Search from various English teachers...
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I would like to know where the demand was for these changes. Who was unhappy with the old Community? What concerns did they have?
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I will start with positives as others have: this version includes more prompts for specific types of language use. This is better than learners writing anything, but the clear functionality of the old Notebook section is missing. It’s more difficult to correct posts, and it can be difficult to tell if the learner is seeking correction. Another positive is the new audio feature.
Now, the negatives. The biggest negative for me, as for several other longer members, is that when it was not cluttered with language partner requests, the old Discussion forum was great. I am not a web developer, but I can imagine putting up a “locked” dialogue box as a required step when someone is starting a new discussion post, asking if they are posting only to find a language partner. Then they could be redirected to a functional language exchange page. With that filter, the Discussion page several of us *liked* would flourish.
Other negatives: as others note, users see posts for languages seemingly at random, whether they are learning them or not. I’ve sort of experienced this. It also seems like the interface now discourages replies. Some call this Instagram-like. I don’t know, but it really seems like clear communication was lost.
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What has happened to the Discussion section? A forum specifically for cultural and language learning discussion, not just language production practice.
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En mi país tenemos la fiesta de “Thanksgiving”, un día cuando las familias de reúnen y comen juntos una cena especial con comida como pavo, puré de patatas, y salsa de arándano. La fiesta tiene su origen en la Guerra Civil de mi paìs, como un día de oración para la supervivencia del país. Las aduanas del día vienen del Norte de país porque ese fue el lado ganador.
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What are the special summer dishes in your country?
If you live in a country with a distinct summer season, what are the special dishes you make for the long hot days?
For example, I just had some peach cobbler, served cold — cobblers are a type of baked dessert made with fruit, like a pie with a crunchy crust.
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iTalki in the New York Times!
iTalki was mentioned in an article in today’s <em>New York Times</em>. The article is about how the coronavirus lockdowns are giving many people extra time that they could use learning languages online.
See: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/28/travel/language-instruction-apps-television-youtube.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/28/travel/language-instruction-apps-television-youtube.html</a>
Do you suggest iTalki to people you know as a quarantine activity?
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Short Harvard Survey on Opinions about Coronavirus
Hi all,
I saw a tweet about this survey from Harvard, Cambridge, and several other universities on how people around the world are reacting to the coronavirus, including opinions on what your society and government are doing about it. <a href="https://covid19-survey.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://covid19-survey.org/</a>
It takes less than 10 minutes, and it is available in a dozen languages. They are also looking for people who could translate the survey into additional languages.
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Trouble with the App
Is anyone else having problems with notifications in the app? I’m getting the 30 minute lesson notifications for scheduled lessons after the lesson is over, as well as notifications for lessons to start in thirty minutes when there is no lesson scheduled then, and now I have a 30 minute lesson notification for a student who has not booked a lesson with me.
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How Do You Think?
I heard recently that some people think in words, so that their lives and thoughts are a story in their minds, but other people think in pictures. Some people think in sounds.
Then I heard that when people picture an object in their mind, it can be at different levels of detail. You might see it in full color and with 3D texture, or it might be flat in black and white.
What do you think? <em>How </em>do you think?
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A Good Education
What kind of education is better: one that gives someone general knowledge of many different subjects, or a very focused, technical education?
Is there knowledge everyone should have in order to be well educated?
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