Autora: Verónica Amaro Bermejo
Hello everyone! This month I will introduce you a different e-learning tool to learn English; Busuu, it is similar to “duolingo” and as it usually happens with many social net works and interesting web sites, it is not only online, there is also an app for iphone and android, so you can practice and learn a language at any time. This is a social network where you can learn and improve up to 12 different languages.
With busuu, you can learn a language wherever and whenever you like, even with no internet conexion .You can use it in your spare time: while you are having a coffee, waiting for a friend, for a bus, in the metro, on the way home…. You only have to download the lessons to learn with the “no conexion” mode.
One of the great advantages of this tool is that exists a big amount of registered internetusers on this website, they are native speakers on the languages you can learn (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Turkish, Polish, Arabic, Japanese and Chinese) which makes the learning more productive and also you can exchange opinions and practicing the language with native people.
All you have to do is to select the language you wish to learn. Writing and speaking lessons are available, at the end of every lessons there are reading, writing and listening exercises. The exercises will be corrected by other users; native of the language needed (English native speakers in the case of English).
Apart of the writings idea of the language (which is very important) another great advantage of this website is that you can practice your speaking skills with other users, whose will be able to correct you if needed.
Find here, how the web works:
First of all, you need to register and select the language. English, in this case. Then, you need to select the first unite. Here you can find
different areas: vocabulary, dialog, writing, busy talk, voice recording, revision lessons and podcast.
Once you are on the menu of the different areas, you select the first one; it will show you around twenty words of vocabulary expressions. These words or expressions are visible so you can see the right spelling of them, you can also listen with the audio, they are translated to the language you had already registered (in this case: Spanish) and you will find an example at the bottom, a sentence translated to your language, that you can listen to it to learn the right pronunciation.
The following chapter, it is called “dialogue”. This application is a written conversation that we should read at the same time than we use the audio to understand what it says. When we have read and understand, we need to click on the bottom for us to see the translation of the text. This way, we will solve our questions about vocabulary. When this part is finished we will have a test in English to prove our level of understanding and to see if the text has been understood in fully.
Following the chapter “dialogue” we move into the written chapter. On this chapter we will give samples than we need to write and explain each case will be different. For example. This is a very innovative part of the web, as the native speaker will be the person who check the text and spotted the possible errors. When the mistakes are spotted we will get readings of the people that is learning the native language asking for corrections.
´Bussu talk´ is the part that helps us to learn the native language by interactive with native speakers to try to stablish conversations on the language than we are studying. Bussu will allow us to contact with people who are interest in helps us to learn their language. This is a swap system and we will be available to help them back in a different time.
The next step it is the part where you can improve pronunciation by listen sentences in English and listen you ourselves talking. At the end of this part it will be 15 variate activities to move up into the next level in the one we are. The material will be available in PDF and podcast.
To finalize I would like to point out that the only disadvantage than I can see on the way you move towards the next level, it is the fact than you must pay for the contents, as you need to pay to download them. However, it is a great tool to learn English and very easy to learn a language as beginners.
I hope, this article has been enjoyable and you decide to use this tool.
Best Regards
xxxx
