I agree with you, working with a native who knows all the ins and outs of a language. I'm not sure if studying in my local language would be just as effective, and that's why I chose to study with a tutor from
Preply who has German as his first language. I tried
fluentu, but it didn't work for me. Like, I wasn't progressing at all, but I'm sure that some people improve their language skills that way, just not me.