u/supertitti

Hi guys! Community tutor here. A new student booked a trial with me, asked me to reschedule 10 minutes before the lesson starting time. I told him that italki's policy does not allow me to reschedule lessons with less than 24 hours notice. I am now in the lesson and taking screenshots every 5 minutes. My question is, if I state there was a problem and that the student didn't show up, can he leave a review or not? A bad review could really hurt my profile. Also, since he was being rude, at what time am I supposed to block him? Should I wait for the lesson to be refunded?

Edit: I reported the lesson was incomplete and Italki sided with me. I was later able to block the student.
Thank you for your support:)

Edit 2: I always give the students who ask me to reschedule (even last minute) a second change. I know life happens. In this case not only the student showed completely no remorse, no apologies nothing. He was also arrogant and felt entitled to reschedule really last minute ( even after I explained him Italki’s policy) and got angry I couldn’t do it.

Hi guys, I'm a community tutor on Italki and I teach Italian.

Some of my students ask me grammar questions during our conversation lessons. I usually correct their mistakes as we talk and briefly explain the grammar when necessary. However, some students want a much more detailed explanation of grammar rules.

In those cases, I usually explain that they should book a grammar lesson instead, because we would be covering more complex topics and I need to prepare a presentation specifically for them. Since grammar lessons require extra preparation on my side, I charge more for them.

I was just curious: how do you handle this situation? Am I wrong for giving short grammar explanations during conversation lessons? Should I avoid grammar explanations completely and keep those lessons strictly focused on conversation?

EDIT: You guys charge the same for conversation lessons and grammar lessons??

Here are a few tips if you want to sound more like a native.

1. Learn pronominal verbs. They're basically the Italian version of phrasal verbs: natives use them all the time, and they make your Italian sound way more natural.

Some really common ones:

• PIANTARLA = stop doing something "Piantala di fare i capricci!" = Stop throwing a tantrum!
• METTERCELA TUTTA = to give it your all "Ce l'ha messa tutta" = She gave it everything she had
• METTERCI = to take time "Ci ho messo tre ore ad arrivare a casa”= It took me three hours to get home
• FARCELA = to manage to do something "Ce l'ho fatta!" = I made it!
• CAVARSELA = to get by / handle a situation. "Se l'è cavata bene”= He handled it well
• ANDARSENE = to leave "Me ne vado" = I'm leaving
• PRENDERSELA = to get offended / take something personally "Non prendertela" = Don't take it personally
• SENTIRSELA = to feel like it “ Non me la sento di andare alla festa” = I don’t feel like going to the party

2)Learn expressions, not just vocabulary. Knowing words is useful, but knowing things like avere voglia di, non c'entra niente, figurati, ci mancherebbe is what really makes you sound natural.

Here are some more:

• Meno male =Thanks goddess
• Magari =maybe
• A quanto pare =apparently
• Ne vale la pena = it’s worth it
• Neanche per sogno= not a chance
• Tra l’altro = by the way, besides
• Dare per scontato = to take for granted F
• Fa lo stesso= it’s ok, it doesn’t matter

Do your best to try to use these expressions as much as you can while speaking Italian and you will see a huge difference! Let me know if it helps :)

Hi guys, I teach italian on Italki.
I left the platform for 6 months, and when I came back, I had lost all of my students.
I’ve seen that this is a common problem, especially after being away for a long time. However, no matter what I do, I can’t seem to get any new students.

Right now, I’m offering conversational lessons, trip preparation for Italy (with provided materials), grammar lessons, and lessons for absolute beginners (how to start speaking Italian from scratch). Should I do something differently?

I got a 7.5 on my IELTS, I speak French fluently and I know some Spanish as well, so I don’t think it’s a language problem.

Do you have any advice on how to get a steady flow of students again? I would really appreciate it🙏🏻

Btw, I’ve already lowered my prices, and I really can’t go any lower considering Italki is taking 21% of profits:(

Hi everyone! I have a question about Italki's policies.
I'm an Italian community tutor on Italki. I taught on the platform for about two years, then took a six-month break.
Now that I'm back, I've noticed that most of my previous students are gone, and it seems like this is a fairly common experience.

I'm thinking about starting an Italian podcast focused on art and culture, since I have a background in art.

Do you think it's a good idea to mention the podcast on my Italki profile or during lessons, or could that be against Italki's policies?
The podcast would be free, but in the future, I'd like to build my own website, create more content and develop an italian course.

If I eventually decide to stop teaching on Italki and close my profile, would it be a problem if some of my former Italki students later found my website on their own and decided to book lessons with me there?
I'm not talking about actively encouraging students to leave Italki or contacting them outside the platform.

I just want to understand whether there's any issue if they choose to find me independently after I've left the platform.

I'd love to hear if anyone has experience with this