April 27, 2008 at 13:55Social network for learners of foreign languages
The idea of a startup.
I work as a translator and have been studying English for more than 10 years. I still can’t say that I know it perfectly, because very often I discover something new in the language, or some new, deeper understanding of some of its laws or rules comes. Quite often (especially during work) I find myself thinking that it would be nice if at any moment I could get in touch with a native speaker and discuss something with him, ask me to explain some linguistic and grammatical phenomena that had settled expressions, etc. In turn, I would gladly render the same service to a foreigner studying Russian. Several times, when the question arose about the correct sound and ease of perception of various constructions, I even tried to find some Englishman in ICQ, and talk with him on this subject, but not everyone has the time and desire to do it. It was then that I thought that if there was such a network that unites people who love and learn some foreign language, then it would be very useful to me personally. And if she would be useful to me, then perhaps she would be useful to someone else.
So: a social network for learners of a foreign language (for starters, you can restrict yourself to only Russian and English), in which people can find a partner-native speaker for communication, correspondence and assistance in learning the language (and at work). With a network, you can organize something like a forum to discuss various language issues.
Target audience: translators and people learning foreign languages.
What do you think?
I work as a translator and have been studying English for more than 10 years. I still can’t say that I know it perfectly, because very often I discover something new in the language, or some new, deeper understanding of some of its laws or rules comes. Quite often (especially during work) I find myself thinking that it would be nice if at any moment I could get in touch with a native speaker and discuss something with him, ask me to explain some linguistic and grammatical phenomena that had settled expressions, etc. In turn, I would gladly render the same service to a foreigner studying Russian. Several times, when the question arose about the correct sound and ease of perception of various constructions, I even tried to find some Englishman in ICQ, and talk with him on this subject, but not everyone has the time and desire to do it. It was then that I thought that if there was such a network that unites people who love and learn some foreign language, then it would be very useful to me personally. And if she would be useful to me, then perhaps she would be useful to someone else.
So: a social network for learners of a foreign language (for starters, you can restrict yourself to only Russian and English), in which people can find a partner-native speaker for communication, correspondence and assistance in learning the language (and at work). With a network, you can organize something like a forum to discuss various language issues.
Target audience: translators and people learning foreign languages.
What do you think?