26 December,2010 09:48 AM IST | | Lindsay Pereira
Someone called Stephani Ray recently had this to say about the popular language-learning software Rosetta Stone: "Its prices are absurd, and you're left to learn alone." Ray chose to say this at the testimonials page for Livemocha (.com), which makes learning a lot simpler by relying on the one thing humans crave almost as much as a good mealu00a0-- a sense of community.
What you get here are basic instructional tutorials and exercises in over 35 languages, with a community of 6 million members to make your task easier. It's like a social network, but for those interested only in boosting their language skills.
Having someone teach you a language always beats learning it with the help of software, irrespective of how advanced the software in question is. All you need here is a microphone, headphones and Webcam, and you can tap into an army of teachers waiting to nudge you towards proficiency. What's nicer is that basic courses are free, and 'active' courses involving qualified members start at less than Rs 1,000 a month!
Let's say French makes your knees go weak, for instance. You can sign up for a lesson, use videos, flash-cards and multiple-choice questions, give an exercise a shot, then get a native speaker to grade it and point out where you've gone wrong. If that's not enough, try a one-on-one conversation with a Frenchman.
For those now used to getting everything free (including their music and movies), there's another option to shelling out that fee: Sign up for a language exchange instead. Help someone learn Hindi, for instance, and you can snag a few lessons in the language of your choice.
The Czechs have long believed that to learn a new language is to 'get a new soul.' Then again, as the American director Jane Wagner once pointed out: "I personally believe we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain." So, will someone from Mumbai help the Americans speak Bambaiyya? It could happen.
