CHATS ROOMS CAN IMPROVE LANGUAGE AND LEARNING SKILLS

Hewellyn Santos  

The Internet offers us different means to learn, practice and improve skills in a foreign language outside the classroom. For example, chat rooms such as Livemocha offer students opportunities for teaching and learning a second language. On Livemocha, students can record their voice and be corrected for native speakers, talk and write with them, improve their Listening Skills by listening to texts or dialogues in the target language, and do online exercises with specific topics.

Livemocha can help improving some language skills mainly for those who are just starting to learn a foreign language. Based on my own experience, this website helped me to enrich my vocabulary through fun activities, learn how to spell certain words and, most importantly, improve my speaking and writing skills. This is very effective because it involves different learning styles. For example, it worked well for me because I am both an auditory and visual learner and with this tool I can use both styles at the same time.

In this website, users can practice and receive corrections. Livemocha allows users to observe, learn and practice. To practice, there are activities focusing on written and spoken production involving interaction and feedback from native speakers of the language. It was motivating for me because when a native understood what I wanted to say  I felt that I was in a right way  , so,  it motivated me to  learn more and more .

Livemocha can enrich vocabulary and help with memorization because it relates the image, the pronunciation and the spelling of the word. In the end of each lesson there is a short task involving writing of the words or sentences studied. Besides practicing, users can opt to receive comments about performance on activities from native or non-native speakers. Also, by practicing users can receive points that allow the learner to unlock other activities. And learners can receive the points answering the activities or helping other students. Get rewards helps increase motivation through competition between learners where each one tries to get more points to unlock other activities.

Livemocha offers speaking practice as well. For example, the learners can read and record their voice and send it to be corrected by professionals that evaluate them or receive more detailed revision with hints that can help the learners to improve their pronunciation. According to Temerová (2007 the native speakers are a great support for who is learning a foreign language. That is why this website is helpful for learning the language in a meaningful way. It helped me improve my speaking skills because I did these activities and I had real communication with people who were beginners like me, natives, or others learners who use English as a second language and were learning my mother language. This way, we helped each other. It was good for me because I tried to speak with different people and learned different accents.

In conclusion, the most learners search for other means for practicing the foreign language out of the classroom. Livemocha can help them improve the language skills because it takes into account different learning styles with fun activities and offers means to practice with natives or others learning the same language. The learning does not happen just in class and chat rooms are one of the many tools that Internet offers us to learn autonomously.