Here’s an idea that some of my colleagues at CORE have been contemplating for a while now – so it’s not surprising to see italki.com emerge! italki.com is where you can find everything you need to learn a language. Essentially it is a social network and an online resource for learning foreign languages. italki has a new version – featuring italki Knowledge, a source of free language learning textbooks. Now users can work together on creating an open source textbook using videos, pictures, sound and text. According to the press release, italki now has over 200,000 members and is growing rapidly. The site has also been translated into 14 languages and we plan to add more soon. italki.com also has has many other features including Finding a language partner, italki Answers (where users can ask questions), and groups.
In an increasingly globalised world where the ability to converse in a range of languages is becoming important, this site provides a useful resource for those wanting to learn a foreign language, but, more significantly from my point of view, it provides a useful insight into how the traditional approach to distance education may be changing – from the paradigm of teacher (expert) delivering to students (learners) to members of the community teaching and supporting each other, with the resources being developed using a collaborative wiki where all users are a part of the editing community. Certainly a long way from the days of traditional correspondence education where the resources were developed by the experts and delivered to those wanting to learn.
Thanks for this Derek.
It is also significant that it started with ideas as far back as the 1960’s when computers were used to assist with traditional learning methods such as face-to-face language instruction. Computer assisted language learning or CALL is still in use. It looks as if italki could be the 21st century way.
Ka kite
Can I put in a word for Esperanto as well?
I say this not because Esperanto is a living language now, but because it also has propadeutic values.
Other detail is available on http://www.esperanto.net
http://language.derekr.com/
Awesome! Thanks Derek. Language is very important to us. It really helps us. and also i can now be able to practice other languages in the world. hehehe.
“It is terrible to be alone, and it is terrible to be in love, but one is cheaper than the other.”
Hi Derek, this is a great post on language learning in the 21st centure! All the more I felt that the Fairtrade language school Glovico should be mentioned as well. Native speakers from developing countries teach their mother tongues via Skype there to earn themselves an additional income. At the same time intercultural dialogue is fostered. Maybe you want to have a look at it? Best, Tobias
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