Some Thoughts

I’ve been on italki for a while. I’m not actively talking to people or making friends here. I’m trying to write something in English everyday. Hopefully, someone will help me correct it if I’ve made any mistakes. Otherwise, I’m fine too. This is more of a place to remind me to keep practicing my English. I believe practice makes perfect.

I sometimes browse the entries from others in Chinese and help correct them. One thing I’ve noticed is that, out of the 10 corrections/comments I've written, I got 1 (or less) “Thank you” notes. I mean, I’m not doing this for a thank you note, but I don’t like it when people simply ignore what you’ve done for them. Normally, it won’t take very long to fix one entry, but still that’s 5-10 mins of my previous life I’ve wasted on someone who doesn’t seem appreciate it.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that people write in strange Chinese. I have no idea where they’ve learned it. Some expressions they used are very rude, others are totally wrong. I really don’t feel comfortable when people butcher my language that way.

I think this could be one problem of websites like italki. It allows people who are not qualified as a language teacher to teach others. I’ve seen too many entries and corrections in Chinese these days. Quite a lot of people who are trying to correct Chinese learners haven’t grasped the language themselves. Nevertheless, that won’t stop them from spreading wrong information.

I’d suggest Chinese learners, especially beginners, learn the language from a qualified teacher either online or in person instead of some random people you found online. Check their qualifications first. You can practice what you’ve learned with someone online, but don’t learn from people with no qualifications. Most likely it won't lead you anywhere.