Live Mocha, have you used this? Is it any good?

Live Mocha, have you used this? Is it any good?

I have a feeling that it is just quicker and better to pay for lessons than using this. You only need to learn, you don't have to teach.

If someone has a different opinion I would be happy to hear it.

And what is it?

That was my question too, until I Googled it.

I absolutely love Livemocha! It's got great courses but, more than that, a HUGE community of native speakers to practice with and get help from. I couldn't recommend it more!

I've recently tried it to learn Spanish and, honestly, the course itself was quite monotonous, plus there were mistakes in it! But, I guess, you get what you pay for... The most appealing aspect of Livemocha seems to be the community-building aspect, if somebody likes this kind of stuff.

All in all, in terms of language learning I'd say it's okay as an addition, if you learn the language in some other way and then you have half an hour daily to kill at the office to practice a bit extra.

I agree with the monotony and mistakes and useless content in many of Livemocha's courses.

Another option, with the community atmosphere is italki.com. Plus as the OP mentioned, often times its just better to pay for lessons. Teachers can also be found on italki.com, very affordable, with experience & ratings listed.

I just had a look at it and, again, I would say it's okay as an addition to "real" learning, e.g. a language course with a teacher, CD-ROM, or maybe some self-study book.

Another thing is that I can't put myself to trust the quality of such online private tutoring as offered via Livemocha or this italki.com; I guess I just wouldn't know how to find out whether they are competent or not when there is no language school/some other kind of institution to support their credibility. Guess I'm a bit old-fashioned, maybe ;)