Comments on Livemocha.com

.   Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:42 pm GMT
To mrs (Correction - Mrs)

I do correct people's Submissions on Livemocha, and the tools for doing so are better than on Antimoon.

"well, although it claims to teach you the language you wish to learn, it won't benefit anyone who doesn't know enough language to make at least basic conversations. It is simply a place where learners can interact with each other."

Well! Although Livemocha claims to teach you the language you wish to learn, I will not benefit everyone. You have to know enough of the language you are interested in, to have at least a basic conversation. Livemocha is simply a place where learners can interact with each other.

(OK - My correction of your Post - I do disagree with you. I do not think that you have explored Livemocha properly or tried to submit any work.)


"But from some people's pictures one can assume they want to interact with the world in a different way despite the impossibility of such a thing :D"

From some of the pictures of people using Livemocha, I would imagine that they want to interact with the world in a different way. Despite the impossibility of such a thing.


(Comment: Writing in the 'third person' using 'one' used to be very popular. However that style of writing has become less popular and a more direct approach is often preferred. However ultimately it is a question of style. But you will find that people make fun of the use of the overuse of the word 'one'. The Royal family in particular is famous for the use of the word 'we' in a similar context. Most famously with the expression, "We are not amused", which I believe was said by Queen Victoria.)

United States Navy Admiral Hyman G. Rickover told a subordinate who used the royal we: "Three groups are permitted that usage: pregnant women, royalty, and schizophrenics. Which one are you?

Mark Twain made a similar comment including: people with tapeworms.

Back to 'one'

Unfortunately I have not been able to find a good example.
.   Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:51 pm GMT
Writing well is hard work. I have made a couple of mistakes. Surprise, surprise!

Well! Although Livemocha claims to teach you the language you wish to learn, I will not benefit everyone. You have to know enough of the language you are interested in, to have at least a basic conversation. Livemocha is simply a place where learners can interact with each other.

I will not benefit everyone.

Livemocha is not suitable for everyone.






But you will find that people make fun of the use of the overuse of the word 'one'.



You will find that people make fun of the overuse of the word 'one'.





The big advantage of having a 'one' to 'one' conversation or chat via messages, is that corrections are possible. When you are following a computer program for learning a language then you cannot correct any of the mistakes made in the computer program.
mrs   Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:27 am GMT
what's your name in livemocha?
I did submit few works, but when I see no was correcting me, I quit.

And a question for you. Was there a grammar mistake in that post or did you correct it for me to write better? Either way, thank you. I thought it sounded a little bit weird anyway :D
.   Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:37 am GMT
I am just going to Bournemouth, so I cannot reply. Also I generally do not like to give out personally information. However when I next use Livemocha, I will do a search on the name 'mrs'.

Bye for now

RobinMichael
.&.   Tue Sep 15, 2009 4:47 am GMT
Back from Bournemouth


Please beware of imposters!


Look for style clues for the genuine article. For instance, how can you tell if a Derringer is a Derringer?


Derringer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derringer - Cached - Similar
&   Tue Sep 15, 2009 10:51 am GMT
Make your mind impostor, is it 'Derringer' or is it 'Deringer' or visa-versa?

Your style clues are quite convincing, though. I allmost bought it.
Deringer or Derringer   Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:16 pm GMT
Results 1 - 10 of about 319,000 for Deringer. (0.34 seconds)
Search Results

1.
Henry Deringer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry Deringer (October 26, 1786 – February 28, 1868) was an American gunsmith. He invented, and gave his name to the Deringer pistol. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Deringer - Cached - Similar
Rosemachinegun   Tue Sep 15, 2009 3:22 pm GMT
I've been using LM for a few weeks now to learn Russian and I'm liking it a lot. It's been a great compliment to my other studying methods and a very welcome alternative to the expensive Rosetta Stone. I especially like the easy contact it gives me with native speakers. However it's clear that some languages are simply not supported very well at the moment, for what seems to be demographical reasons.

Whenever I submit a Russian exercise I get between 5-10 mostly useful comments within an hour. My girlfriend is studying German and has made almost a dozen submissions, but she hasn't gotten a single comment on her work from anyone but me! Clearly there's a glut of Russian speakers and and a dearth of German speakers. Unless LM takes this into their own hands through marketing or hiring staff then the quality of your experience will be pretty hit or miss depending on the language you're taking and how popular the site is with that demographic.

Also, some courses aren't as in-depth. Korean, for example, has no writing or speaking exercises at all. So you're on your own to practice what you've learned in the lesson.

One course I've tried, Arabic 101, is full of errors. It offers nonsensical sentences like "You are not a girl, you're a girl.", incorrect spelling and fails to recognize correct answers during the lesson review. On the plus side, the built-in Wiki system lets native speakers clue you in to these problems, but it's frustrating that LM hasn't taken the time to fix them by now.

It's a flawed website and needs a lot of work. But it's still a great resource, especially for free, and I expect that it will improve and these problems will be alleviated as it develops.