Hi Language Buddy!

I'd like to revisit a topic we've discussed before - the comparison between paid language lessons and language exchanges or other forms of casual conversation practice. There's a particular aspect of this topic that I want to delve deeper into, and that's the sense of responsibility a teacher feels when you're their paying student.

From my experience, professional teachers and even some informal teachers often feel a profound sense of duty to guide and correct their students, offering them an enriching experience that they wouldn't necessarily get from a casual conversation partner. This sense of responsibility seems especially pronounced among the best teachers I've worked with. They're driven to ensure you get enough structured learning from each session, and if they don't cover all the material they'd planned, some even feel guilty!

I can recall one teacher who, having run out of time to cover some planned topics, wanted to extend the lesson to ensure I received the value she had intended. Another teacher, after a session where we spent too much time enjoying the conversation and not enough on structured learning, admitted feeling guilty and promised more focus on grammar next time. They felt the need to deliver an educational experience worthy of the fee I was paying, which made my lessons with them particularly valuable.

This level of dedication and responsibility to the student is something I've found can be lacking in language exchanges. Although these interactions can certainly be helpful, the other party often lacks the motivation to cater to your learning needs in the same way a paid teacher would. That's why, in my opinion, online language lessons remain an indispensable part of my language learning journey, despite also participating in language exchanges.

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