Online Language Lessons

Many sites allow for private foreign language tutoring lessons including italki, Verbling, Rype, Live Lingua, Wyzant, Tandem, and Verbalplanet.*

Each one specializes in a different target audience. For instance, many consider VIPKid the best language tutoring site for teaching children English as a second language (ESL).

*Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this section. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.

Language tutoring costs between $35 and $60 per hour on average for online lessons. Many of these services don’t just provide grammar and vocabulary lessons but also put students in touch with fluent native speakers of their chosen language, including French, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, and American Sign Language.

Unlike your high school foreign language classes, tutoring services allow students to have live conversations with native speakers. This means they can practice what they’ve learned with someone who is fluent. This is especially true for anyone trying to learn English as a second language.

If the credentials of your foreign language teacher are important to you, then you can check to see if the language learning website you’re going through requires teachers to be certified.

Language skills require regular practice. Language learners need the time and space to interact with native speakers in order to build those skills to the point where they can carry a conversation, especially once they reach advanced levels of lessons.

When you’re selecting a foreign language tutor, consider where you are in your journey to learn a new language. For example, if it is your first lesson, you may want to find a tutor with teaching experience in the language you wish to learn. Find a reliable tutor for many languages right here on Upwork.
As you progress with your private language tutor you may require more-advanced lesson plans and more robust conversations. That will help you master your language and put the skills into practice. You can also supplement your listening by using foreign language podcasts.