baküzen

I haven’t posted for a while because I’ve been applying for graduate school. That’s all I have to say about that.

But that’s not all. I’ve also been studying German. In a late issue of PC Magazine, it listed “100 useful websites” and among it was a website for people who wish to learn foreign languages. It’s called…

http://www.livemocha.com

It’s fairly new, but has been around long enough to get a very diverse userbase. Here’s how it works.

Livemocha is a site that couples social networking with language lessons. You can go to the site and exclusively focus on the lessons they offer or you can go to the site just to chat and ask language questions to other people who know your target language. When you sign up, it asks you what languages you are learning and what languages you know. It then suggests friends to add to your friends list that either know the language you’re trying to learn or people trying to learn a language that you know. You can add people to your friends list and either send them messages like email or chat with them online (audio or typed). But that’s not all. As you take the Livemocha language lessons, you will be confronted with 40 flashcards, drilled on those flashcards (it will test your listening, reading, and fill-in-the-sentence abilities), and then you take what you learn and practice typing in your target language. You can then send that which you typed to friends on your list who can comment on how well you did or how to improve. You are also recorded via microphone which is also send to friends of your choice who coach you on pronunciation.

For example…

I am a native English speaker and I also speak advanced Japanese. I have people on my friends list who are learning English or Japanese who send me their submissions and ask me questions about the two languages that I help answer.

A typical session for  me goes like this…. I log into Livemoha.com and continue my German lesson. It takes me through the 40 flash cards, then drills me, then I am asked to write about something specific (eg, “Based on what you learned in this lesson, write about what you did over the weekend. Describe 3 events that took place and who was with you,” etc). Then I spend some time forming German sentences to answer the question of what I did over the weekend making sure I include everything it asks. When I submit, it asks me which friends I want to notify so they can rate what I wrote. Then I am taken to a speaking activity where I read already written German text into a microphone and then choose which friends I want to notify about that so they can comment. That process takes about 30 minutes. Then, in the next day or two, I get emails telling me that people have commented on my writing and speaking items. I can go look at their comments anytime. Then, when I have time, I can catch certain freinds online and practice my German by chatting with them.

Sounds easy? It is. Did I mention it’s….free.

What’s the catch? There are advertisements, but they aren’t too bad. I click on ones that interest me sometimes in order to help keep the website going. The other catch is that if you receive help, you should also offer help to others. When you comment on other people’s submissions, be specific and helpful about what they need to do to improve. I am lucky enough to have a very nice German woman who I send all of my submissions to and she is nitpicky about how I pronounce things. She sends me to websites to learn about certain German grammar that I struggle with. It’s very effective, and very affordable. Good luck, and happy language learning.

PS- It’s still in Beta form, so be patient as they add it is a continual work in progress.