I would just like to share some of my language learning experiences with you:
When I speak other languages (I am learning French, Portuguese, Spanish and beginning to learn Chinese) I am very keen to get feedback from native speakers, so I can get to know exactly how I can improve my accent, intonation, pronunciation and accent in these languages. The best way to do this is evidently to practice with them as much as possible and (if possible) go and live in the country where the language is spoken for as long as possible.
However, what I have found is that when I speak to native speakers in their language(s), they do not always correct my mistakes and give me useful, specific, written / recorded feedback about what I need to do to improve. I think this is because they do not want to interrupt me, when I am speaking about something, like what I like to do in my spare time. Similarly, when I speak to people who are learning English (my native language), I do not like to correct them much, as I feel this would discourage them from expressing themselves as much as possible.
This why I helped to create Lingora http://www.elingora.com/about-us.
Lingora lets language learners know precisely what native speakers think of their speaking ability. After a language learner uploads an audio on the website, native speakers can comment on exactly what they are doing well and precisely how you can improve. The feedback is specific to the language learners'
1. accent
2. pronunciation
3. intonation
4. accuracy.
Lingora is completely free of charge & always will be, so please do not worry about any subscription fees...EVER!
Please come to Lingora today and record a short introduction of yourself speaking a language you are learning. Talk about where you are from, what you like to do in your spare time and why you want to learn the language. Native speakers will then tell you exactly what you are doing great and what you need to do to improve.
Each week, there are language challenges to do. These are sent to your email address. As an example, a recent one asked language learners to read out a short article about the recent, severe heat wave in India. Then, learners were invited to speak about the weather in their home country. Once they had posted an audio, they received invaluable feedback from native speakers about how they could improve.
When you sign up to Lingora, you will see that many users (myself included
) are already posting audios of themselves speaking language(s) they are learning. Please do not be shy and come and get registered on Lingora to do the same !
