Online Chinese language instruction
The Latest on Technology Deals From Dow Jones VentureWire WSJ
January 28, 2008; Page R4
Breaking the Language Barrier
"Some say the best way to learn a language is to interact with native speakers. LiveMocha Inc. is letting people do just that without having to live in a foreign country.
The company, based in Bellevue, Wash., is building an online social network for people to learn foreign languages with each other. The company's site, LiveMocha.com, carries about 160 hours of lessons that people can use to learn one of six languages. But the focus is allowing people to teach each other. Users can write on the site in a foreign language or upload an audio file of a spoken passage and have others who are native speakers assist them in correcting the submission. Users can also chat live via text, audio or video with others who want to give or receive assistance on a language. The site also allows people to create a profile and link to friends on the site.
LiveMocha, which was founded in February and launched its site in September, says it has roughly 130,000 users. It raised $5.3 million this month in Series A funding led by Maveron LLC to further the development of the site, including adding more content and different languages."