Making gaffes (mistakes) when you are learning a foreign language is natural --- they can also be painfully embarrassing or hysterically funny.  Here are some videos of language errors:

French:  “How not to pick up a French girl”

Spanish:  “I love Spanish Chicken boobies” 

Chinese:   “Clueless Brit in China”

English:  “Things not to say to English footballers”
 
You can view the explanations of the mistakes on our new italki knowledge pages.

If you find these videos funny, please share them with your friends who are also studying these languages.

Also, if you have funny language videos of your own, upload them to a video service like youtube.com, and embed them on an italki Knowledge page.  We hope this shows that learning from your mistakes can actually be pretty fun. 

Enjoy these videos, and let us know what you think at feedback@italki.com.

The italki team

We are creating video tutorials on how to use italki, and our first one is now ready:  
How to Find a Language Partner


Our first video shows you, step-by-step, how to connect with a native speaker of another language.  It covers two ways to find a language partner:

  1) Using the tab Find a Language Partner and how to browse using criteria such as language spoken and language learning.

  2) Using the Language wall in the Language Index tab, where you can post a message, and view potential language partners.  
 
The tutorial also covers how to add friends, chat with other members, and highlights the importance of completing your profile.  If your profile information is incomplete, it will be harder for other members to find you, and they'll be less likely to add you as a friend.
 
We'll be releasing more tutorial videos introducing other aspects of italki soon.  Keep checking back on the blog for more useful tips and hints on how to get the most out of italki.  And please keep on sending us feedback!  

The italki team

 

One of the best things about working in the language learning internet space is the opportunity to meet really creative people who are coming up with unconventional solutions to problems.  

We were lucky to get in touch with the founder of Cucumis.org.  His site harnesses a community for social language translations.  Members can submit texts to be translated by the cucumis community.  Members earn points and give back to the community when they help others with translations.  

It's an great case of crowdsourcing, and the cucumis translation community is really vibrant.  We've added cucumis to our menu under translation.  If you're looking for a translation, we recommend checking out their site!

The italki team

Welcome back!  We're happy to finally announce a new version of italki.com.  It's been a long time in the making, and we hope you'll agree with us that it was worth the wait.  Here is a short summary of what's new:

* Answers:  Do you have a question about a foreign language that you are studying?  Ask a question to the community and get an answer from a native speaker or someone else studying that language.  (http://www.italki.com/answers)

* Shared Files:  Download and upload documents for learning languages.  Find a free textbook and start learning now.  You can also upload documents that you think other students would find useful.  (http://www.italki.com/files)

* Resources:  Search a directory for language learning resources on the internet.  You can get recommendations on useful sites, podcasts, and also submit great sites that you have found.  (http://www.italki.com/resources)

* Facebook application:  You can now access italki from facebook!  Install the application, and start asking questions and finding language partners from there.  (http://apps.facebook.com/italkiapp/)

* More Languages:  italki will support multiple languages.  We'll be finishing translations and adding more languages soon!

* Improved privacy controls:  You now have more control over your profile and how you receive invitations.

* New Interface and Design:  We've made many changes to the interface and layout to make the site easier to use.  

And of course, you can still use italki to find language partners for language exchange or tutoring.  

The best part is that there is more to come!  

We've got a lot of ideas, and we're still building new features.  You can always check our blog (http://blog.italki.com/) to read more about us and the coming changes on the site.

Finally, please, PLEASE send us feedback (http://www.italki.com/feedback/feedback.htm).  We're always looking for new ideas to make italki better.  italki is only as good as its community and we're hoping that you'll help us make this the best website for learning languages!


The italki team