I just got my beta invite for the site today, after signing up a few months ago, and so far it seems like a pretty good way to learn a language - I picked German - Das Madchen isst einen Apfel - I bet I screwed that up didn't I? (EDIT: Yes, I did... Sie Madchen; Das Kind. EDIT2: No, it is Das!)

For those who haven't heard of it before, its based on the same ideas behind recaptcha (the words you get on those things are actually words from books that are being transcribed to digital, one word from each pair is a word that the software wasn't able to read properly, so every time you do one of them, you're helping to transcribe a book), instead of paying to learn a language, other companies pay Duloingo to have websites and books translated, and thats where the lessons are taken from, the idea is that as you learn, you're helping to translate the internet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQl6jUjFjp4

Thanks for pointing this out, and I'll definitely give it a try. It's an interesting concept for the internet; equitable compensation for a mundane task otherwise wasted... And it serves a better purpose.

An intelligent and entertaining video as well. Seemed almost out of place on youtube.

Nifty, thanks. I've been meaning to brush up on some of my languages.

Interesting. I wa looking at ways to learn other lnguages. I did consider rosetta stone, then I saw the price.

Forgot to mention, there's only German and Spanish at the moment, but Italian and Chinese are being added soon.

I meant the French. No Russian, I see. Hopefully, it's added later.

So these internet learning things - are they actually any good? I mean compared to actually taking classes? I have basic spoken and written French and would love to expand on it. I was considering doing something online, but I don't know if it's worth it.

I've never had any luck with classes, so I'll see.

I guess it'll be harder in terms of pronunciation and conversation.

Whether the net learning thing is any good usually depends on the community around it. I joined another language learning place a few years ago... I think called My Happy Planet or something equally cheesy... and I tried to learn Japanese, but people would randomly vanish or we just wouldn't click, and it's difficult to learn in that kind of environment, so my endeavour fell by the wayside.

This doesn't have a community aspect so, who knows, it could be good. I am excitedly awaiting my invite.

Just checked -- also no Japanese.

I suppose I could get around to doing German after I brush up on my French...

Internet or books are good for learning the basics of a language, but if you want a full grasp of your chosen language, you need interaction with native speakers. They can teach you far more about the language than books. Things like proper pronunciation and the proper ways to speak in different social interactions are often difficult to pick up from a book. Supplementing it with spoken interactions is highly recommended.