Review Haiku – Flimmer

If you’ve hung around this blog any amount of time, you probably know I’m into languages. I don’t know what the fascination is or where it comes from, yet I have it. Since this blog started, I’ve taken classes in Japanese, French, and Mandarin Chinese, plus a bunch of classes relating to linguistics and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Prior to blogging, nearly lost to the mists of time, I took Russian at Pikes Peak Community College in the 1990′s and Spanish during sixth grade (the only non-English class I failed, FWIW).

A few weeks ago I went to Norway for vacation, and for all practical purposes, I didn’t know a word. I planned the trip last summer, and picked up some ‘Learn Norwegian’ type books during the fall, but never really got into them. They were work, and I wasn’t that interested. Instead, it seemed like an interesting idea to go to a country where I knew no one, and where I didn’t know the language. How far would I get only knowing English? Pretty far, actually. It was a complete waste of time (just kidding, Norway ;-). As mentioned in a previous post, English seems to be a very common second language in Norway. Still, I picked up a few Norwegian words and phrases while visiting, which sort of gave me the impetus to learn more. I’m hoping to go back to Norway for TIFF again next year, so I’m planning on preparing.

I thought about learning Norwegian, and thought about the problems of learning a ‘foreign’ language in general. Language is a ‘brittle’ sort of knowledge. If it isn’t used, it falls apart. It is most definitely not like riding a bike. I’ve taken language classes and done very well in them, but the language doesn’t really stick. Language classes are good if you want to learn on a schedule. The homework is usually useful in helping to understand a language, and the classes themselves are good because the teacher can help with pronunciations. The problem is that aside from homework and classes, there isn’t much opportunity to use (practice) the language. Thus it doesn’t stick.

‘Learn X language’ type books, CD’s, DVD’s, and software are cheaper than taking classes, and you can learn at your own pace, but as hinted at above, motivation is a factor. If a person is prone to procrastination, as I am, then learning a language this way is pretty futile. If a person takes the time to actually do the work, there are still problems. While you can say the words, there is no one who can judge if you are saying them correctly. As I’ve found in French and Norwegian, even though they use the same alphabet as English, the pronunciations are often different. Someone learning a language this way might do a book full of exercises and feel pretty confident about their ability, but when they go to a country where the language is actually spoken, they are likely to be dismayed.

IU doesn’t offer Norwegian language classes at the IUPUI campus (let alone any other Scandinavian language), and I’m too cheap/poor to hire a tutor. Back to pondering. While in Norway, I looked on the web and found a possible solution: Livemocha (a name after my own heart).

Livemocha offers free lessons in over 30 languages and is (slowly) adding more. It’s a bit like a game. You create an account and start taking an online class (i.e. Basic Norwegian (Bokmal)). Each class has units, which are subdivided into lessons. Each lesson starts with a “learning” segment: a series of words, phrases, or sentences, along with appropriate images, the English translation, and audio of a native speaker. Finishing the “learning” segment, the lesson is 50% complete. After this is the “review” segment, which is a bit like a free-form quiz. They supply an audio clip or some text, and you choose the most appropriate image. The “review” section also has a “magnet” exercise, where they supply the image and the English phrase, along with a bunch of words in the chosen language, and you have to assemble the right words in the right order. This is probably the best type of exercise in the “review” section because it actually causes you to think. Finish this section and the lesson is done, but they also have some “skill builder exercises” for reading, listening, and a quiz. They aren’t required, but they are helpful. By finishing lessons, you earn points, which is where the game part comes in.

Another way to earn points is to help others learn English (or any other language you happen to know). Some classes, such as English, are more advanced and they offer students the opportunity to submit writing and speaking exercises to native speakers. These members can correct and/or encourage the students. They can submit text or audio comments. As someone who studied TESOL, it’s also pretty satisfying. By reviewing lessons, you earn points (bonus points if you are the first reviewer). The students can also rate whether you are helpful or very helpful. Sadly, they don’t offer these exercises for Norwegian. Not yet, at least.

Livemocha also offers the opportunity to chat with others around the world, so you can practice with them or help them learn. I haven’t done that yet, because my Norwegian is still very poor, and I’ve been having microphone problems. When I fix the latter next week, I’ll start chatting. The nice thing about the chatting is that it doesn’t limit you to only those who know the language you’re learning. You can chat with anyone on there.

This week I really got into Livemocha and learned quite a bit of Norwegian, though still very basic. When I left Norway, about all I could say was tusen takk and lufthavn. Now I can write Jeg heter Michael og jeg kommer fra Indianapolis. Jeg sitter ved bordet og skriver.

As with other methods of language learning, Livemocha has it’s drawbacks. The quality of the audio clips in the lessons varies widely. It sounds like most of them are done by native speakers on their home computers. That’s not a huge problem, but I wish there was a way for learners to flag the ones with poor audio.

While Livemocha isn’t learning by rote, it’s pretty close. For every four samples during the review and skill building, they use the same set of four pictures, asking you to choose the best one. If you know one or two words in a sentence, it’s possible to eliminate most of the wrong images. Also, by the fourth question, you know which image will be the correct one, regardless of whether you know the words. It’s gaming the system. It would be better if the images and language samples were more randomized.

They don’t teach the rules of a language. I’ve finished two units/eleven lessons, and I haven’t seen any explanation of when to use en, ei, or et in Norwegian. I assume it has something to do with masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns, but it hasn’t been explained. This makes me think Livemocha isn’t the be-all/end-all of language learning, but that it should be an adjunct to other forms of language learning.

The writing and speaking exercises are only for a small portion of the languages they teach. I understand. Only a few languages on Livemocha have large numbers of native speakers who are members, and they probably need a certain amount who are willing to help people who want to learn them by reviewing submissions. It’s understandable, but still a bit frustrating.

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Tagged with: Computer Assisted Language Learning, language learning, language materials, Livemocha