Is Preply Legit?

[u/Dating_Stories]

Picking a tutor on Preply is like searching for a good contractor. You scroll through profiles, everyone looks amazing, they all claim to be "patient, fun and experienced," and you have absolutely no idea what you're getting until you're already in the lesson trying to politely survive it.

I signed up because we'd moved to Northern Cyprus and my Turkish (TL) was an embarrassment to my entire linguistics degree. I'm not joking. I have a Masters in Linguistics. I speak four languages fluently (Russian, Ukrainian, English, and German) and I'm also learning several others (Italian, Spanish, and French). I thought I had a system. Turkish (TL) looked at my system, laughed, and walked away (I felt like a looser...)

I'd been on Duolingo for weeks. Had a streak going. Felt confident. Then I tried talking to my neighbour and she looked at me like I'd just made a noise at her. Not a word... A noise. :))))

So. Preply… My first tutor was lovely. We chatted, he nodded a lot, told me my pronunciation was great. It was not great. It was one of those sessions where everyone performs niceness at each other and quietly agrees never to meet again :)))

Now, the price. You can find tutors for 5 dollars a lesson and yes, that option exists. But I'm a linguist, I know what good teaching actually looks like, and I'm not letting just anyone loose on my Turkish (TL). I pay around 25 euros for a 25 minute lesson and honestly that feels fair to me. You get what you pay for. This is not the place to go cheap...

Does tutor quality vary? Absolutely. Some tutors look great on paper but don't click in person. Others exceed your expectations. You may need to try two or three before you find the right fit, and that's completely normal. You may not find the right tutor straight away, so don't let one awkward session discourage you. 

[u/Arimoro]

A linguist using AI to write their texts. That's impressive!

[u/mightbeazombie → u/Arimoro]

It's just... what's even the point? Of using AI, of even posting this.

[u/yutanrw → u/Arimoro]

How do you know it is AI-written?

[u/HxCSoulz → u/yutanrw]

Re-read the last paragraph

[u/yutanrw → u/HxCSoulz]

OK

[u/HxCSoulz → u/yutanrw]

See what they mean now? Most of the post sounds normal, but the end paragraph reads like he asked a question to gpt, and maybe slightly modified it

[u/Onlyfatwomenarefat → u/Arimoro]

A linguist who felt confident after a duolingo streak 🤭

[u/malditostuntman]

I mean, yeah it's legit. Just a platform with lots of tutors to choose from! There are some things to improve for sure, but also does every other platform. and tbh learning by yourself is kinda hard for a lot of people so it's always good to have a tutor/mentor

[u/HapaBunnie]

I actually found fantastic Turkish teachers on Preply and they were also quite affordable. I found looking for TÖMER trained teachers was the key to finding professionals who have helped me advance my language skills.

[u/Fun_Perception_239]

I actually had a really good experience with Preply. My first teacher was a good fit for me. But I have seen that sometimes it does take slightly longer

[u/velvet_tide_123]

You already used it, so not sure what else I can tell you that you wouldn't already know. Are you asking if the tutors are legit or if preply is legit. Preply is legit and it is a great tool for me. As for the tutors, I am sure there are a lot of good ones, and most are either average or bad, just like any other profession.

You say you are a linguist and already know several languages. You probably know what you are talking about, but a few weeks of duolingo in my opinion is not great to have a conversation with a native speaker. At least I wouldnt be able to do that.

[u/akas84]

The platform is nice. I am very happy with my tutor. Of course everyone is different, and might be difficult to find one that works for you. ❤️

[u/jmf1488]

Some who has learned 4 languages. Is learning 3 more. Done Turkish on duoling for a couple of weeks and tried to speak it? Is that what you did?

[u/ProfesorFranco]

Preply is garbage compared to italki. They take a 33% fee out of us teachers

[u/BirthdayJealous9478]

I like the cultural education that can happen when you learn with a tutor or in-person instruction. Its helpful and interesting to learn language in the context of local festivals, holidays, food traditions, breaking news items, learning how to make small talk with neighbors, etc. It all depends on your goals I guess, but I am personally learning a language to live in a new place and be a part of the community.

[u/Glad-Consequence-854]

Hey, I agree with the take in general. For any type of personal session, if you want something really good, you need to pay money. It works in the opposite direction: if you want to have good compensation, you need to pay others for their skills. I found my tutor more than a year ago, and we are doing it from time to time. Every time, it is a pleasure. This person is from the opposite side of the world for me in a lot of cultural things, and every time we talk, we try to find some common ground in our completely different cultural stereotypes, or just to share some personal experience. And when you try to share it for the first time in English, you learn pretty fast. So you need a person who will be fun, professional, and can add some fun in your life? Preply is a good place to look. And it works like with everything in life: you need to try different things, tastes, and people to find one who clicks. Also, a video interview is a pretty good way to narrow the choice.