By PETER WAYNER. Published: July 28, 2010
The message from the 14-year-old Tunisian skateboarder was curt. “Totally wrong,” he said of my French. My conjugation was off and I should study spelling. On a scale of one to five, he said, my French practice essay was worth a one. Then he disappeared into the anonymity of the Internet.
If there is any truth to the old Russian proverb that enemies parrot yes while friends say no, then it is easy to form fast friendships on Livemocha.com, a Web site devoted to helping people learn languages by swapping messages over the Internet and then correcting each other’s messages.
As my young Tunisian tutor was showing me, the Internet, with its unparalleled ability to connect people throughout the world, is changing the way that many people learn languages. There is no still way to avoid the hard slog through vocabulary lists and grammar rules, but the books, tapes and even CDs of yesteryear are being replaced by e-mail, video chats and social networks.
Livemocha, a Seattle company with $14 million in venture capital financing, mixes a social network with lessons for more than 38 of the world’s more common languages.
The initial lessons are free, but unlocking some of the additional features requires a fee to Livemocha (starting at $10 for a set of lessons) or an agreement to correct the work of others, something my friend in Tunisia was doing for me. The lessons, whether they are flashcards, quizzes, audio recordings or written and spoken essays, are delivered through a Web browser. Michael Schutzler, Livemocha’s chief executive, says the Web site’s advantage is the ability to practice with a real person.
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By Asaf Shtull-Trauring. Published 01:47 18.07.10
The Academy of the Hebrew Language has unveiled a new website aiming to offer visitors a comprehensive, user-friendly guide to the organization’s decisions on all matters related to Modern Hebrew.
Academy director Tali Ben-Yehuda said this weekend, “Our goal is to turn the site into an all-inclusive, useful and authoritative resource on [the academy's] decisions on language. In the past, if someone wanted to study the academy’s decisions they had to obtain printed material. Today he or she can look through all of its rulings on a given matter on the site, or simply type in a search word. This is something that wasn’t available to web users before because we didn’t have the proper technology.”
Decisions related to grammar and orthography have already been posted to the site, as well as a question-and-answer section and a list of frequently asked questions. Visitors can also submit questions to academy experts, and even consult with them on Hebraizing non-Hebrew first or last names.
The academy also asks visitors to contribute to the new website by sharing their own linguistic habits. According to the site, the organization “feels it is important to receive information from the general public on its linguistic habits and preferences, information that will then be incorporated into the linguistic, historical and cultural considerations that guide the academy in its decisions.”
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Tags: Hebrew
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SEATTLE, Jun 25, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Livemocha, the world’s largest online language learning community, announced today that it has surpassed 3 million members in just 20 months of existence. Livemocha also unveiled free language courses in 12 additional languages, each translated and verified entirely by Livemocha members. With a thriving community from over 220 countries, Livemocha is also emerging as a powerful platform for leading language publishers around the world. Earlier this year, Livemocha and Pearson had announced an agreement to co-develop a new, direct-to-consumer, conversational English-language learning experience on Livemocha’s online platform.
The 3 million member milestone solidifies Livemocha’s status as the world’s largest language learning community, as it continues to outpace the growth of traditional classroom and CD-based language courses. With ubiquitous connectivity becoming the norm worldwide, Livemocha appeals to language learners of every age and nationality as they bring more of their life online. Community-based instruction and crowd-sourced content publishing, the foundations of Livemocha, combine to form a social, personalized learning experience with the potential to disrupt the language learning industry.
Making Language Learning Accessible Worldwide through the Power of Crowd-sourcing
Livemocha’s community recently translated course content into 12 additional languages, now allowing members to take online courses in 22 total languages; many more languages are currently in progress. In just a few months, Livemocha members translated courses into Arabic, Greek, Dutch, Ukrainian, Turkish, Polish, Romanian, Estonian, and more. Qualified native speakers collectively spend hundreds of hours translating and verifying every word and phrase of the courses, then submit spoken audio for each. This elegant yet simple process allows Livemocha to publish courses in a limitless number of languages.
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