Free Online Language Learning

Try This On for Size – Helpful English Words for Halloween

  Written by Miranda González   Halloween is only couple of weeks away, so if you haven’t started thinking about a costume yet, you should probably start. (That is, assuming you celebrate Halloween!) Even if you aren’t planning on trick-or-treating or attending a costume party, here are some words and phrases that you might find…  read more

Vocabulary Lesson – Cool-Weather Gear

Written by Miranda González   It’s fall here in the Northern Hemisphere, so things are starting to get a bit chilly. You should probably grab something warm to wear on your way out the door – a sweater, perhaps? A sweatshirt? A cardigan? Should you wear a jacket or a coat? What’s the difference between…  read more

Free English Lesson: Over vs. Under

Written by Miranda González   If you’re an English learner, I think you’ll agree that prepositions are one of the trickiest parts of the language. But with a little explanation and a lot of practice, you’ll see that they are really not so scary after all.   Today we’ll discuss the different uses of the…  read more

Time For Some Idioms With the Word “Fall”

Written by Miranda González   Happy first day of fall, everyone! The temperatures will soon begin to drop, and so will the leaves. It’s time to enjoy pumpkin-flavored everything and look forward to the Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays. Why don’t we get into the spirit of the season with some “fall” idioms?   Fall off…  read more

Multilingual Dogs? (An Explanation of Onomatopoeia)

Written by Miranda González   You would think that dogs would make the same sound in all languages. After all, dogs don’t speak French, or Italian, or Russian. They just speak, well, dog. So if I’m in Belgium and I hear a dog barking, it should sound pretty much the same as a dog barking…  read more

Learning with the Livemocha Community

The Livemocha community is made up of language enthusiasts: teachers, language experts, other language learners, and native speakers proud of their language and heritage.  Community members help each other learn in a myriad of ways: they leave comments in response to practice exercises, build mini-lessons within exercise feedback,  have practice conversations via text, video or audio chat,  provide language practice and culture tips, and give much-needed encouragement.

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The Livemocha Methodology

We believe that language is not merely an academic subject but rather a performing art – something that must be actively practiced in order to master. A learner can watch people speak a new language, memorize all of the grammar rules, and talk about the language ad nauseam. But to truly speak a language, a learner must actually try it out with a partner. Real conversational fluency takes good instruction, a dose of courage, and a lot of real-life practice.

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