Lang 8

Open Forum
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On 7th november, I signed up for the interesting Web site “Lang 8”, (Multi-lingual language learning and language exchange), where we correct writings each other.

Actually, the chinese tutor with whom I usually learn on Skype told me this site that it was nice to make progress in writing.

Yes, I find it very useful to continue to use LingQ to have tutors correct my forum messages and compaire my corrected writing, too.

How about this site?

Since 7 nov, I have corrected 29 compositions written by learners in Japanese.

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The problem with Lang-8 is that you never know when your writing will be corrected (some are not corrected after one month), and - what’s even more important (in my opinion) - you never know how the correction quality will be. The LingQ system is much better.

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Thank you for your comments, harpe. I find this site very interesting but I use LingQ, too. Actually, I cannot submit daily writings on LingQ because it costs much money, so I use lang-8 every time and sometime use Ling Q to compare my corrected ones.

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Is the Lang 8 site run by donations?

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tora3, I don’t know, but I don’t think so. The problem is that I corrected 29 but I got 12 corrections. Actually I only wrote 8 entries. Maybe I love correcting compositions although I don’t know if I am an excellent corrector.

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Hello dillemme et al,

Lang-8 is a free service, but donations are accepted. Also it’s possible to buy premium membership (and practice writing in a huge number of languages) for less than four dollars a month. In addition to all the languages offered here, there are other languages like Catalan, Hebrew, Greek, Arabic, Georgian, Basque, Irish, and Esperanto. I counted about 80 languages. I didn’t see any Native American languages (sad face here), but there are some languages from the Indian subcontinent, Swahili, Yiddish, and Thai for Hape…
Certainly it would be easy to use both LingQ and Lang-8 as a way to improve writing skills. It just depends on what the specific learner wants or needs.

Here’s the rub/downside, though. Some languages have plenty of tutors (English/Japanese/Chinese), while some common languages like Spanish and French are less represented. In any case, I have almost always received corrections and/ or comments within twenty-four hours all for free and all with the kind of correction that I like. The native speaker will rewrite unwieldly sentences, so I have a better idea of how to express myself as a native would (not just as a learner of a second language).

The nice thing is that I can choose the writing that I would like to correct. I don’t have to correct writing about a topic that I find offensive or a topic that doesn’t interest me. Like you, dillemme, I have corrected more than I have written, but that’s my problem. I like to correct. I probably correct 4 or 5 compositions for every one that I write!

There is also a nice option. Members can give memberships to other members who have helped them.

In short, for people who want regular interaction with French, German, Spanish, or Russian speakers, I would recommend LingQ first, then Lang-8. For people who want to practice writing Japanese, I would recommend Lang-8 because there are a lot of Japanese members and the writing will be corrected quickly. If you don’t mind having other people see your writing and mistakes, Lang-8 is a good option. If you would prefer that your writing not be seen by the entire internet if there is a bug, then LingQ is better option.

I hope this clarifies some of the differences. I also belong to Livemocha.

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