Mark your calendars for Wednesday, August 8th at 10am Pacific Time, for an hour-long webinar with Michael Schutzler, CEO of Livemocha,
where he will examine how the emergence of social networking language technologies have opened doors to multimedia experiences that can either supplement or replace a traditional curriculum.

The often-cited Interaction Hypothesis, published nearly 15 years ago by Dr. Michael Long, shows that second language acquisition takes place when meaning must be negotiated in a target language. Two people fumbling through a necessary communication builds persistent and practical language skills much more effectively than any other method. Livemocha, the world’s leading social language learning solution, incorporates both synchronous and asynchronous communication into a skills training based in the whole-part-whole methodology. Language learners can construct their understanding through watching and hearing native speakers…  read more

We love what we do here at Livemocha. We are teachers. We are students. We share a passion for language, for culture, and for helping our ever-growing international community of language learners connect in meaningful ways. We are proud to be a part of our community members’ lives and to be able to help them achieve their goals: be they for work, for travel, or just for the love of language.

As in any community, however, whether real or virtual, there are sometimes bad actors: people who misbehave, who break the rules, or who act inappropriately.  As expected in a community of over 14 million active users, the same can be true on Livemocha. And while we can’t control peoples’…  read more

Your library card is your Gold Key to language learning
We are pleased and proud to announce that the Seattle Public Library system has renewed their Livemocha license for another two years, which gives over 600,000 library cardholding Seattleites free access to the world’s largest language learning community.
Did you know that over 5 million people in the continental United States have unlimited access to Livemocha through their public libraries?
To date, Livemocha is offered in 30 public library systems in the U.S. including:

Multnomah County Library, Oregon
El Paso Public Library, Texas
Boston Public Library, Massachusetts
Shelby County Public Library System, Alabama
Arlington Public Library, Virginia
Tulare County Library, California
St. Charles Public Library, Illinois

Here’s an article from the Multnomah County library about their new Livemocha offering.
Why…  read more

Last month we put out an all-call to the Livemocha community asking for people to share their language learning and teaching stories on a regular basis. What a great response we had! Thanks to everyone for your interest.

We’ll begin this series with introductions to our contributors; you’ll get to know them, and they’ll tell you why they wanted to document their language learning and teaching journeys on the Livemocha Blog. Please feel free to comment on their posts and ask them questions; they’re not just here to tell you their stories, but to share their experiences with you.

Tune in Wednesdays to read stories of frustration, achievement, lamenting, and success from Siôn, Asia, Kjera, Miranda, and Dalia. In their words…  read more

Whether you are a return visitor to Livemocha or this blog or new to the site, I would like to welcome you and tell you about some changes that we are making. Some of the new features are obvious (pretty new design,) but some aren’t – namely the newest blog feature: me.

My name is Kelly and I am the new Livemocha Blog Editor. I have always had an affinity and a passion for language, and I am thrilled to be here. As Blog Editor I am charged with making this space a meaningful resource for the Livemocha community and the language learning and teaching community at large. As the blog’s tag line says, there will be ‘stories, tips, updates,…  read more

My first exposure to a foreign language was in preschool when a beautiful lady with dark hair and a funny accent taught our class how to count to ten en français and sing Frère Jacques. I remember having so much fun learning French and I realized that I liked the idea of saying the same thing in different ways. Since then, I have always used multiple languages to communicate with others; from language games like Pig Latin* to made-up words that only my friends and I could understand.

Fast forward from early childhood when I was speaking Igpay Atinlay* to when I realized that my high school French lay not so dormant in the recesses of my mind. I was…  read more

Ready to finally master English? Our certified English teachers know how to get you there.

Try out the new virtual classroom for fast, effective English instruction led by a real teacher.

You already know that instruction from a teacher is most effective when combined with directed self-study practice. That’s where the virtual classroom comes in. Every lesson perfectly complements Active English, so you can develop your language skills quickly with targeted practice and answers from an expert. BONUS – for a limited time only, our special introductory price of $9.95 per lesson includes 30 days of access to our award-winning Active English course.

Lessons are tailored to your skill level. Best of all, there’s no commitment – you pay as you go…  read more

Yesterday’s interview with Michael Erard was fun, informative, and lots of other adjectives besides.
He’s a linguist and author who has written about language in the New York Times, Slate, Wired, Science, the New Atlantic and more. He recently released his second book, “Babel No More: The Search for the World’s Most Extraordinary Language Learners”, an investigation into super-learners who speak a whole slew of languages – 6, 12, or even 50. Yep, that’s a thing, unreal though it may sound.

I asked him questions from our members – a mix of language enthusiasts around the globe, including teachers, linguists, monolinguals aspiring to learn their first language, and polyglots working to improve their fluency in several. Michael shared some fascinating insights into…  read more

Join us for a free Webinar on April 12!

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at:

https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/374244910

Meet Michael Erard, PhD, a highly accomplished linguist and author. He’s an expert in all things linguistic, from the psyche of language learners to the intricacies of rhetoric. Not only is he skilled at illuminating the complexities of language, but he’s done so in such publications as The New York Times, Science, Wired, Slate, The Atlantic, and New Scientist.

He practically wrote the book on hyperpolyglotism. No, wait – he DID write it.

Erard’s second book, “Babel No More: The Search for the World’s Most Extraordinary Language Learners”, is about the rare birds who speak 6 or more languages and the upper limits of…  read more

Almost fifty students ages 16 – 22 entered the Collins Livemocha Most Multilingual Student in Britain competition, kicked off last year to mark the launch of the Collins Livemocha Active courses in French, Spanish, Italian and German. Nearly half of the entrants spoke four languages or more, but two entrants, including our winner, Alex Rawlings, amazed us by being able to speak over ten languages.

We were mightily impressed by the range of languages spoken by all entrants: the more traditional European languages were well represented, while some students spoke languages such as Azerbaijani, Balochi, Farsi, Pasto, Igbo, Bulgarian, and Dari. Appearances were also made by Gaelic, Latvian, Esperanto, Cantonese, Japanese, Arabic, Dutch, and Sindhi.

Eleven judges tested Alex’s language skills and each…  read more