The Internet is revolutionizing how people learn foreign languages. Teachers, lesson plans, and recordings for almost every language are now available online. This article discusses some of the sites to help you master the language you have always wanted to learn – sometimes for free!

The Advantages of Online Learning

On-line education has several advantages over the traditional classroom. Internet classes are often individualized. Teachers can thus focus on each student’s particular goals and provide personalized feedback. Students save time and travel costs by taking lessons from their homes or offices. A lesson can be as short as 30 minutes, and often can be scheduled on short notice. The Internet makes native speakers readily available to everyone, and not just to those living in large cities or near universities. Students can choose from a variety of instructors, and can study with several different teachers in order to hear different accents and receive different course material. Classes can be structured to fit any budget. “Virtual classrooms” give teachers and students the ability to see each other and simultaneously review documents or slide presentations. This technology can make on-line learning as effective as the traditional classroom.

The Different Learning Systems

There are at least five different types of on-line learning systems for foreign languages:

1. First are on-line schools. These are businesses that teach their own curricula under their own brand name. Many are owned by companies that publish phrasebooks and language texts found in local bookstores, and virtually none are affiliated with a college or university.
2. Next are on-line marketplaces. A marketplace is a site where tutors post résumés stating the languages they speak, the languages they teach, their experience and lesson fees, and their availability. Students can select the teacher they like, and schedule lessons at a convenient time. Some marketplaces also provide an interface that can be used for lessons.
3. Then there are language exchange services. These services let you find people – not necessarily teachers — who speak the language you are learning. People who use the exchange help each other learn their respective native languages. For example, I might help someone in Beijing with their English, and they would help me with my Mandarin. Communication occurs via chatrooms, E-mail exchanges, and VOIP.
4. Also available are automated instruction services. These sites provide text, audio, and video to teach a language, but they do not provide not a human instructor. Some also feature a “learner community,” where you can communicate with native speakers of the language you are learning, and who are also trying to learn another language.
5. Finally, there are automated vocabulary builders. These programs help build a student’s vocabulary, and do not teach all aspects of a language. As such, they are an excellent supplement to the other services.

There is no reason to limit yourself to a single system. Language exchanges are a great way to meet new people and practice a language for free without leaving home. Marketplaces are ideal when you want to find a private tutor for private lessons or personalized coaching. The vocabulary systems are a good way to learn new words without creating flashcards by hand. While the most expensive, private schools often provide a more tested and sophisticated curriculum. Try the various methods, and see what mix works best for you.

Check it Out

The following are language learning sites for multiple languages that offer at least a substantial part of their products for free.

Online Marketplaces

• Learnissimo provides a marketplace for students and teachers of French, Spanish, Italian, and several other languages. More languages are scheduled to be added later this year. Teachers can record a short message for prospective students, as well as write an on-line biography. Many teachers offer a discount for the first lesson. The student/teacher interface is a combination of webcam and chat, and lesson payments are made through PayPal.
• VerbalPlanet offers more languages than Learnissimo, and uses Skype as its interface. Teachers are urged to create “learning plans” for students at no charge, but there is no discounted first lesson. As with Learnissimo, all payments are made through PayPal.
• Currently in beta, Myngle lets teachers offer pre-designed “courses” to students. Teachers can design as many courses as they like, for different lengths of time and at different prices. Teachers can also post “lessons” consisting of Powerpoint presentations for use in Myngle’s “virtual classroom.” Many teachers offer a free introductory lesson, and of course, teachers can design a course to meet a student’s particular needs.
• Language-School-Teachers is a useful, but no-frills site. Teachers and students can post extensive information about themselves, but Language-School-Teachers provides no virtual classroom interface. On the other hand, the site does not charge a commission on lessons taught, so teacher prices per lesson should be a bit lower. Teachers must pay a small fee to the site to initiate communication with a prospective student, but students pay nothing to communicate with prospective teachers.
• BuddySchool is not uniquely devoted to the learning of languages, and BuddySchool tutors teach every subject from art to zoology. Like Myngle, BuddySchool encourages tutors to create courses and lessons that they can market to prospective students. BuddySchool uses PayPal and several other means for the payment of lessons, but does not provide a teaching interface. Lessons therefore take place over a VOIP system acceptable to both teacher and student.

Language Exchanges

• Italki provides an extensive set of tools for learning languages. Its members can chat over the Italki interface, post questions on a bulletin board, write each other E-mail, and publish lesson materials. Italki also has identified other language-learning materials on the Internet available for download. Members can join groups of people learning the language they wish to study. Best of all, everything on Italki is currently free of charge.
• MyLanguageExchange may be the oldest online language exchange programs still in existence. Because conversations founder when people have nothing to discuss, MyLanguageExchange offers its members a number of “lesson plans.” These plans give stiudents a set of topics to discuss in their sessions together. Members agree in advance which plan they will use. While MyLanguageExchange is free to join, it imposes a small monthly fee on those people who wish to “take charge” and actively search out language partners
• SharedTalk is sponsored by Rosetta Stone, one of the world’s largest vendors of foreign language learning products. Membership is free, however, and users do not need to purchase or use Rosetta Stone products. Members can engage in text chat, speak to each other over SharedTalk’s interface, or exchange E-mails through SharedTalk’s mailbox system.
• Launched in late 2007 and still in beta, Palabea is both a language exchange and a teacher/student marketplace. Chat and lessons both take place over Palabea’s interface. Palabea members can also upload podcasts and video lessons for other members to use free of charge, or set up “virtual classrooms,” where, according to Palabea’s FAQ, “members can upload documents which they can work on together and correct one another.”

Automated Instruction Services

• Livemocha offers courses in German, French, Spanish, and several other languages. Each lesson consists of a series of photos. A single sentence is “attached” to each photo and describes something about the photo. Students then use the photos in several different exercises. They can listen to the sentences, for instance, or match the written or spoken sentence to each photo. Students can also complete written and oral exercises and post their work on-line for their Livemocha “friends” to review. All Livemocha services are currently free.
• MangoLanguages provides lessons in nine languages. The slides for each lesson are narrated, with abundant use of color to highlight translations of the new words and phrases. Lessons often use a question-and-answer format, with students given time to say the answer before MangoLanguages provides it. Hovering the mouse over the text on a slide reveals a text bubble containing a pronunciation guide. Students can download lessons and hear them on their MP3 player. A certain number of lessons for each language are free, but members must pay a subscription fee to access all lessons and features of the MangoLanguages system.
• Loquella’s service is currently limited to Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese. Its methodology is based on that developed by the Foreign Service Institute for American diplomats. The emphasis is on pronunciation and oral language skills, with new vocabulary used in dozens of different examples in a technique called “over-learning.” The text of each sentence is presented on screen, so that students can see what they are saying, but there are no written exercises. The lesson base is extensive, with approximately 50 hours of Spanish lessons, 30 hours of French, and 25 hours of Chinese. Loquella’s service is free if used on line, but a fee is charged for downloading lessons for use on an MP3 player.
• The BBC provides a variety of on-line classes and materials for learning foreign languages. There are several courses for beginners, and short audio and video on specific topics, such as holiday phrases or popular slang. The main page offers a short quiz to test your level in several different languages, with recommendations on further study after reviewing your quiz results. Most of the material is aimed at true beginners, and all of it is available free of charge.

Vocabulary Building Services

• Babbel helps its users learn new words in Spanish, German, Italian, and French. Words are packaged into topics – words regarding the weather are in one package, for instance, and words for parts of the body are in another. A series of exercises helps you learn the words in each package. Packages of words previously selected are kept in a section called “My Vocabulary,” and Babbel helps you remember when it is time to review these words. While Babbel does not allow members to add their own vocabulary lists, it is available free of charge.
• Vocabulix’s pre-defined vocabulary lists are currently limited to Spanish, German, and English. Users, however, can post additional lists in these languages, as well as in French, Italian, and several other languages. Vocabulix also has a verb conjugator drill, where you can practice the conjugation of irregular verbs in the most common tenses.
• Irregular verb conjugations are the bane of most language learners. Verbix conjugates verbs in every language imaginable. The free on-line service provides conjugations for 81 different languages, and the paid service provides conjugations for over 300. Verbix also tells you if a word you input is in fact a conjugated form of a verb – very handy when you come across a new word and cannot find it in a dictionary because you cannot guess the word’s dictionary form.

This list of sites is meant only to illustrate what is available on the Internet, and is not exhaustive. There is no doubt, however, that these sites and others will make language learning more accessible and exciting than ever before. It is only a matter of time before on-line learning is considered by everyone the equivalent of learning in the classroom.