Live Mocha Is Awesome !

I am proud to be from Washington State. I love our mountains, beaches, forests and orchards. I love the down to earth people. I love the unique sounds and smells of our famous Pike Place Market. Washingtonians are know not only for being earthy, kind people. They are also known for being leading innovators whom make breakthroughs in science and technology. In Forbes 2008 Fortune 500 list of the United States largest companies based on total revenue, six are located in Seattle. These include Boeing, Microsoft, Safeco, Starbucks, Nordstrom and Amazon.com. But this blog is about polyglots, so where am I going with this.


I recently posted a video on YouTube about a language learning social network called LiveMocha. I linked the actual video below so that you can also watch it here.

I liked the name. It evokes the image of a relaxed Seattle coffee shop / bookstore atmosphere. Being a Seattle girl, I love coffee and the atmosphere. LiveMocha introduced its Web site in late September 2007. It is a social network of language learners who use their own language proficiency to help others. Since then, he said, about 200,000 users from more than 200 countries have joined. Just a few minutes ago I learned that LiveMocha is a Seattle company!


I love using LiveMocha! I have been using it every day for the last three days to practice the two languages I am actively working on, Spanish and Swedish. I do not need too much help with Spanish, after all I do live in Mexico. However, LiveMocha has helped me tremendously in learning Swedish. 


It works something like this. You study a core lesson with about 40 objectives. This lesson can be about nouns, adjectives or whatever. It depends on what level you are starting at. Then you submit coursework for peer review. First, you submit a written assignment. Second, you submit an oral assignment. The oral assignment means that you record yourself speaking in your target language. They will always have something for you to read. Almost immediately, native speakers have corrected your coursework, both oral and written. Instant feedback from native speakers. How does it get better than that? (Well - living abroad is better than that.) But it is a pretty close second, wouldn't you agree? Native speakers also record messages for you. They give you tips on how to pronounce certain words properly. 


Lessons are provided in thirty languages. With 200,000 users, there will always be plenty of people who speak the language you are studying. These people are usually on LiveMocha to learn English. You contribute by correcting their written assignments and reviewing their oral presentations. After a while, you will see that the more you help others the more help they give you. I think it is a fantastic idea! This is a great website. I am only sorry I did not find it sooner. You can also chat with these people live. According to John Cook's Venture Blog, Livemocha was easily Seattle's biggest moving start-up company in Autumn 2007.


Websites like this reminds me that language learning is very different today than it was when I was in high school. It is that unique element of being a social network that makes LiveMocha so useful. Students are motivated to continue their language learning. They are motivated to engage with others. They are motivated every time a native speaker posts an audio reply. Below is a sample of some of my Swedish writing and instant feedback I received from a Swede. 

As you can see from the  images above, other members correct my grammar and spelling. They also record audio messages to help me pronounce those three letters in the Swedish alphabet that do not exist in English: ö ä å. They have even linked me up to other websites where I can listen to the Swedish language online. One of those Swedish websites is Startsida/svt.se. I have been listening to interviews on their news websites already. Unfortunately, I have a long way to go before I can really understand what is being said on Starsida. 


In short, I will end this blog saying that there is no time better than the present. Learning another language is fun, personally enriching and will give you a whole new perspective on the world. When you are able to communicate with others in another language, you will feel a tremendous amount of pride.  

Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone is a language learning software program developed by Rosetta Stone Inc. Their offices are located in the Rosslyn area of Northern Virginia. I am very familiar with that area, as I lived in Virginia for a few years. Rosetta stone uses text, images and sound to teach you a foreign language. The entire program is in your target language. Some people compare it to an elaborate flash card system, except there is no translation. It is a “dynamic immersion method” according to the company.

It is difficult to simulate an immersion experience. Polyglots can tell you that the best way to learn a language is through some kind of immersion. You can either live in a foreign country or try to create an environment of immersion. Here are a few ways you can immerse yourself in a language. 

• One. Download music in your target language. Play the music in your car, listen to it on your I-Pod at the gym, while you are cooking or taking a nice bath. I did this for both French and Italian. 
• Two. Use more than one language program. If you are learning to conjugate verbs in the imperfect tense, use more than one grammar book. Invest in either Living Language, Pimsler, or Rosetta Stone. Create a custom study plan. 
• Three. Find a way to personalize the language. This was a great piece of advice from one of my early French professors. 
• Four. Read aloud children’s books in your target language. Most importantly – you must create a program from different sources and customize it to your abilities. All programs are good. Your job is to use each program for its strengths and weaknesses.

Rosetta Stone will do a good job at creating a dynamic immersion method. I recommend that you buy Rosetta Stone. Remember, that you are the best person to create a dynamic immersion method for yourself. You must find a means to make your target language as addictive as you possibly can. Youtuber ClevonAmerica appears to have successfully created the closest thing possible to complete immersion in Arabic.

Most language learning programs are good. Rosetta Stone is definitely good. I know this to be true because I use Rosetta Stone everyday to learn Spanish and Swedish. One of the things about Rosetta Stone I like the most is that it is fun. It is the kind of program one can get hooked on. It can be fun to use.

You will find blogs where people tell you Rosetta Stone does not work, they hate it or it is bad. I find that these people typically have not used Rosetta Stone or they are trying to promote their own language program. This is just the best way they can trash a program which appears to have cornered the market.

Rosetta Stone has four versions so far. Version 4, Totale was released September 14, 2010. Version four still contains the standard lessons found in other Rosetta Stone versions. What makes Rosetta Stone 4 different from other versions is that it has, Rosetta Studio, Rosetta World, and TOTALe Mobile Companion.

I have Rosetta Stone Version 3 installed on my computer in the following languages: Arabic, German, Spanish, Italian and Swedish. Rosetta Stone is expensive! The only complaint I have about this program is that it is not worth the amount they charge. Personally, I think that they should only charge $90 for the program, and maybe an additional $100 for the people who want to use the other features ( online tutors, Rosetta World and Totale Mobil Companion.) I also think that they should give discounts to people who want to learn two or more languages. $300 per program, per language is just more than people can afford to spend.

My recommendation is simple. If you want to learn a language, start with Rosetta Stone. Stick with Rosetta Stone for 12 – 18 months. Do not use it exclusively. Use grammar and composition books as well. Do not leave out the traditional way of learning a language: conjugating verbs, making your own dictionary, studying grammar etc..etc...Once you finish the Rosetta Stone program, move on to an advanced writing class.

Bon Courage!

The Youtube Polyglot Community

I have had a lifelong love of learning foreign languages. A different language is a different vision of life. Knowing different languages gave me the opportunity to step inside the context of another culture. I have to admit, that I enjoy being able to read foreign newspapers and understand what they say about the United States. Foreign news sources gave me an entirely different perspective on the world.  It is a great benefit to read how the same event is reported in an American newspaper, French television and Italian blog. From personal experience, I can tell you that the spin foreign newspapers put on an event is entirely different than Americans. Never trust any new source one hundred percent. Remember that everyone has an agenda, everyone has a bias.


Learning a foreign language is a human intellectual phenomena. People learn foreign languages for different reasons. Some simply enjoy the beauty of another language. Some people do it because they have to. Some do it because they want to know more about another culture. I learn languages for all these reasons as well.

Language learning involves several different skills. It is not just about reading, vocabulary, and conjugating verbs. (If it were only that simple) One must know how to read between the lines, understand how words or phrases are used in context. Truly knowing a language means also understanding the culture. I often say that there is one sure way to know if you are fluent in a language. Tell a joke. If the native speaker laughs at your joke - then you are fluent. 

Knowing another language requires a person use their brain in different ways. Speaking other languages improves a person’s mental flexibility. It requires learning and imitating different phonemes. A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound. Human beings only produce a certain number of phonemes. There are about 44 phonemes in English. Polyglots train themselves to reproduce the phonemes of different languages. They memorize complex grammar rules. They literally develop into people who can conceptualize in unusual ways, they become more creative, their reasoning skills sharpen and they have a higher order of thinking skills. They develop their minds like mathematicians.

Believe it or not, there is actually a small community of YouTube polyglots. They subscribe to each other, make videos to each other and most importantly – the almost always show off their toys. When I say, “Show off their toys”. I mean nearly all of them make a video showing off their books, cassettes, software, CD’s and all their language learning material. 

Polyglots do not have any special hidden talents. They were not born with any special intelligence that the rest of us were not born with. There is a belief, typically among English speakers that one can only master two languages at the most. There is a belief that mastering three or more languages is impossible and unreachable. There is a belief that only certain people have the ability to learn another language. We also tend to think that polyglots are some kind of strange 'super' genius. They are smart. A person cannot master three or more languages and be stupid. But they are not some strain of 'super genius' to be studied under a microscope.

The belief (typically American belief) that learning several languages will scramble a person's brain is an utter fallacy. I learned French and Italian - and I do not get them confused. I have never confused French and Italian, not a single time.

The one thing a person needs to master more than two languages is passion. If you want to be a polyglot you can be a polyglot. You can study two or more languages at one time and not get confused. 

Learning foreign languages usually just means going to your local community college and enrolling in a couple courses. That is the first step. Do not be afraid to take two languages at once. You can do it. So long as you are not taking a full load of other courses, it is not too much.

Rosetta Stone is a fantastic program for beginners. There are some people who have never used Rosetta Stone, and make youtube videos trashing it. For example - godshiva made a video called I hate rosetta stone. He said, "I do not know what the picture's represent. Ergo, Rosetta Stone doesn't work." I have five Rosetta Stone programs installed, three languages for me and two my husband use. The pictures are the easiest thing in the world. ( Woman drinks water, Boy runs after ball, Woman cooks food ). I am on level 2 in Spanish, even the pictures demonstrating the simple past tense, imperfect and future are easy to understand. A person would have to be mildly retarded not to know what these pictures are. 


Learning several languages requires that you invest in certain items. These include grammar books, dictionaries, and home study programs. Learning a foreign language requires using more than one program. Rosetta Stone alone will not teach you the entire language. Neither will Living Language, Pimsler or the Living Language Series. Learning languages requires that you invest in two or three different programs.


For beginners, you may want to keep it simple.

1. Enroll in a couple courses at your local college. 

2. Do your homework every day.

3. Study the languages a little bit every day

4. Devote at least one hour ever day to studying your respective languages.

Four little steps. The hardest part is being consistent. If you do not have the passion then you will never master another language. If you are lazy, you will never master another language. Most polyglots agree that supplemental material is necessary. One must invest in several different language programs and software. There is no one program that will teach you the language.

Think about it this way. In one year from now you will be one year older. There is nothing you can do to stop this one year from passing. In one year from now, you will either have some fluency in Spanish or none. In one year from now, you will either have some fluency in German or none. The year will pass anyway. The one relevant question is, what do you plan on doing with this year?

Right now I am learning both Spanish and Swedish. Spanish is not all that difficult because it is so similar to Italian. But I must respect it as its own language, and not rely on my Italian to get by. But I also have an interest in Swedish. In one year from now - where will I be in both Spanish and Swedish? Well, it only depends on how much passion I have for these languages.

In this blog you will find a list of Youtube Polyglots. I hope you will take a little time to get to know some of them. Also, I included a list of Youtube channels where you can brush up on your own language skills. At the end of this blog, I am going to link you to some of the best language programs you can purchase.

Youtube Polyglot Community - Click on any name and meet other people who have mastered three or more languages. One YouTube Polyglot sysygycc asked other members of the YouTube polyglot community to submit essays about their language learning experiences. He put the book together and calls it The Polyglot Project. The 500 page book is full of stories, anecdotes,  advice and experiences of other people who decided to learn several foreign languages. If you are interested in becoming a Polyglot yourself, you may want to read this book first. 

>>>The Polyglot Project<<<

These are some Youtube Polyglots. I am always updating this list. Please check out their channels...

Loki2504 LinguistDavid  FluentCzech  Alkantre laoshu505000 Newstylles

Glossika Grebrim MrJoem18 Thelinguistblogger  Olonnais M32amir

Lingosteve Alsuvi Nihongonojonathan  LisLove Vogter2100  MagicMaximo

Thelivinglanguage  Irishpolyglot  PaxMax Asilt  OscarP282  Lancra

Langhopful  DukeAMES LanguageNow Spormanvs  Ceniboy Ichmaru378

Milutaike FimojNet Puebloalza03 Cursoonline123Ruso LeylaRandomness Traduki LanguageFreak88 Nihongonojonathan Chezrocksall BMtodaP ClevonAmerica Codylanguagesblog BurkhardLee LanguageNow


More Youtube Polyglots!  BrianonLanguages Nekonakase Applemilk1988 Poliglotta80  Daniel, The French Guy StujayStujay Blindside70 Fasulye NJLIversen Katrudy7

Language 101 Pod Lessons – These are Youtube channels where you can listen and learn the language of your choice. Just click on which ever language you are interested in learning, and the link will take you directly to a Youtube channel dedicated to that language:

Italian

Japanese

Korean

Chinese

Spanish Spanish Language Channel 1. 2

French

Russian Russian Language Channels 1 2 3

Arabic    Arabic Language Channels 1 2 3 4 5

German German Language Channel 1 2 

Cantonese

Thai

Polish  Polish Language Channels 1 2

Greek Greek Language Channels 1 2 3 4

Swedish 1

Finnish 1 2 3

Hindi 1 2  3 4 5 6 7 8


Shopping List - 501 Fully Conjugated Verbs

Here is a list of items you should purchase. If you are taking a Romance language at your local college or University, purchase 501 Fully Conjugated Verbs published by Barron’s Educational Series. I found these books very useful when learning French, Italian and Spanish.

SPANISH  FRENCH  ITALIAN  PORTUGUESE  RUSSIAN  GERMAN  SWEDISH  POLISH  CHINESE  JAPANESE  ARABIC

LIVING LANGUAGE SERIES CD'S, DIGITAL DOWNLOADS AND ONLINE COURSES IN 28 LANGUAGES
LIVING LANGUAGE GERMAN LIVING LANGUAGE ITALIAN LIVING LANGUAGE GREEK LIVING LANGUAGE SWEDISH


PIMSLER LANGUAGE LEARNING PACKAGES - These packages are available in over 50 languages! Check out the links below...


PIMSLER LANGUAGE PACKAGES  PIMSLER ARABIC PIMSLER URDU PIMSLER CROATIAN PIMSLER DANISH PIMSLER VIETNAMESE PIMSLER HINDI PIMSLER SWEDISH PIMSLER SWAHILI PIMSLER CHINESE CANTONESE PIMSLER SPANISH PIMSLER LITHUANIAN

TEACH YOURSELF LANGUAGE SERIES
TEACH YOURSELF KOREAN TEACH YOURSELF GREEK TEACH YOURSELF FRENCH TEACH YOURSELF TAGALOG  TEACH YOURSELF TURKISH TEACH YOURSELF SPANISH TEACH YOURSELF ITALIAN TEACH YOURSELF GERMAN TEACH YOURSELF RUSSIAN  TEACH YOURSELF BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE