Guest post: Olga – Livemocha Tutor

I am Olga, a Livemocha Spanish Tutor. Learning is my life-long passion, and I aim towards mastery of the languages I speak, rather than only basic communication.  I specialize in helping others to learn the language of their choice, both online and offline.  What I like the most about online learning and teaching is the fact that is not tied to any geographical space. This gives me a sense of freedom, like having grown sudden wings, soaring in the air and still finding sustenance anywhere.

What it really means to learn like a child

You may have heard that children learn fast, but children also take several years to really learn how to speak a language…  read more

Guest post: Miranda – Livemocha  tutor

Hi! My name is Miranda, and I’m a tutor with Livemocha. I have a teaching degree in English and Spanish, but I actually started out on Livemocha as a language student myself. I’m a native English speaker, and I’m fluent in Spanish, but I joined Livemocha a few years ago to try and achieve my goal of being trilingual (in French).

One day, a window popped up and asked me if I would like to review an English submission for a fellow Livemocha member. “Why not?” I thought. After that, I was hooked! I couldn’t stop reviewing English submissions! A while later, because of my teaching credentials (plus the excellent reputation I’d developed as a…  read more

Guest blog post: Emily Matthews 

Translation continues to tax the limits of technology. When Facebook announced back in October that it selected Microsoft Bing as its partner for real-time online translation, expectations were set high. Online social media platforms seem like perfect candidates for translation tools. Professional translators with masters degrees feared the takeover by online translation tools. The initial excitement was short-lived, however, as linguistic enthusiasts revealed that Bing isn’t so good at translating after all.

The community of Artificial Intelligence (AI) researchers and developers have been shooting for flawless machine translation (MT) since the 1950s. Even though MT has come a long way, it is far from reaching fluency. Part of the problem lies in the propensity of MT…  read more

In honor of American Thanksgiving tomorrow, we have a special article for you today from an experienced language professional to help you focus on the right language learning strategies. Although geared toward English learners, these tips will work for students of all languages!

Guest post:  Nina Weinstein – Online producer and writer of international English language materials

The English language is one of the most extensive languages in the world.  It has over a million words.  The vocabulary and structure of English represent part of the history of the world, with cultures from Nordic to Russian leaving linguistic marks on the language.  Consider these English words largely believed to be from these cultures:

English Words

Origin

egg, sky, sister, window, get
Old Norse

boulevard, a la…  read more

Some good news – Livemocha has been named a finalist for the BETT Awards in the Tools for Learning and Teaching category.

What are the BETT Awards, you ask?

The annual British Educational Training and Technology (BETT) Show is a chance for decision-makers in the field of education to review the best of this year’s information and communications technology (ICT). The event arms them to choose the best tech options for their program.

A little more about the awards and event…
Dedicated to showcasing the best in UK and international educational technology products, resources and best practice, BETT has enabled thousands of practitioners to enhance their knowledge of learning through technology.

BETT is the world’s leading event for educational technology where education professionals can…  read more

Guest blog post: Julia Bonnheim - Sales Operations Manager at Livemocha

This is a very exciting week at Livemocha.  Not only does it happen to be national game and puzzle week (no seriously, check it out), but it’s also time for the annual ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language) Conference.  This year, ACTFL is in Denver, so we’ll be here in the Mile High City for the next several days.

The ACTFL Conference is an amazing opportunity for the Livemocha Team to interact with, collaborate with, and learn from a group of people we value and respect enormously: teachers.  This year, we’ll be showing off our new Livemocha Management Console that makes it easy for teachers to manage and…  read more

Guest post: Dietlinde – Livemocha Private Instructor

Hello! I’m Dietlinde, a EUROLTA-certified Private Instructor on Livemocha.  I love teaching languages and have done so since 1997. I specialize in helping advanced German learners achieve fluency, but I also enjoy helping beginners learn faster than with self-study alone.

I live in Austria and I am half British. As I grew up bilingually in several different countries, I’ve always considered myself familiar with several cultures and languages. Yet in two short years, teaching on Livemocha has exposed me to more cultures than ever before. People in places I’ve never even been have become long-lasting contacts. We help and encourage each other, which makes it fun to get to know each other and keep…  read more

Brazil has always been a challenge for Livemocha, but a singularly rewarding one.

By happy accident, our social concept of language learning turned out to be a great fit for the Brazilian market. Social media use is more widespread in Brazil than in any other country, so it may come as no surprise that feeding Brazil’s skyrocketing demand for language with a social solution creates a pretty potent recipe. The recipe becomes only more appealing when seasoned with intercultural connectedness and a dash of armchair travel.

So appealing, in fact, that Brazilians make up more than 20% of our member base. Considering that we are US-based and include members from every country in the world, that’s an impressive figure – and…  read more

Many of our nearly 10 million members are self-driven, independent spirits. They log in from their homes, libraries or internet cafes, pursuing intensely personal goals. Yet these seemingly personal goals are often also universal: moving abroad, working with international clients, improving economic prospects, overcoming academic barriers, keeping aging brains sharp, and even just conversing for fun and friendship. As a consequence of globalization,  our members are modern-day Renaissance men and women ready to escape cultural and geographical isolationism. And they stand on the forefront of a global workforce.
Given that language proficiency is in universal demand, it’s time to stop going it alone.
While we deeply admire independent learners for their determination, we know the journey is easier when the entire…  read more

In honor of this weekend’s ACTFL Convention, we wanted to share some case studies we’ve put together about 3 schools’ experiences using Livemocha:

Using Livemocha Active Spanish in a High School Classroom – Arabia Mountain High School, Lithonia, GA
Livemocha as a Teaching and Study Tool in University Italian Courses – San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Livemocha Active French as Independent Study for High School Credit – Burlington High School, Burlington, MA

You can read the entire set of case studies here: Livemocha Educational Case Studies