ORANGE BEACH, Ala. - If you have always wanted to learn a new language or are struggling through one now, the Orange Beach Public Library's new online interactive language learning resource, Livemocha, is for you.

Livemocha is the world’s largest online language learning community and offers free language courses in 38 languages including Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, and Mandarin to millions of members from over 190 countries. The library's purchase of this resource will allow our patrons unlimited access to all levels of learning with each language. Courses allow users to begin at the level of their choosing, ranging from basic to fluent. Students may choose to begin with vocabulary flash cards or video exercises, and interactive opportunities are included at every level, including the opportunity to practice conversation with native speakers of the language.

Livemocha also offers extensive ESL (English as a Second Language) support. Because an important part of Livemocha's offering for adults is access to assistance from native speakers in every language, Livemocha also supports a separate platform for children with the same high-quality language learning materials without the social networking component.

To get started exploring this great new resource, just follow the links to the adult or juvenile Livemocha sites from the Orange Beach Library's Website (www.orangebeachlibrary.org), choose a language from the drop-down menu and register with an email address and password to log in. It’s accessible anywhere, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Purchase of this database was made possible by the Alabama Public Library Service under the Library Services and Technology Act, P.L.108-81, as amended, through the Institute of Museum and Library Services. For more information about library programs and the Orange Beach Public Library visit the library’s website at www.orangebeachlibrary.org or call 251-981-2923.