One of the toughest challenges to deal with when moving to a new country is overcoming the language barrier. Getting around on a day-to-day basis can be challenging enough, much less having to work or deal with emergencies. After unpacking with your international movers, check out these three websites to get started on learning the local language.
1. LiveMocha is a comprehensive language learning site that offers lessons in nearly forty different languages, from German to Urdu. The best feature of the site is its community-driven aspect, where users can link up with other users from all around the world to practice. The site also encourages users to submit flashcards and various other teaching content. This community then learns from and corrects each other. The one downside to LiveMocha is that it does not offer writing lessons in non-Latin writing systems.
2. Babbel offers a similar community-based learning method to LiveMocha. With over 500,000 users from around the world, it is easy to find someone to learn from or practice with and interact over chat or community message boards. There is a more limited selection of available languages but it has a very comprehensive vocabulary curriculum, with a variety of different learning methods and practice exercises.
3. BBC Languages is a very professional and user-friendly website, driven by the BBC's considerable resources. It offers forty different languages with interactive video courses, audio recordings, and even language lessons geared towards children. This website is ideal for travelers but can be very useful for movers to pick up important words and phrases before heading to their new country and focusing on more in-depth lessons.
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