5 Social Media Tools for Learning Language
June 17, 2008
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In college and high school, I used flash cards, vocabulary lists, and even audio programs on tapes to learn new languages (Spanish in high school, German in college). Each of those tools is helpf
ul in some capacity, but in the end, the quickest way to learn a language will always be through real conversations in that language. Some new social media websites will allow you to do just that.
Check out these 5 social media tools for learning language:
1. eduFire.com - This web app allows language learners to connect with language teachers for one on one tutoring sessions by webcam. The platform is simple to use, and content on the web page is great. Payment is arranged through PayPal, and each tutor sets an hourly rate based upon their experience. They also have flashcards and videos of lessons in multiple languages.
The video chatting system setup has two spots for streaming video (one for the tutor and one for the student) and a chat room right beside the two video screens. This format is really the best of both worlds. On the one hand it is casual because it is a normal video chat, but the tutor also has the ability to post links and write out full sentences (which helps with grammar) in the chat window.
2. StudiVZ.net and other International Social Networks - After the successful growth of Facebook in the US, entrepreneurs in countries all over the world are creating social networks for college students using Facebook as a model. These entrepreneurs take the best parts of Facebook, then make changes to allow the program to fit in better with local culture. StudiVZ looks and feels very similar to Facebook, but is all in German. The company also has sites in French, Italian, Polish, and Spanish.
Language learners can use social networks like StudiVZ.net, Vostu.com (Spanish), vkontakte.ru (Russian) to meet people in foreign countries (and in their native country) who speak the primary language of the site. Join groups, make friends, and start conversations - even poke (gruschle in German, ha ) in the language you are studying.
3. Lingro - Lingro bills itself as “the coolest dictionary known to hombre!” — I definitely agree. Lingro is an interactive dictionary for use with websites. Enter the URL of a website, enter the language and direction of translation, and click the arrow. Now the page loads, but each word on the page is click-able and attached to a dictionary.
For instance, I entered welt.de (a German news site) and German > English. Then, while reading an article on the German soccer team, I came across a word that I was not familiar with. I clicked on the word, and instantly a small window pops up with the English translations of the word. Also, if the word is in a link, a small window pops up above the word asking if I’d like to follow the link. This interaction is great, but what’s even cooler, is that Lingro will track the words and sentences you look up on other web pages. If you register, you can save this data and create a kind of automatically generated vocabulary list — awesome!
4. Chinesepo - Chinesepo.com bills itself as “not your parents’ language instruction. This is learning on your terms.” Very cool. They center their service around four main activities: Listen, Review, Practice, and Reinforce. A user can listen to ChinesePod lessons on the site, or download them as mp3s to listen on the go. Review activities are centered around a PDF file for each lesson, with vocabulary, conversations, and exercises. Practice activities are live chat sessions with real tutors. Finally, a series of flashcards and vocabulary games are available for reinforcement of learned material.
5. Livemocha - Livemocha offers services similar to eduFire, but with a few more added features. Livemocha offers self-study lessons, professional tutors for one-on-one sessions, and community and chat tools for meeting friends and conversing live. Additionally, the Livemocha system has motivational and goal setting tools, allowing users to compete against each other.
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8 Responses to “5 Social Media Tools for Learning Language”
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Lingro is impressive
livemocha.com and wwwedufire.com are pretty cool as well!
I’ve found the Chinesepod MP3s to be very helpful. I use them to supplement my Chinese class.
If you’re looking to practice with native speakers or use the site in a different language, sticking to one of the SNS for language learning such as italki.com might be more useful than joining a country-specific, but general SNS. On italki, you can find members from all over the world, download or contribute to language study materials, and ask and answer questions about learning a language. If you’re feeling confident and want really test yourself, you can do all this in one of 14 languages the site is translated into.
Hey~~ and eChineseLearning.com too
We’d love to invite you to take a free trial lesson here. You may reach me at clare.li@echineselearning or Skype: clare_echineselearning
Thanks!
These look to be some great resources- thanks for sharing them! I studied Spanish through high school and college, but never became very proficient because my professors never spoke only Spanish- this would be a great solution for me to become more fluent when I get the chance!! Thanks again!
Thanks for the write-up. We really appreciate it! If any of the readers here would like a free session with one of our tutors drop me a line at jon at edufire dot com and I’ll set you up. Best of luck learning another language!!!
Good list Jeremy. I agree with Toffler — iTalki.com has been extremely useful to me in my attempts at brushing up on my Swahili.
Another site to check out is Babbel.com…
I did find another one, apart from the ones in the comments: http://www.studentteacherexchange.com/ which is completely free and uses chat/video/voice and whiteboards as well. They are new but my guess is they will be booming soon since they charge nothing.