of work in your languages. Take into account the amount of free time, then realize what you can get done in that time instead of what you want to get done.

Tip 3: Set Reasonable Goals

This goal doesn’t have to apply to studying multiple languages, but I think it ties back to my previous point. If you only have such limited time in a day or a week, you shouldn’t plan so extensively to get a ridiculous amount of work done. You should set reasonable and achievable goals. 

Personally, I would never set a goal to be fluent in language XYZ by a set point in time. I would never say to study 12 hours a day in language XYZ. The reason I bring these up is because I know that I won’t achieve fluency easily or by a certain point and I certainly don’t have the time to study for half a day. Your goals have to be reasonable and things you can achieve.

Tip 4: Make a Weekly Schedule

Creating a weekly schedule may be good as it can help you implement certain habits. For example, you could try setting Tuesdays as your day to learn Japanese, or set the weekends for learning German, or set Wednesdays to learn Chinese - whatever the case may be, designate specific days or periods of time to learning one language. As time goes on, adjust and get used to the habit of studying every week on a specific day.

Tip 5: Study Whenever, Wherever

We’re meant to be together. (Shakira reference, anyone?)

The final tip I have is to study whenever you can. If you’re brushing your teeth, put on a podcast in French. If you’re riding the bus or train, catch up on some Chinese vocab. When you’re eating breakfast, learn new vocabulary words in Japanese. You get the point.

This tip relates back to tip 2 - “free time” doesn’t have to just constitute what time you have nothing going on at. Free time can mean any time when you’re not particularly occupied; I don’t know about you, but I can surely scroll through my phone or listen to a podcast while eating a meal or riding in a vehicle. Like I said, we have so much free time that we just don’t take into account!

Conclusion

In conclusion, we have so much free time to take into account and learning multiple languages at once is possible. All it takes is some careful planning and consideration to make your plan perfect.

[aidanstudiess]

Should you learn simplified or traditional Chinese characters?

One of the first decisions a Chinese learner makes is whether or not to learn simplified or traditional Chinese characters. Learning either set of characters comes with their own benefits and pros / cons. In this guide, I will break down which set of characters you should learn. Let’s get into it!

What are simplified and traditional characters?

For those who don’t know, there are two different forms of Chinese characters to learn. Simplified characters are just as they sound - they are simplified versions of the traditional Chinese characters. They are characters that take fewer strokes to write and are much less complicated. Traditional characters are characters that are much more complicated with many more strokes to write.

Where are simplified and traditional characters used?

Simplified characters are used in mainland China, as well as Singapore and Malaysia. To put it simply, simplified characters originally came about in the 1950s when the Chinese government wanted to improve the literacy rate. Thus, a team of scholars helped the government come up with simplified versions of Chinese characters that were easier to learn.

Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. These areas didn’t make the switch to simplified characters in the 1950s and instead stuck with traditional characters. Traditional characters are less common in Mandarin Chinese, but some other Chinese varieties like Cantonese use traditional characters as well.

Pros and cons of simplified characters

Pros: Simplified characters are much easier to write and take fewer strokes to learn. They are also more widely used as they are officially used on the mainland. Also, the majority of Chinese resources will focus on simplified characters unless the resource is specifically for traditional or Taiwanese Mandarin.

Cons: These characters aren’t used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Macau, meaning if you are learning simplified with the intent on travelling to Taiwan, you may have trouble reading traditional characters. 

Pros and cons of traditional characters

Pros: Traditional characters are used not only in Mandarin, but with Cantonese and other Chinese languages. They are especially helpful if you are travelling to Taiwan. Also, a lot of old Chinese literature is written with traditional characters. Traditional may be more efficient if you are interested in learning more about Chinese literature or classical Chinese.

Cons: They are much more difficult to write and take many more strokes than simplified. Also, if you are on the mainland, chances are you won’t see traditional characters. 

Which should you learn?

In my opinion, you should learn simplified characters if you: - are intending on travelling to mainland China (also Singapore and Malaysia) - want to study abroad in mainland China - want to make Chinese easier - want to find more resources for Chinese

In my opinion, you should learn traditional characters if you: - are intending on travelling to Taiwan (also Hong Kong and Macau) - want to study abroad in Taiwan - want to learn more about Chinese literature or read Chinese literature before the 1950s

What do I learn?

For me personally, I focus more on simplified, but I also learn traditional characters, meaning I technically learn both simplified and traditional Chinese characters. I am interested in travelling to or studying abroad in either China or Taiwan and am interested in hopefully pursuing a career in Chinese. I also want to be able to read Chinese literature and also learn more classical Chinese. Thus, I focus on simplified but also learn traditional varieties when I come across them. I learn both as I am interested in many aspects of the Chinese language and also, I want to learn some Cantonese and other Chinese languages one day as well.

Conclusion

In conclusion, which set of Chinese characters you should learn depends on what your priorities are with the language. You could learn either variety or be like me and learn both! Either way, I hope this guide helped you a bit in deciding which set of characters you should learn.