Michelle Gallen :: Blog :: Livemocha - Language Learning and Social Networking

http://www.liquidelearning.com/2008/01/livemocha-language-learning-and

If your new year's resolution is to learn a language, you could check out livemocha.com. The site currently offers free learning materials for

- German
- English
- Spanish
- French
- Hindi
- Mandarin Chinese

LiveMocha describes itself as 'an exciting Web 2.0 startup' based in Seattle. They aim to 'ride one of the greatest macro economic trends of our time - globalization'. And they want to do this by leveraging social networking technologies.

As I write, Livemocha is in beta and aims to make money from ad revenue. However, they will add a subscription layer early this year that might cost $10 to $20 a month.

So does it work?

I'm not sure. I enrolled a few days ago to learn French. There are four French courses - 2 basic, 2 advanced. The two basic courses claim to provide 100 hours of learning. The advanced courses provide 30 hours each.

LIVEMOCHA LEARNING MODEL
I've just been through 6 basic lessons so far. The lessons follow a basic learning model:

- learn
- read
- listen
- magnet
- write
- speak

In LEARN mode, you see and hear new vocabulary, with images. In READ mode you read text, then select the correct image. In LISTEN mode, you listen to audio, then select the correct image. In MAGNET mode, you hear a phrase in your language, and you form a sentence using the words given to you.

In WRITE mode, you can use the vocabulary you've learned to write a short piece. You must then submit this to the learner community, where it will be rated. In SPEAK mode, you can record yourself speaking the vocabulary you've learned, and submit this for rating by the community.

HOW YOU LEARN
So technically, you're given a nice little model for learning. My problem is that you're expected to learn 40 pieces of information in each round. So you're given 40 slides which contain both new words and new words combinations.

It works fine for me, however, I studied French for years at school, and want to revise. I don't believe a complete beginner could cope with learning 40 new words/phrases from scratch. I mean, our brain usually likes to deal with no more than 7 new things at a time. Anything more than that slips down the back of the sofa...

LIVEMOCHA LEARNING CONTENT
I think that the write and speak modes are a great idea in principle. However, after covering basic vocab like 'it is, it isn't, she is, she isn't, girl, girls, flower, flowers', LiveMocha asked me to describe the first house I ever lived in. Which of course would require use of past tense and a wider vocabulary. This is frustrating and makes me think that the developers were lazy.

However, I submitted a few written exercises to see what would happen. I got email notifications that my exercises had been rated and commented on. And when I checked, I'd received useful corrections on the mistakes in my work.

I can't rate how useful the social networking side of the site will be for my learning. It interests me however and hopefully I can blog more about it later.

LIVEMOCHA - LANGUAGE LEARNING AND SOCIAL NETWORKING
I think that the social networking side of Livemocha works. It's easy to make friends. It's easy to contact people. The site is well supported with tutors. But then we have pretty much cracked social networking online: we all know how to connect people and get them talking.

The harder thing to crack I think is the formal learning aspect. And I'm not convinced by Livemocha right now. I'll keep plugging away (and will admit I'm strangely motivated by their leader board, which rates me in comparison to other learners). But I'm already bored by the templated content. And as much as I can network socially, I can't create my own learning materials, or add content. It's a closed learning experience.

LIVEMOCHA - THE VERDICT
Livemocha is currently disappointing me. The locked-down web 1.0 (or textbook) learning experience is linked to the fantastic potential of social networking. I wouldn't pay for content at this stage, but if things change, I'll be sure to blog about it.

Still - it's worth signing up while it's free to have a poke around!