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| Type of site | Social network service |
|---|---|
| Available in | American English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Esperanto, Estonian, Persian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Mandarin Chinese, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Urdu |
| Owner | Livemocha, inc. |
| Created by | Shirish Nadkarni, Co-Founder; Krishnan Seshadrinathan, Co-Founder; Michael Schutzler, Current CEO |
| Revenue | undisclosed |
| URL | http://livemocha.com |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Required for some services |
| Launched | 24 Sep 2007 |
| Current status | closed down |
What is Livemocha?
Livemocha is committed to creating a world in which every human being is fluent in multiple languages.
As the largest community of learning languages online world, Livemocha combines traditional methods of learning with online practice and interaction with native speakers of languages from around the world. Livemocha offers unparalleled learning experience that promises conversational fluency. Since launching in 2007, the Livemocha community has grown to over 14 million members in over 195 countries, highlighting the international demand for an engaging, collaborative approach to language learning. Today, Livemocha was reborn after the system shutdown by another company, but a developer decided to keep the main idea, so we are recreating Livemocha to improve and be the world's best language learning network, so we say that our network will never be charged and will never be sold or closed; We will be maintained by voluntary donations of our members. Create an account on Livemocha
Why language learning is so important now?
We started Livemocha to address one of the major macroeconomic trends of our time - globalization. Today, more than ever, we live in a connected world. the technology allows to build real relationships in many countries at the same time - and this creates a huge opportunity for those with the right skills. People around the world need to understand and interact with different cultures throughout the work and travel. The success of emerging economies and global trade therefore depends on the learning of foreign languages.
According to Goldman Sachs, by 2025, the BRIC economies will account for more than half of the GDP of the G6 economies and by 2050 will be larger than the G6. Immigration and travel grew in parallel at unprecedented rates. In 2000, over 95 million people immigrated to other countries. International arrivals are expected to grow from 694 million to 1.6 billion by 2020, with the fastest growth expected in East Asia and the Pacific.
Learning the English language globally and especially shot in the BRIC countries, highlighted in some places by the authorized programs by the government. However, companies from developing economies can not rely solely on English to drive and get business in these emerging economies. As a result, languages such as Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese and Russian are also now competitive advantages.
Corporate America is also realizing that only English is not enough. According to a recent survey on multilingual talent in the workplace, 33% of Fortune 500 companies include knowledge of a foreign language as a requirement for employment. But as globalization puts us at the mercy of our skills in foreign languages, legislation and general awareness are still updating. Currently, in the United States, less than 40% of high school students and 8% of the students are enrolled in the study of a foreign language.
What Livemocha doing about it?
With commitment and creativity, we can fill the alarming gap between inadequate preparation of our workforce and the need for language skills in the corporate sector.
Commitment means absolute dedication to creating the possibility of fluency in a second language for all people in the world, regardless of age or socioeconomic status. Creativity means using new technologies and distribution methods to clear limits.
Increased broadband penetration and adoption of VOIP make the Internet more accessible and socially relevant platform for learning languages. To open up the market and leverage the latest trends in social networking, Livemocha connects people around the world.
At Livemocha, we believe in the power of human potential. Anyone can learn a new language. And not just one, but anywhere, anytime. We are dedicated to helping individuals, businesses, libraries and schools to remove barriers to effective communication and cultural exchange. Create an account on Livemocha
Basic courses
Livemocha supported 38 languages: English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Estonian, Persian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Mandarin Chinese, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Esperanto, which was the most recent addition.
The site could be viewed in 12 different languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.
Free basic courses were offered in all the above languages, consisting of roughly 30–50 hours of coursework. Several languages, like Lithuanian and Brazilian Portuguese, were first added to Livemocha through the process of "Member Translation": members fluent in two or more languages could translate already available course materials into their native tongue and publish the results on the site, with other users rating and improving the translations.
Active courses
More advanced courses—called "Active Courses"—were available in five languages: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. These courses required a monthly or annual fee and were intended to achieve conversational fluency. Instead of signing up for one particular course, users could opt to purchase the "Gold Key" which granted unlimited access to premium or paid content. The active courses proceeded through four levels of proficiency, and included reading, writing, speaking, and listening exercises.
Peer feedback
Each reviewer earned 20 tokens for reviewing a user's submission. The reviewer could earn an extra 10 tokens for the first review of the passage or conversation. The writing was rated using three criteria: spelling, proficiency, and grammar. The speaking was rated using two criteria: pronunciation and proficiency. Each submission from a basic course for peer review cost 120 tokens.
Member reviews
Completed exercises from both basic and active courses could be sent out for review by other members (native or fluent speakers), who provided feedback and tips. Members could also pay for "Expert Reviews" from language teachers that had been certified by Livemocha for 120 tokens. The user could rate the quality of these reviews, and choose to work with a particular expert reviewer. Private instruction sessions, conducted via video chat with a selected tutor, were also available for purchase.
Members earned "Mochapoints" by completing exercises and reviewing other people's submissions. These points are not to be confused with the tokens. The tokens were earned for rating other people's submissions, or from paying a set fee in real life currency for a certain number of tokens. Mochapoints were a way to keep track of one's progress and to compare the amount of time a user has put into the website compared to others. A user gained Mochapoints for entering submissions, grading other people's submissions, chatting with other users, etc. They could not be spent for content access in the same way that the tokens could be.
Language learning and social networks
Livemocha called itself the largest language learning community in the world. In many ways it operated like a social networking site, and the basic ethos of the system was peer-to-peer: registered members could engage in synchronous and asynchronous communication, make a personal profile, connect with a circle of friends, upload content (there was a page dedicated to cultural exchange), contribute translations and help expand the base of available languages, and review other members’ work, such as recorded dialogues from lessons. It was referred to as "the Facebook of foreign languages," and its potential impact on conventional language teaching compared to that of Misplaced Pages on the traditional encyclopedia. One reviewer of the site observed, "With its unparalleled ability to connect people throughout the world, is changing the way that many people learn languages. There is still no way to avoid the hard slog through vocabulary lists and grammar rules, but the books, tapes and even CDs of yesteryear are being replaced by e-mail, video chats and social networks."
Partnership in Brazil
In September 2011, Livemocha announced a partnership with the Brazilian education company Abril Educação, part of the media conglomerate Grupo Abril, which purchased a 5.9% stake in the company. Abril Educação promoted Livemocha to consumers and organizations throughout Brazil, with the aim of catering to the rising demand for language education and helping the country prepare to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. In January 2011, Livemocha announced an agreement with Telefônica Brasil to offer its Internet customers discounted pricing on Livemocha's English courses.
Public libraries
Access to Livemocha's courses was available for free through a number of public libraries in the US that subscribe to the site, including the Seattle Public Library.
Finance
Livemocha was a privately held company. In 2011, it raised 5 million dollars in venture capital. In previous years it raised 14 million dollars from investors August Capital and Maveron.
See also
References
- "Livemocha.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
- Myers, Aaron G. (February 21, 2011). "Best Language Learning Resources: Livemocha". The Everyday Language Learner. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- Posgate, Natalie (November 9, 2011). "Learn a new language through social media, the Web, or mobile apps". The Daily Campus. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- "Livemocha Review". TopTenREVIEWS. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- Wayner, Peter (July 28, 2010). "Learning a Language from an Expert, on the Web". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- Gill, Martha (September 9, 2011). "Brazil: Learning Inglês by Internet". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- Winkler, Kirsten (September 5, 2011). "Abril Educacao buys 5.9% of Livemocha—Building English Learning Platform for Brazil's Middle Class". Edukwest. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- Cook, John. "Livemocha inks marketing pact with Telefonica Brazil". TechFlash. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- Cook, John. "Livemocha opens door on language learning at Seattle Public Library". GeekWire. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- Lamm, Greg. "LiveMocha raises $5M". TechFlash. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
- "Livemocha Secures $6 Million in Venture Capital Series A Funding Led by Maveron: Funding to Accelerate Popular Language Learning Site’s Functionality and Growth", http://www.livemocha.com/pages/pr/01152008, January 15, 2008. Accessed 18 April 2008.
- "Livemocha Bags Another $8 Million From August Capital, Maveron", https://techcrunch.com/2009/12/22/livemocha-series-b-funding/
Further reading
- Jee, Min Jung; Park, Min Jung (2009). "Livemocha as an Online Language-Learning Community" (PDF). CALICO Journal. 26 (2): 448–56. doi:10.1558/cj.v26i2.448-456. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
- Venkatanathan, Jayant (2009). "Help Me Learn! : Disparities in the Distribution of Languages in the Livemocha Community" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
- Clark, Cameron; Gruba, Paul (2010). "The Use of Social Networking Sites for Foreign Language Learning: An Autoethnographic Study of Livemocha". In Steel, C. H.; Keppell, M. J.; Gerbic, P.; et al. (eds.). Curriculum, Technology & Transformation for an Unknown Future. pp. 164–73.
{{cite book}}: External link in|chapterurl=|chapterurl=ignored (|chapter-url=suggested) (help) - Wayner, Peter (July 28, 2010). "Learning a Language From an Expert, on the Web". The New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2011.
- Liaw, Meei-Ling (February 2011). "Review of Livemocha" (PDF). Language Learning & Technology. 15 (1). Retrieved 4 January 2012.