Foreign languages e-learning course unveiled

A new online learning course to help people speak a foreign language has been set up.

VerbalPlanet.com enables individuals to talk to a personal teacher over Skype and offers students all of the benefits of tuition and training in a new tongue without issues relating to a lack of one-to-one learning, large class sizes and travelling.

The company claimed this puts it "at the forefront of the shift towards language learning online".

It noted becoming skilled in a foreign tongue should involve engaging other people in conversation, rather than studying in isolation with a computer.

Therefore, the e-learning course offers students completely interactive lessons alongside a private tutor, enabling them to boost their skills at verbal communication.

As it is performed over the web, it provides members of the public the ability to learn less popular lexicons, such as Norwegian, Greek, Dutch and Danish, as people might find it difficult to access a tutor for these languages in their local area.

All participants in the course require is an internet connection and Skype. Registration is free and individuals can look through all of the language teachers provided and research the subject thoroughly before booking anything.

Supplemental materials such as audio lessons for music players are also provided by VerbalPlanet.com, as well as desktop or online dictionaries.

"E-learning creates an interactive and immersive experience for a student that's not possible with traditional self study methods," representative of the company Andy Moore said.

He added: "Anyone learning Russian can take an online language class from the comfort of their own home with a private Russian tutor who may live in Moscow."

The UK's education secretary Michael Gove recently said every child older than five years old should be taught a foreign language.

He noted that in the summer of 1998, 444,700 pupils took a language GCSE, but in 2010 this figure was 273,000.