Does anyone still pay for online lessons?

[lushlala]

I’m asking the question because scouring the net recently for language learning resources, it hit me and absolutely blew me away just how much free stuff is out there! I realised that I could probably learn on my own using all the free online materials. Ideally I would prefer to also attend an actual, physical class for the interaction. That’s the only time I’d consider paying for lessons, knowing what I now know.

 

Do you pay for your lessons? If yes, given the amount of free online learning resources, what are the reasons you've opted to pay?

[Wanda Kaishin]

I pay for one hour of Chinese conversation every morning. I'd rather pay for 100% Chinese than do an exchange and waste 50% of my time.

[dylr88]

Nah, because I'm learning languages as a hobby, and I've found lots of free resources, I haven't bothered buying or paying for lessons, I've also made friends with natives who want to be teachers or teach, and that also makes them more eager to teach me or at least help me with difficulties in the language, like grammar, also I get to make friends and chat about anything.

I find paying for lessons online for me expensive for my purpose of learning, and since I can research free information, I don't bother. Paid lessons are great however, if you don't want to bother going through the process of researching etc. And can be useful if you really need to learn the language thoroughly course by course or when information/free lessons are hard to find.

[Jordan94]

I have been for a few months now. It's been really helpful to me so far. To me learning a new language is really fun and exciting. I believe it makes you smarter as well. I just really enjoy it and I think it's also a really creative way to express yourself in another form. I hope to go to other Countries and start having conversations with the people from there and ask them what their life is like where they live. I'm really excited about that. I think it's going to be a really fun experience for me. I'm really looking forward to it a lot.

[宇崎ちゃん]

Yes I do pay for Skype lessons.
Or rather, conversations.

At the moment, I pay for 45 minutes of Japanese on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, plus 30 minutes of Spanish on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Then I fill up a lot of gaps (free time) with free tools (either with or without a premium/pro/platinum/whatever subscription, it depends on the service they provide).
These fill ups are mostly Anki, Memrise, YouTube videos, songs, meetups (if I can find any Japanese or Spanish people around here at all and not confuse them with Chinese or Italian) and more.
As tools are concerned, I only pay for Memrise and FluentU at the moment (and Italki, but that's where I get my Skype lessons from).

[foolsgold]

I've never tried it but maybe later on in my learning when I am more comfortable to talk. I don't know of a lot of German speaking people here where I'm from so it would be difficult to get practice so I might pay for that. 

[Miya]

I don't (and have never) paid for online language lessons. Learning online isn't really effective for me so I probably wouldn't even do it for free. I prefer to take real classes even if it costs a little more. 

[AExAVF]

As a traditional learner, I prefer taking regular courses in a language school rather than enroll in an online class.  Online classes cost less than regular classes, but if you don't have the motivation to complete an online class, you are simply wasting your time.  Being schooled in the traditional way of language education, I guess you could say that regular language classes are still better.  Online lessons, as far as practicable, will have to be free and I shouldn't have to shoulder additional expenses.  Depending on the program, I may opt to upgrade to something a little higher, if it will be worth it.

Edited November 3, 2015 by AExAVF

[宇崎ちゃん]

On 11/3/2015 at 11:06 AM, foolsgold said:

I've never tried it but maybe later on in my learning when I am more comfortable to talk.

That's exactly why most people fail to speak forever: they don't feel comfortable enough to speak.
I can tell you this: you have to try to speak early on, because otherwise you will never be ready to speak (so you will remain uncomfortable forever).

I went through this problem in the past too.
Half year ago, I thought I could speak Japanese well enough after 7 years of study, but in reality:

1. I was uncomfortable to speak.
2. I didn't understand a thing the other person said.
3. I even failed to form sentences as simple as "I am (DELETE)" without hesitating (or any longer sentences at all).

But I got used to it quickly and I can speak and understand Japanese with no issues (unless a new word pops up, half year ago I had a gigantic list of new words per session, now I only need to note down 1-5 new words per session).

When I started learning Spanish last month, I went through the same problems again.
And it's all improving quickly too.

[Tyrell]

Does anyone? Yes, of course. Me, personally? No. I've never any had online lessons for anything - not even languages. I think they're generally rather pointless and ineffective so I try to stay away from them. Plus if anything, there are a ton of ways that you could learn a language for free. I feel a little bit cheap saying that but yeah no, I wouldn't spend money on an online language course.

[lushlala]

Nah, because I'm learning languages as a hobby, and I've found lots of free resources, I haven't bothered buying or paying for lessons, I've also made friends with natives who want to be teachers or teach, and that also makes them more eager to teach me or at least help me with difficulties in the language, like grammar, also I get to make friends and chat about anything.

I find paying for lessons online for me expensive for my purpose of learning, and since I can research free information, I don't bother. Paid lessons are great however, if you don't want to bother going through the process of researching etc. And can be useful if you really need to learn the language thoroughly course by course or when information/free lessons are hard to find.

Your approach sounds every similar to mine! I'm thinking any lessons I'll pay for will be totally offline, in a traditional classroom setup where I can interact with like -minded people. I'm actually planning on enrolling with Alliance Francais here as soon as I can afford it, and couple that with some of the free online learning aids I've found  

[Miya]

That's exactly why most people fail to speak forever: they don't feel comfortable enough to speak.I can tell you this: you have to try to speak early on, because otherwise you will never be ready to speak (so you will remain uncomfortable forever).

I went through this problem in the past too.
Half year ago, I thought I could speak Japanese well enough after 7 years of study, but in reality:

1. I was uncomfortable to speak.
2. I didn't understand a thing the other person said.
3. I even failed to form sentences as simple as "I am David" without hesitating (or any longer sentences at all).

But I got used to it quickly and I can speak and understand Japanese with no issues (unless a new word pops up, half year ago I had a gigantic list of new words per session, now I only need to note down 1-5 new words per session).

When I started learning Spanish last month, I went through the same problems again.
And it's all improving quickly too.

I feel like I'm having the same problem as you did in Japanese now. I live in Japan and I don't feel comfortable speaking Japanese. How did you get over this? I can understand the language fine, but it's hard for me to form sentences. I've never been good at speaking so are there some tips that you can recommend?

[宇崎ちゃん]

I feel like I'm having the same problem as you did in Japanese now. I live in Japan and I don't feel comfortable speaking Japanese. How did you get over this? I can understand the language fine, but it's hard for me to form sentences. I've never been good at speaking so are there some tips that you can recommend?

Just try to speak to Japanese people in Japanese.
The beginning will always be hard, uncomfortable and slow, but it's all OK.
Once you speak, it'll become easier, more comfortable and faster over time.

I wish I could explain the magic trick behind that, but unfortunately, there is no magic trick behind that.
It's all a matter of getting used to it.

As for myself, I have autism, meaning that social interactions are much harder for me than it is to 'healthy' people.
I mention it to show you that if I can do it, you definitely can do it as well (and probably you'll have a bigger advantage too).

[Miya]

Thanks for the advice. I'll try to speak to some Japanese people even if it's hard for me. I'm really shy and self-cautious in real life so I don't know how I'll do... but I'll try it and just hope for the best. 

[KelsieDee]

I paid for a Russian DVD and phrasebook once from lonleyplanet. It was pretty helpful but I would obviously prefer to use free online resources. I've also contemplated just hiring a private language teacher for myself.

[宇崎ちゃん]

I paid for a Russian DVD and phrasebook once from lonleyplanet. It was pretty helpful but I would obviously prefer to use free online resources. I've also contemplated just hiring a private language teacher for myself.

I don't think we can count a DVD and phrasebook as an "online lesson".

[Verba]

Just like you lushlala, I'd rather learn a language online for free since there are many resources available that do not charge at all. However, if I had to do it for a job or any other urgent reasons, I would pay for a real classroom or one to one sessions. I am also willing to spend if the language is quite difficult to learn like the French or German or Japanese languages. Right now, since I am just trying my best to learn French just because, I do it for free online and at my own pace.