Have any of your made any use of AI to help you with your language studies so far? If so, which software did you use, what did you use it for, and did it prove helpful? Thanks Andrew

Nada. Eu tiro o cavalinho da chuva.

Students - how useful do you find the italki teacher search filters?

What's the best way you've found to improve in a foreign language?

I'd be interested to hear all of your tips.  So, please tell me yours?

I have one of my own, which I've discovered in recent months and which has made a very big difference to my language learning.  It's a tip for intermediate learners upwards (advanced learners can also benefit)

I am learning Portuguese and I started following the political events in Brazil.  As a result I quickly got into the habit of reading lots of Facebook posts every day.  Of reading lots of articles linked from Facebook every day.  Of watching videos linked from Facebook every day.  And, importantly, also of writing my own posts on the topics that arose every day.

Obviously, not everybody is interested in politics.  But everybody is interested in something.  And, these days, there is a Facebook group, or Quora thread or Reddit topic or message board about almost anything that any person could possibly be interested in.

So that's my advice.  Find an online group related to a topic that you are interested in, whether it's crime novels, wild animals, the environment, dogs, poetry, fast cars, extreme sports, travel................it really doesn't matter.  Find a board about this topic in your target language and become an active contributor to the group every day.. reading posts and making posts.  Reading stories.  Watching videos.

Do this and you will improve.  And quickly.

Should or have to? Sometimes grammar rules can mislead.. a. If you like impressionist art you should visit the Musee D'Orsay in Paris. b.If you like impressionist art you have to viist the Musee D'Orsay in Paris The above two sentences are taken from an exercise in the book "Common Mistakes at Proficiency," from Cambridge Press. It's a question about whether the modal verb *should* or the construction *have to* should be used here. "a," will be the correct answer according to the book. This is because *should* is used for suggesting things that are a good idea and *have to* in a positive sentence, usually means the same thing as *must* (that something is compulsory). But here's the question: Do any of you know how - without changing any of the words in sentence B, or the order of the words, sentence B can actually be exactly what a native speaker would say - it's possible to use sentence B to make a very strong suggestion (rather than to say that something is compulsory)... Does anybody know how a native speaker would do this?

The italki classroom

Have any of you guys tried the italki classroom to receive a language lesson yet?

If so, what did you guys think of it?

Students - have you noticed changes to the teacher search facility?

This is really a question for those students who:

a) Take lessons on italki

and

b) Have been doing so for several months

Have you noticed any changes to the search facility when you are looking for new teachers?  If so, have these changes been welcome from the students' point of view?  Have they found it easier to quickly find suitable teachers?

What is the traditional Christmas food in your country? Will you eat it/ have you already eaten it today?

Two simple questions - What is the most traditional Christmas meal in your country? And will you eat it (or have you already eaten it) today?

In England the most traditional dish is turkey but I don't eat meat, so that's out for me. But I eat fish, so I shall have a fish pie.