Millions of people around the world spend their lives (after graduating from educational institutions) seeking new knowledge and exciting experiences. One popular way to expand the mind is to learn a new language, and since globalization has opened the doors for travel, friendship, and connection with almost every nation on the planet, learning a second or third language is a wonderful way to keep your brain fresh. A frequently heard argument is that certain languages are steadily decreasing in relevance, and that it is almost silly to learn a relatively inaccessible language like Japanese or Russian, because English is becoming the “global” language.
However, learning a language can engage your mind in spectacularly unique ways and can lead you on adventures in exciting destinations around the world. Learning a new language is not always cheap, and while language software and courses increase in price, one company has managed to find a way to spread the knowledge, without asking for a dime. Duolingo is an online crowdsourcing website that offers language lessons in French, Spanish, Italian, English, Portuguese, German, and Dutch. They are also planning on adding seven more languages in the coming year, thanks to a communal language construction program that is being developed by the users of the site. The quality of the site is exceptional, yet there is no charge for the services. This might immediately sound too good to be true, but there really is no financial obligation.
Users pay their way through the site using another, more creative method. The internet is reaching corners of the globe that no one could have ever expected, and for that reason, the majority of internet content has to be translated, sometimes into many different languages. This is a time-intensive process, requiring a great amount of energy, particularly because hundreds of thousands of websites are being added to the internet, every day. Duolingo offers their courses in various languages, but periodically asks you to use your new knowledge to translate a few sentences from your new language into your old one. The small “examinations” that you need to get through to move onto the next level of free education are actually composed of online texts. This not only gives you the opportunity to get real practice in reading and translating text, within hours of beginning your language adventure, but it also benefits the world at large.
Duolingo participants are effectively translating the Internet, and that service is something can be monetized, which is why the site is able to offer free language lessons for millions of users. This form of crowd sourcing works on a number of educational levels. It allows people to expand their minds and cultural awareness by learning a language at their own pace, and it increases the spread of information and knowledge on the internet by breaking down language barriers through translation.
It is a way of maximizing the big-picture power of knowledge, at the same time, educating people across the globe for free. In this modern age of commodities and profits, a truly free form of knowledge that also benefits others is a rare and beautiful thing. It also speaks to the purest form of learning, which is often forgotten in today’s modern world. Learn more about various effective ways to expand knowledge and experience only at the University Canada West, one of the best universities in Canada, offering various business and management related programs.
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