HOME EXCHANGE IS ALL GREEK TO ME

What happens if you want to do a home exchange in France but you don't speak French?


There are lots of free translation tools on the internet. I can always tell when a home exchanger has used one to send me a swap offer. How? Because it inevitably results in an incomprehensible email message.


There are better alternatives to letting the little Frenchman who lives inside your computer do the talking. Details to follow.


In the mean time, I have been brushing up on my language skills at LiveMocha.com. I have no relationship with the good folks who created LiveMocha, but I'm pretty close to falling in love with them. They have a very home exchanger-y attitude towards language learning.


LiveMocha offers free lessons in about a dozen foreign languages. At the end of each lesson you do a short recording of yourself reading words or sentences in the target language. You also write a few sentences based on the lesson.


Here is the brilliant home exchanger-y part. When you post a written or spoken exercise, other site users review it and give you tips about how to better speak or write their native language.


Spanish-speakers from Madrid to Mexico City have listened to my feeble attempts at speaking their language and left me feedback to improve my skills. As a mutual exchange, I have rated English writing and speaking samples posted by people studying English all over the world.


Like home exchange, Live Mocha is a mutual, self-help community where everyone is inherently equal with something valuable to offer.


LiveMocha has a travel kit that costs $10 for 30 hours of intensive multi-media instruction that seems perfect for home exchangers heading overseas.


As I said, I have no connection to LiveMocha other than the same free membership and courses available to everyone. I highly recommend it for fun, easy and free language learning that can enhance any home exchanger's experience. Check it out!