A human language tutor can give you live speaking practice, immediate individualized feedback, and conversation that adapts to your needs. Those are plausible advantages, not guarantees that tutoring works better for everyone than an app. Preply offers a useful case study: a 2025 exploratory study reported encouraging outcomes, but its design cannot show that tutoring caused them or establish a universal winner.
What a human tutor adds to language learning
Apps and self-study tools can help learners practise on their own schedule. A live tutor adds a responsive conversation partner: someone who can notice where communication breaks down, ask a follow-up question, explain a correction, and adjust the conversation to the learner’s goals.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Speaking that responds to you
In a live lesson, the learner has to listen, form a response, and keep an exchange moving. A tutor can change the pace or wording when a learner gets stuck, or pursue a topic that matters to the learner. This creates a different kind of practice from completing a fixed exercise, although it does not guarantee faster or better learning.
Recommended Free Tools
Individual feedback and adaptation
A tutor can respond to a specific mistake or explain why a phrase sounds unnatural in context. They can also steer practice toward a learner’s needs, such as workplace conversations or everyday interactions. The usefulness of that support depends on the lesson, the tutor, and the learner; the available Preply study does not establish that every learner receives the same benefit.
Accountability, with a trade-off
Scheduled lessons give some learners a reason to return regularly and a person to practise with. Self-study, by contrast, can be easier to fit around changing schedules. Which arrangement is more practical depends on the learner’s availability and preferences. Current tutor prices and scheduling availability were not established in the sources cited here.
What Preply’s 2025 tutor study found
In spring 2025, Preply and Leanlab Education studied Spanish-speaking adults in Spain who learned English with Preply tutors over 12 weeks. Preply reported that up to 72% of all participants said their ability to use English effectively at work had improved. Among participants who completed at least 24 lessons, the reported figure was 80% (Preply’s study summary; Leanlab report PDF).
These figures describe participants’ own reports of improvement. The study was exploratory and single-group, rather than a controlled trial comparing tutoring with an alternative. It therefore cannot isolate the effect of tutoring from other influences or show that Preply lessons caused the reported changes. The “at least 24 lessons” figure describes a subgroup of participants; it is not a universal lesson target or a guaranteed result.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsDoes that mean a tutor is better than an app?
No universal conclusion follows from these results. Preply and Leanlab also conducted a separate app study in fall 2025, using a different sample and a similar 12-week pre-post design. The study materials characterize comparisons across the two studies as descriptive and exploratory—not as a head-to-head randomized trial (Preply’s app study page). Differences between the groups or outcomes cannot establish that one approach caused better results.
Rank #3
- Designed as a quick reference tool and an easy-to-use study guide, this inexpensive and up-to-date book offers fast, effective communications.
- The perfect companion for tourists and business travelers in Spain and Latin America, it features words, phrases, and sentences that cover everything from asking directions to making reservations
- Over 700 conveniently organized expressions include terms for modern telecommunications as well as phrases related to transportation, shopping, services, medical and emergency situations, and other common circumstances.
- A phonetic pronunciation accompanies each phrase.
The practical distinction is what each format offers. Live tutoring provides conversation and responsive feedback; independent study offers practice learners can arrange themselves. Some learners may prefer one, while others may combine them. The evidence cited here does not establish which format is more effective for a particular person, nor does it verify comparative cost or scheduling access.
Where AI tools fit—and what the evidence says
Preply describes its service as human-led with AI-enabled support. An OpenAI case study about Preply describes AI-generated lesson summaries and personalized exercises. These features may support work around lessons, but their existence is not evidence that they produce learning gains.
Preply’s 2024 AI survey report records what respondents selected as possible AI uses: 41% chose creating grammar or vocabulary exercises, 36% chose language-training assistance, and 35% chose reading or listening activities (Preply’s 2024 AI survey report). These are survey responses about potential uses, not measured outcomes from a learning trial.
A 2024 study offers a narrow counterpoint to claims that a human partner must always outperform technology: in a short English-speaking intervention, a robot-assisted system group improved on selected measures relative to a human-tutor group (the journal article). Its limited duration and setup do not support a general conclusion that AI outperforms tutors. Taken together, these sources support treating human and AI-assisted practice as different options, not declaring one universally superior.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to choose a practice format
Choose based on the kind of practice you need and can sustain, rather than assuming that a tutor or an app is automatically best.
- Consider live tutoring if you want regular conversation, feedback on your own speech, or practice tailored to a specific real-world goal.
- Consider self-study if flexible, independent practice is a better fit for your routine.
- Combine formats if you want independent exercises as well as live conversation. A human tutor can be one-on-one language support; AI-enabled exercises or other self-study can provide additional practice, but the sources here do not establish a particular combination as best.
- Judge claims by their evidence. A participant-reported change in an exploratory study is useful context, but it is not proof of causation or a promise about your own results.
Preply is an online marketplace for live, one-on-one language tutoring. Its spring 2025 findings make it a relevant example of reported outcomes from human-led lessons, not proof that every learner needs a tutor. The studies do not verify current prices, tutor qualifications, country-specific availability, or subscription and refund terms; check those details directly before choosing a service.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
