Who Ruined Livemocha? The Death of a Great Language-Learning Tool

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A few years ago, I was a big fan of LiveMocha. At the time, it was one of the best free websites to learn foreign languages. Now that it's been bought by Rosetta Stone, it's horrible. I still think Rosetta Stone is a decent piece of software, but I don't understand why RS had to ruin a good thing. Tonight, I registered on LiveMocha again, hoping to learn some basic vocabulary. How disappointed I was! Now the website is completely different. I want the old LiveMocha back. While no program, web site, book, CD or DVD aimed at the language-learning crowd will ever be perfect, LiveMocha was a great alternative to paid products (which sometimes disappoint). The lessons were complete and weren't so much based on translation as on one of the greatest abilities we all have--inferring the meaning of new words. By slowly introducing new words and some grammar, LiveMocha was essentially spoon-feeding the user. I also really miss the recording feature. Users would record a text in the foreign language, then native speakers would correct their pronunciation. To be honest, I think Rosetta Stone is similar to LiveMocha in many ways. The main problem is that it's a very expensive piece of software. LiveMocha was such an inviting website that I really wanted to study multiple languages on it--just to get more points and meet new people. The social features of LiveMocha have all but disappeared, and the website won't stay free for much longer. It's been a long time since I've used RS for American English but I'll do some digging and see if I can find the CD somewhere. I probably won't be able to test RS in other languages unless I find out that they have it at my school.

Thoughts About Learning Another Language

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I've just deleted two posts that I intended to publish today. I really wanted to give my opinion on languages and schooling but many people have done this before me.
I need to cater to my main audience (the English-speaking world) and I figured that going off on a tangent about the French schooling system was a bad idea. However, I will happily give general tips to learn foreign languages, and I might publish mini French courses in the future.
Blogging is a learning experience, and one that is similar to learning foreign languages in many ways. Learn from my mistakes. When you're speaking a foreign language, keep it short and relevant. (KISS!)

When I started studying English, I was very talkative. I thought that speaking a lot (and speaking loudly!) was the key to becoming fluent in a foreign language.
I passed up many opportunities to have intelligent conversations with native speakers because of my behavior. I had many English-speaking friends who were amused by my bubbly "persona"... but who didn't take me seriously.
Oh well, at least I practiced a lot.

In hindsight, I'm pretty sure I spoke loudly because I was afraid of being misunderstood. It's funny how humans start panicking when they're faced with the prospect of being ridiculed. :)

That's all for today. I will post a complete review of Rosetta Stone Level 1 as soon as I'm done with American English L1.

Do You Need Penpals/Friends to Learn a Foreign Language?

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I started voice-chatting in Italian after studying the language for only a few hours. I was very shy at the time but I did learn a lot from this first experience. I ended up finding an Italian friend that I called on a regular basis. I was still a beginner at the time.
Talking with my new friend helped me improve my Italian language skills, and it was a lot of fun too!


However, if your penpal speaks your native language very well, you might be in trouble. I picked a penpal who didn't speak a word of French or English. That's why I had such a great time talking to her.

If your friend speaks great English, they will quickly get tired of correcting your mistakes and trying to understand you. They may even switch to English.


Make sure you know some basic phrases before looking for a language-exchange partner/friend.

As long as you're polite (and apologetic if you make mistakes), you're good to go!

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The Importance of Listening to Material in Your Foreign Language

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Listening to material in the language you're studying is very important. However, I'm not an advocate of passive listening for the sake of passive listening. Such artificial "immersion" isn't beneficial in the long run.

For example, listening to hours of K-pop won't teach you a word of Korean unless you look up the lyrics of the songs and use a dictionary.

There are some songs which actually teach you vocabulary, but they were made for little kids--think "Sesame Street" or "Dora the Explorer".

If you're visiting this blog, surely it's because you want to become fluent in a new language.
How about turning this goal into a reality?
Take a piece of paper and write your daily "listening goal". Be reasonable: if you're a busy adult who is working full-time, you probably have little time to set aside for language learning.
That being said, I'm sure you can play a CD when you're commuting.

Unless you're currently studying for a very difficult exam or in the middle of a big project at work, devote at least 30 minutes to active listening every day.

I think beginners should start by studying a few songs that they like. Watching TV is less rewarding than understanding a short song in its entirety when you're just starting out.

Good luck with your language-learning endeavors!

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Start Using DVDs to Learn Languages! Part 2

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As I said some time ago, DVDs are great tools to learn languages. As long as you watch the DVD in your foreign language, you are making progress. That's the beauty of it-- you can just sit back and relax. You don't have to study your foreign language actively.

However, what do you do if you don't speak your foreign language much? Let's say you're a beginner in French and you want to learn vocabulary fast. Well, first of all, you should pick a movie you know well.
That will make things easier for you.
Then, you should only watch the movie you picked for a few minutes every day.

If you're still having trouble understanding the movie in French, get a French dictionary. Look up some words each time you watch the movie, and you'll become better and better at French.

See you soon for the next part of the article!

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Why Is Listening Important? Become Fluent in Your Target Language Fast!

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Listening to your target language is very important. You should listen to the language you're studying every day if you want to become fluent. How do you expect to be able to watch TV if you never watch Japanese or Chinese shows? If you never listen to the radio in French, guess what? You'll never be able to understand the news in French. You need to immerse yourself in the language like a baby. This way, you'll get used to the sound of your second language.

I suggest you use Google to find radio stations that you can listen to while you're using the computer.
Do it right now. Open a new tab and search "Chinese radio stations" or "Japanese radio stations"!
If you're learning Spanish, you can google "escuchar la musica" or something similar. Youtube is a great resource to find resources in your target language.