I read someone’s opinion someplace online that the website Livemocha was like Rosetta Stone, only better. So I decided to check out Livemocha, specially since it has a large free part.
Now Rosetta Stone doesn’t suit my learning style, plus theoretically I think it’s not the best approach to learning languages… here’s my Rosetta Stone review. So with a bias against the program, off I went to poke around Livemocha.
It was evident right away that this was far more than just a bunch of lessons. It’s a very social, interactive place. I believe that there are quite a few of these interactive language places around the net, but this is the only one I have tried so far.
I went to Livemocha just before I got a nice new desktop computer with great sound capabilities, and unfortunately my old laptop wasn’t up to all the multimedia aspects of Livemocha. Its sound card didn’t work well enough for me to use the pronunciation feature, but still I did do one of the lessons. It was rather like Rosetta Stone, in using images and words. So if you are considering Rosetta Stone, you might try this first.
Here is what Livemocha says you can do there:
- Enroll in Courses: With our fun and holistic online language courses you’ll develop all the skills and confidence to begin conversing with native speakers.
- Make Friends: The Livemocha community is full of friendly, like-minded, and motivated language learners looking to practice their skills. Don’t be shy – introduce yourself and start practicing!
- Receive Tips from Native Speakers: Have your speaking and writing submissions reviewed and scored by native speakers. They will rate their proficiency, give you tips for improvement, and help you meet your language-learning goals.
- Stay Motivated: Learning a new language is tough! Track your weekly goals, earn points for completing exercises, and compare your progress with that of your friends for some friendly competition.
If an online language-learning community, for Spanish and many other languages, sounds like fun, take a look at Livemocha.
