Found in Translation

THE IDEA OF TRAVELING to a country without speaking the language——or speaking it well——can be daunting. Needing a refresher in his understanding of Japanese, traveler Dan Neumeyer turned to FluencyNow (fluencynow.com), a company offering video chats with native speakers.

“FluencyNow serves two functions for me,” says Neumeyer. “It gives me someone to talk to in between trips to Japan. And I have someone I can ask ‘Is this right?’ or ‘How do you say. . . ?’ when I can’t find the answer on my own.”

Podcasts and live online classes are some of the latest offerings from other companies:

• ChinesePod (chinesepod.com), which debuted in 2005, provides free, daily, 10-minute downloadable lessons and has several subscription plans. The $9 monthly plan offers access to archives, audio review and vocabulary lessons.

• Earworms Learning (earwormslearning. com) redefines language lessons by pairing instructions with “specially composed melodies” using rhythmic repetitions and can be either downloaded or purchased on CD for $30.

• Berlitz (berlitz.us) offered its first on-line course in 2002, but they were aimed at more serious students and only recently started their Ticket to . . . French course, aimed at the leisure traveler. The courses offer five 90-minute live online lessons and downloads.

• Ispeak (mhprofessional.com) is taking the CD to the next level. Once it’s imported to an mp3 player, an “audio phrase book” displays suggested topics.

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