Anyone got any experience of this?

Any places I should be looking for approved tutors etc.

Midlands based . . .

What language?

Midlands based . . .

I work with a fella from Shirley that’s fluent in Klingon if that suits?
as you’d expect, his day job is in IT

Italian

I wouldn’t bother for now then, there’s plenty of resources available to be getting on with – save your money for when you want to take it up a level IMO.

Try busuu.com for starters, it’s a bit like Rosetta Stone but more interactive with writing exercises which get marked by the community of native speakers of the language you’re learning.

I’ve been using it to learn German and while clearly it’s not as good as a tutor, it’s a good start and it’s largely free.

What level do you currently have?

none…

I can say ciao

I was going to suggest some kind of langauge exchange, a couple hours of English chit chat in exchange for Italian.
I guess you can scrub that.
For a complete beginner I’d suggest a group class, not 1-2-1.

thanks all

For a beginner, definitely a class will be more cost effective. Plus it can be an enjoyable social experience 🙂

Beyond a certain point it gets boring sitting listening to everyone else’s mistakes, rotten accent, etc., and a 1-2-1 tutor makes a big difference. My missus has taken language lessons by Skype and it is a lot cheaper than a face-to-face tutor.