There are a whole bunch of different sites out there offering language learning online for free.  Some of these sites have social aspects, and some don’t.  I’ve tried a couple of them, but I’m not entirely sure if I like any of them, or if online language learning works for me.

See, here’s the thing.  I’d like to learn Japanese.  I like Japanese culture, manga, anime, Iron Chef, stuff like that.  Someday I’d like to travel to Japan with my family, and when I go I’d like to be able to say a few things in Japanese.  Of course, the problem with me is that I’m a procrastinator, so without a definite time by which I need to be fluent, I simply waffle.  I tried checking out a pimsleur “instant conversation” set of cassettes to play in my car, and after listening to the first tape twice while commuting, I *sigh* gave up.  I wonder if learning a new language is like dieting.

Anyway, here are four different language learning sites, and some of their particulars:

Mango Languages

After creating an account, you can select from a variety of languages to learn.  With a Discovery subscription (free, for a while) you can explore a variety of different lessons.  I selected Japanese from the list, and was taken to a slideshow-like interface.  I was also informed that with my Discovery account, I get five free ‘premium’ lessons, and I’m using one of those free premium lessons now.  Each slide has the word, phrase or conversation to be learned, written in English and in Japanese.  There is also audio, with a voice speaking the word or phrase in Japanese.  I can repeat the audio as many times as I need to before moving on to the next slide.  Periodically there are review slides that ask you what you remember.

This is an interesting site, and I’m glad they’re liberal with the number of free lessons they give, because maybe most people are like me and they are going to give up before they get very far.  There’s no social network involved in this site - you’re learning on your own.  This can be nice, but part of learning a language means using it in conversation with people, so unless you have a conversation circle at your library to take advantage of, it might be kinda lonesome.

Of particular interest to libraries is that Mango Languages offers services to libraries (for a price, I’m sure!) and gives information on how to contact them for information of that sort, if you’re interested in setting up a language learning station.

LiveMocha

When you register, there’s a simple enough form to fill out, asking you what languages you speak, and what languages you want to speak, and why.  Once you’ve completed the process, and confirmed your email and things like that, you are presented with some courses that you can take, which estimate the time it will take to master that course.  For Japanese 101, I’m looking at 50 hours.  Another 50 hours for 102, and more after that for the next courses.  Daunting, yes, but realistic, right?  LiveMocha has a social element, where you can help tutor people who are learning your language, look for tutors who know the language you are learning, or make ‘friends’ with people also on LiveMocha.

It’s hard to say from a quick look through the site how well the system works for the people involved.  Looking at the list of people who are practicing writing English, it appears that not very many are getting feedback.  There also appear to be people who are using the site for *gasp!* dating.

I don’t know if i’ll try LiveMocha’s Japanese 101, even though it’s free - 50 hours is a lot to feel like I’ve committed to.

italki

Similar to LiveMocha - sign up, confirm email, build a profile.  Instead of having an in-house lesson series like LiveMocha or Mango, italki appears to provide links to other helpful sites for learning your language of choice.  Some of these are user generate language learning wikis, which is interesting.  italki seems much more focused on the social end of things - you can search for ‘learning partners’ from around the world, or form groups so that several people can learn together.  I like the group feature - if you and some friends wanted to learn a language together, this might be a way to do it.  I’m not terribly bothered that they don’t have their own in-house lessons because they do provide a lot of links, to both text and podcast related sources.

My Happy Planet

Another social-oriented language learning site - sign up for an account and look for people to learn with/from.  There are all kinds of lessons here, including video lessons, which could be pretty neat, or annoying depending on how long it takes the videos to load.  Also, some of the videos look like they’re not exactly language learning oriented - some look like recordings of Japanese television shows, or music videos - maybe they’re to practice with once you’ve gotten more fluent.

Aside from cosmetic differences, and a few features here and there, most of these sites seem to offer the same type of learning environment, with the exception of Mango, which has no social component.  Live Mocha has a nice feel to it as far as the social aspect goes - a lot of the focus seems to be on tutoring and learning vs. building social connections.

Will I ever learn Japanese?  We’ll see - i might wait until a week before I go there, and even then it’s hard to say…