Buondì.

(As we’re busy with the 2026 Summer Sale right now, here’s an article from our archive. For details of the promotion, scroll down.)

I’ve been both an online teacher and a language learner, so can see things from both perspectives. Here, then, are a few tips for students who choose to include one-to-one online lessons in their language study programs.

The Dos and Don’ts of Taking One-to-One Language Lessons Online

1. Don’t put off starting. OK, this could seem self-serving, given our current promotion, but veramente, I put off lessons, cioè actually interacting with a real person, for maybe a year after starting to learn Swedish. First I thought I’d teach myself, then I got addicted to Duolingo, so it wasn’t until months later that I realised I still couldn’t speak a word of the language… Once I’d done a lesson or two, I was kicking myself for all the time I’d wasted.
2. Don’t panic. Mild anxiety is acceptable. Remember though, it’s in the teacher’s interest, too, that things go well. She wants you to be comfortable and happy – it’s how she earns a living. In the event that you do NOT feel comfortable and happy after taking a lesson or two, get right on to our teaching management team, and ask for help/advice. Likely they’ll know what to do!
3. Do listen to the teacher. Some people, it must be said, have really dumb ideas about how they should be learning. Over the decades, I must have heard it all. For example, “I’d like you (the teacher) to help me translate this (massively-long, difficult, boring) text, which I have to read for (whatever unconnected objective).” In a thirty-minute lesson, we might get through a sentence or two, and only then by doing the whole thing in English. Most people would instead benefit from spending the time practising SPEAKING and getting feedback from the teacher regarding problems with their pronunciation, grammar, etc. A pro teacher should point that out. And it’s doubly true for students who would otherwise never speak at all… The moral? Listen to the teacher. Maybe she knows best. At least in this case.
4. Do insist. All that said, teachers are not infallible. “We don’t need no education”, indeed, and certainly not another pointless explanation of the congiuntivo, which we could read online instead of wasting valuable speaking time on. The teacher may not know what’s best for you – if you don’t either, then you’ll have to take your chances. But if you DO have a clear idea what would most benefit you (speaking!! feedback on mistakes!! help with pronunciation!!), then insist. Do. For any issues you can’t resolve with the teacher, there’s the teaching management team – ask them!
5. Do make lessons part of your routine. Thursday a.m. Swedish, Friday a.m. Turkish – I don’t always feel like taking the lessons beforehand, but afterwards I’m invariably glad I did. And as months pass, the effect on my ability to communicate in the languages I’m learning is ‘impressionante’, as Italians would say. So try to make taking a weekly online language lesson part of your language-learning routine, in the same way as you might attend an evening class or do homework. Create the habit, and in time you’ll reap the reward!

A domani.

P.S. Save 20% in the 2026 Summer Sale!

The 2026 Summer Sale ends on Sunday July 12th, which means that there are just thirty-six hours left to save 20% on one-to-one language lessons. But why wait?

Everything in our online store, NativeSpeakerTeachers.com, is a fifth cheaper until then, assuming you remember to use this coupon code:

2026-Summer-Sale-20%-Off

Take advantage of the 2026 Summer Sale to save 20%: it’s like getting, for example, ten one-to-one lessons for the price of eight. So two extra lessons of speaking practice, on us!

This is the coupon code you need to save £££ on your order:

2026-Summer-Sale-20%-Off

Make your selection from the one-to-one online lesson options.

Next go to your shopping cart and apply coupon code 2026-Summer-Sale-20%-Off to reduce the cart total by 20%.

Remember, the coupon code is good until midnight on Sunday July 12th. Use it here:

NativeSpeakerTeachers.com

A domani!

Buondì.

(As we’re busy with the 2026 Summer Sale right now, here’s an article from our archive. For details of the promotion, scroll down.)

With apologies to the seven thousand or so club members who are also on the NativeSpeakerTeachers.com mailing list, below is a copy/paste of an article published on that website. Obviously it’s about taking one-to-one lessons, online, with a native speaker teacher.

This is something that we’ve been promoting for a number of years now. I tried it myself, too, when I began learning Swedish, and subsequently have done hundreds, probably thousands of online lessons in that language, plus also Turkish, French and Spanish (right now just Swedish, though, because of Bug…)

Chatting one-to-one with a native speaker, or actually studying/doing a proper lesson if that’s the way you prefer to learn, can seem intimidating at first, just as attending a class can, or going for a job interview.

I know I put it off myself for ages, despite being an actual online (and real life) teacher, and knowing I needed the practice, and that it would be good for me. I wasted far too much time on Duolingo, and doing self-study, when I could have been – should have been – actually interacting in the languages I was learning.

There’s no substitute for it. It gives you the sort of confidence that books, apps, Youtube videos and so on just can’t.

The closest thing – in terms of preparing for using the language to communicate with – is live, authentic listening i.e. radio or similar, but while that also boosts your confidence (in time), it lacks the actual opening your mouth and wagging your tongue part, and is anyway less accessible for lower-level students.

Authentic listening is hard in a way that a chat with a sympathetic native speaker doesn’t have to be. Doing it regularly in Italian, or whatever language you’re learning, is valuable for students at any level, take it from me.

And as for the practical details? See the pasted article below.

Don’t forget that NativeSpeakerTeachers.com has their Summer Sale running this week, meaning you could get your practice sessions with a native speaker teacher 20% cheaper. Scroll down past the FAQ article and you’ll find all the details on how to do that.

A domani.

+++

Online Italian/French/Spanish/German Lessons: Got Questions?

Want to know more about how taking online one-to-one Italian/French/Spanish/German lessons with a native speaker teacher works?

The NativeSpeakerTeachers.com Frequently Asked Questions page covers all these topics:

• How does buying online lessons work?
• Who will my online teacher be?
• Organisation of online lessons
• I live in the USA/Australia/New Zealand. What days/times can I take lessons?
• What software/hardware do I need?
• When do online lesson credits expire?
• Why take lessons with NativeSpeakerTeachers.com rather than a cheaper alternative?
• Why are lessons just 30 minutes long?
• Who decides the lesson content?
• Do I have to study at a regular day/time?
• Does the online teacher speak English?
• Changes of online teacher
• Payment options
• Is it safe to input my credit card details in your shop?
• Do you charge VAT/sales tax?
• Refunds

Find the answers on the FAQ page!

And if your question is not covered? Just reply to this email.

Read genuine, unedited customer reviews here.

2026 Summer Sale: Save 20% on One-to-One Language Lessons

Don’t forget the NativeSpeakerTeachers.com 2026 Summer Sale, which ends on Sunday July 12th.

Students of Italian, Spanish, French and German can save 20% on one-to-one language lessons, online with a native speaker teacher of the language they’re learning.

With coupon code 2026-Summer-Sale-20%-Off everything at our online store, NativeSpeakerTeachers.com, can be had a fifth cheaper than the advertised prices!

You could, for example, buy ten one-to-one language lessons, and so practice speaking or get help with grammar, while paying for only eight!

Browse lesson options and prices, not forgetting to mentally reduce the prices you see there by 20%, then to actually use coupon code 2026-Summer-Sale-20%-Off to save £££ on your order!

How to do that, exactly?

First make your selection from the one-to-one online lesson options and add them to your shopping cart with the ‘Add to cart’ button.

Then go to the actual shopping cart and copy/paste coupon code 2026-Summer-Sale-20%-Off into the box, where it says ‘Coupon code’, to reduce the cart total by 20%.

Press the ‘Apply coupon’ button, then SCROLL DOWN to verify that the CART TOTAL has been reduced by 20% (BEFORE proceeding with your payment…)

The coupon code is good until midnight on Sunday July 12th. You can use it as often as you wish, with no minimum or maximum spend, but it can’t be used together with any other coupon code you may already have.

Questions? Why not take a look at our FAQ?

Then stock up on online lesson credits – at an unbeatable price!

One-to-one online language lessons

Don’t forget coupon code 2026-Summer-Sale-20%-Off

Use it here: NativeSpeakerTeachers.com

The next sale won’t be until fall/autumn, so a long way off!