Livemocha

AVOID LiveMocha! They’ve been purchased by Rosetta Stone, who is known for their poor customer service; and LiveMocha is already going down the tubes.
When LiveMocha (LM) made the scene back in 2007, they enjoyed a good 5-​year run at drawing in language learners and providing an alternative to the behemoth, Rosetta Stone (RS). UNFORTUNATELY, Rosetta Stone acquired LiveMocha in April 2013 and the gaps in customer service are already starting to show.
I had problems logging into my account and I clicked on the «contact us» link that provided a phone number to, surprisingly, the corporate HQ in Virginia for RS. I called the toll-​free number and the RS rep made if VERY clear that they do not support LM. I was very confused as to why a company would buy LM and then turn around and say that they do not support them. Of course, the RS rep tries to ‘school’ me on the fact that LM was purchased by RS back in April 2013, something I already knew. I had to push the issue that I didn’t need a recount of who purchased who but why RS was plastering its name on the LM website to contact them for support then turn around and tell people calling in that they do not support LM. Of course, the rep did NOT have an answer for me.
Later in the day, another RS rep called and wanted to know how he could help. Blah blah blah… in the end it was revealed that my issue had to be handled by a LM rep. But wait, I told the rep, you OWN LM now, the responsibility of offering support and service falls to you now. He agreed but said that he had to escalate my concern of not being able to access my account to a LM rep who is still based in Seattle. He would take my phone number, call out to Seattle, then have Seattle call me. It was a lot of unnecessary phone tag relaying. I asked the RS rep to just give me the direct dial number to LM in Seattle and…“Ohhh, I can’t do that, sir, that number is for our use only.“
What bullshit! I told him not to worry, that I was sure I could find a way to contact a live person at the LM office in Seattle in a matter of minutes, and I did!
Don’t even bother using the phone number or support email address listed at the ‘new’ LM website (the one taken over by RS).
If you need to reach a live person at LiveMocha, here is the phone number. Call them! I’m sure they’ll be glad to hear from you.
206−257−2500
PS: I can BS just like Rosetta Stone can. When the operator at the Seattle office picks up, tell them that you just spoke to a Rosetta Stone rep and they gave you this phone number to call them to get help with your LM account.

Ever the aspiring polyglot — I studied Spanish in HS, some Italian in college, and have tried to teach myself Japanese and French — I’m psyched to have found LiveMocha (the website is currently a redirect from
).
I know there are a few different language-​learning tools on the web, some of which are better than others, but what’s different about LiveMocha is that it seems to be part language-​learning tool and part social network. In the same vein as
, you can become «friends» with people who are also learning the same language … or any language for that matter. They structure each language into «courses» that you can «enroll» in, which are subdivided into units and lessons. I find the exercises are fun and effective, and they have tutors for each of the languages who are there to give you that extra push. Right now you can choose from French, Spanish, German, Chinese, and Hindi.
The site is still in beta form, so it’s no surprise that I’ve already come across numerous bugs, but the guys behind the curtain are toiling away to make everything even better.