Thursday, November 20, 2008

Online language learning communities

Hello again,
This time I would like to share the links of the online language learning communities.
Some of them are free to join, some of them have free membership with limits and some are only possible when you pay. The first 6 are the ones where I am a regular member. Make your choice ;o)

* http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/
--> requires membership: free with limits or paid "golden member". The site has many possibilities but most of them only possible when you are "golden member". If no golden member, you cannot contact other people, unless they have contacted you first. There is text chat, voice chat, forum (bulletin board) and you can play games like "hangman" in the language you want to learn.

* http://www.italki.com/
--> requires membership: free. You can look for a language partner by selecting his/her native language and the language he/she is learning, where they are from, age and gender. You can find answers to your questions or give answers by posting them in the Answers section. Further there is a section for Knowledge, Files, Resources, Groups and a Language Index.

* http://www.livemocha.com/
--> requires membership: free. I like this website because it keeps a progress report and sends it every week by mail. It's kind of a push to keep on studying. You can chat by making friends, click on their profile and go for the chat icon. However, there is only a handful of languages you can learn.

* http://www.myngle.com/
--> same here, membership is free, first sessions with (certain) tutors are also free, after that sessions have to be paid.

* http://www.voxswap.com/
--> free membership, online chat and forum

* http://www.language-exchanges.org/
--> free membership, this website promotes learning through skype. Theres a possibility to find a language partner, put skypecasts online, upload documents to make learning easier, ...

* http://www.transparent.com/
--> I haven't tried any of the products yet but you can download some free software to learn any of the 105 languages they offer. You can also play word games.

* http://www.phrasebase.com/
--> Im not a member yet but I will become one. It's free. I just tried to see as much as possible and it worked. They really give you a good idea about what you can get and what you can do.

* http://www.edufire.com/
--> Membership is free but live sessions with tutors have to be paid.

* http://www.loquella.com/
--> only offers French, Chinese and Spanish.

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