My strange week continues. Today (February 17, 2008), there is an article by Anne Eisenberg in the New York Times on online language learning wherein I am quoted. See:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/business/17novel.html?_r=2&ref=business&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
If you get the NY Times, see page 4 of the Business Section today. My part is in the middle--before and after my section, there is information from the founders of Livemocha and Chinesepod, respectfully. I was interviewed shortly after interviewing the president of Livemocha, Shirish Nadkarni, for my WE-ALL-LEARN book. I also interviewed the president of Chinesepod. Here is the quote from the article related to me:
“Curtis J. Bonk, a professor of education at Indiana University in Bloomington, is specializing in ways to integrate online technologies into teaching. He says LiveMocha is part of an explosion of educational resources for language learning on the Web.
“You no longer have to learn language as an individual in a silo somewhere, using a canned program on a CD-ROM,” he said. “Instead, you have thousands of tutors to pick from — if the first one doesn’t work out, you can choose another.”
This is just a snippet of the conversation that we had about the potential of online language learning. But I guess my point was that there are many tools and systems out there now for learning a language online. One no longer must rely on finding time for formal classroom training or resort of boring training on a CD. As seen when a student travels to Asia or Europe for a semester during high school or college, he or she can now go online and find native speakers, thereby saving time and money, while learning when it is most convenient.
Of course, this requires motivated and self-directed learners. What brings about such motivation and willingness to learn without a grade or mark? Perhaps it is job related and one’s career can be boosted. Perhaps it is personal such as when one has close friends or new acquaintances from another country or who know another language. Perhaps one is going on a trip or expecting an extended stay in another country or region of the world. My research team and I are about to do research on what motivates people to give or receive tutoring in such systems. The results should prove interesting and informative, or so I hope. We already are collecting data on what motivates one to create, share, contribute to, or watch YouTube videos (if you want to contribute to that research and perhaps win an iPhone or iPod, please go to: http://trainingshare.com/video/. Perhaps these two research projects can be combined.
As noted in the article, the field of online language learning is exploding! Listed below are 10 online language learning sites (the first two, Livemocha and Chinesepod are reviewed in the NY Times article):
1. Livemocha: http://www.livemocha.com/: Livemocha combines language learning self-paced lessons (i.e., online content) with a community of tutors (i.e., people who give of their time and talent) and a suite of tools for learning language. Company was started last year by Shirish Nadkarni. They began with content in 6 languages which the majority of the world speaks—English, Mandarin Chinese, German, French, Hindi, and Spanish. This site has content plus human tutors plus motivational features embedded in it—it is the combination of such elements that make it an interesting and potentially explosive learning-related idea. Livemocha has gotten 200,000 language tutors or mentors from more than 200 countries in just a few months. Advertising and other premium content and services will soon be offered. This is definitely one company to watch as they experiment with and add new features. Livemocha recently obtained $6 million venture capital. They experienced rapid growth prior to it; now imagine what will happen with it. Could they become the Google of online language learning? We will "Livemocha" the Web when we need information related to language learning. Just how many languages might they soon offer beyond the original six? Could Livemocha evolve into a language learning school or institute with college credits or certificates? Could it evolve into one of the most important education-related sites on the Internet? I believe that Shirish has the vision to make this happen. We will see.
2. Chinesepod: http://chinesepod.com/. Chinesepod is also quite exciting. I have been tracking it for nearly a couple of years now. It teaches Mandarin Chinese online; hundreds of thousands of people download the podcasts each month (270,000 visitors per month according to the NYT article), plus it offers many other supplemental language services; e.g., tutoring in Skype, transcripts of the podcasts, language exercises, etc., which uses pay for. Ken Carroll is a co-founder—a very cool guy who is highly interested in online pedagogy. Perhaps one of just a handful of people I have talked to in the past year who understands the Web 2.0 as well as innovative pedagogy. Ken knows the importance of emerging technology plus innovations in instruction. How so? Well, he reads from many leading figures in the field. Connectivism? Sure George Siemens is in his reading list. Communities of practice? Well, then, he has thoroughly read from John Seely Brown as well as Etionne Wenger. These are just a couple of examples. Premium services are also offered to which thousands of people currently subscribe (see NY Times article). The company name is Praxis. It will be highly interesting to see how this site (as well as Praxis) evolves before and after the upcoming summer Olympics in Beijing. This online language tool and company will be interesting to watch during the coming year. There are days wherein I wish people like Ken were in my university or department.
3. Spanishpod: http://spanishpod.com/. This is the latest venture of the people from Chinesepod; expected to grow even faster than Chinesepod did. A similar focus on free podcasts with premium services offered in addition to that. Like Chinesepod, it is very slick in its instructional design and delivery. Dozens of people (script writers, actors, instructional designers, production managers, etc.) are involved in producing the podcasts for Chinesepod and Spanishpod. Much time, thought, planning, creativity, and goes into it. How might Spanishpod and Chinesepod be linked? Might some type of language certificates or college credits be offered through them? Might online language learning tutors and mentors be trained though them? We will see what transpires.
4. Englishpod: http://www.englishpod.com/. Englishpod was expected to attract more attention important than Chinesepod when it first came out. But for various reasons it didn’t. It is now more focused on mobile English learning in China. It is owned by the same company as Chinesepod and Spanishpod, Praxis. With the explosive growth of mobile phones in China (which I tracked in a survey in corporate blended learning last year), it is an important and obvious move for Praxis. Englishpod could set many mobile learning standards. Ideas related to teaching and learning could be transformed by this site—learning will be shorter, smaller, and more direct and on demand as a result. Just how might innovations in learning from China, in turn, impact the West?
5. Mixxer: http://www.language-exchanges.org/. Mixxer is also quite interesting. It was created based on the languages tutoring approaches seen in Europe; especially Germany. Mixxer says it has 300 teachers and 15,000 people looking for a language exchange. It is advertized as a free educational community for language learners and teachers to find a language partner—Mixxer uses tools like Skype, chat, etc. Not growing as fast as Livemocha, Chinesepod, or FriendsAbroad but still very interesting. Run through Dickinson College in Pennsylvania by its developer, Todd Byrant. In Mixxer, partners meet online and help each other practice and learn a foreign language.
6. FriendsAbroad: http://friendsabroad.com/. Free voice calls, a language learning network, and a few language learning tools (e.g., online dictionaries). It says you can learn language skills in an online language exchange community of millions of users in over 200 countries speaking more than 80 languages. Speak, hear, and look up words in online translation dictionaries. One place says millions of users and later it says 500,000 users. In any event, it is a lot! The fact that this site as well as Livemocha and others ask if one is in a relationship indicates that there is some interest in matchmaking and fostering assorted personal relationships as well as language learning in many of these sites. Many people seem to be finding their significant other online. Might there be spin-out matchmaking sites or special features embedded in such tools and systems someday, complete with wedding and honeymoon pictures of those who first met in such sites? I can see the tagline—FriendsAbroad—join the thousands of people who learned a language and found a lifelong spouse or partner at the same time.
7. Chinswing: http://www.chinswing.com/. Chinswing is just cool. It takes minutes to learn. Constructive communication is the goal of this tool; converse with other people about different topics and practice your language skills. When I visited, I saw many people practicing their English in Chinswing. Unlike online forums, each threaded discussion is not text-based, but, instead is there are threads of audio files responding to an initial issue, question, comment, or concern along with a thumbnail picture of the person who is speaking. You can scroll a sequential, horizontal bar of audiofiles and comments. Using Chinswing, people construct meaning or negotiate ideas in an open learning environment. There are forums on many topics (education, religion, business, etc.) wherein you can join in to comment, provide feedback, or just listen to. This is an empowering tool that does not take much time to learn. And, like many of these sites, it is free. Founder: Dean Worth of Australia. Watch for this site to change or expand in the near future. Dean indicated that he is in discussions with others about this. http://www.chinswing.com/downloads/ChinswingPressRelease2006-12-07.pdf.
8. Mango Languages: http://www.mangolanguages.com/. Unlike many of the other tools mentioned above, Mango Languages provides the study of a second language in an individual setting. The lessons are completely based on Flash movies. The learner listens and reads the phrases presented on each screen and he or she is encouraged to repeat each phrase. Something worth mentioning for Spanish speakers learning English--when the mouse is placed over any word in English, a callout pops up containing its closest pronunciation in Spanish.
9. Lomastv: http://lomastv.com. This site is an online Spanish video magazine for people who wish to improve their Spanish skills. Authentic Spanish videos include television programs, music videos, interviews, documentaries, and travel. Web site offers Spanish and English captions, pitch-correct slow play, integrated dictionaries and listening exercises. I have not explored this one much yet. My research team is, however, so I list it here.
10. LanguageLab: http://www.languagelab.com/index/. LanguageLab uses the virtual world of "Second Life" to attend classes on a virtual campus. A placement test determines student's level. Classes are composed of 6 to 8 students at the same level. It uses voice over IP. This will likely grow as Second Life and similar virtual worlds expand. This one will be interesting to monitor.
Other places one might go to include Webheads: http://prosites-vstevens.homestead.com/files/efi/webheads.htm. Webheads is an online community of ESL instructors and a community for online language learning. Webheads share information on teaching language online; conferences for instructors, etc.; contact my friend Vance Stevens, UAE, for more information.
There is also the Pocket School project for underserved children which my friend, Dr. Paul Kim at Stanford is working on. See: http://www.stanford.edu/~phkim/project/consulting.html. This project attempts to provide literacy skills for children in Latin America using relatively cheap ($20) MP3 players. Like those who listen to Chinesepod and have a teacher in their pockets, this project allows the children of migrant workers and others to access literacy training when and where needed. It is an example of mobile online language learning.
I hope you like the New York Times article and this list of language learning links (here is a link reminder: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/business/17novel.html?_r=2&ref=business&oref=slogin&oref=slogin). Much of this information will find a way into the book I am working on right now, "WE-ALL-LEARN: An Open Educational Extension of the World is Flat." Have fun exploring them and learning a new language!
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