Arabic-L:PEDA:Verbling needs Arabic Student beta testers to talk to native speakers

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Mon 15 Aug 2011
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dil at byu.edu>
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1) Subject: Verbling needs Arabic Student beta testers to talk to native speakers

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1)
Date: 15 Aug 2011
From: Jake Jolis <jake at verbling.com>
Subject: 

Dear Arabic student,

If you're serious about learning Arabic, we want to give you the tools to realize that goal. 
We at www.verbling.com connect language learners to native speakers so that they can practice the language they're learning.
We've had massive success connecting English native speakers with Spanish native speakers, and we now want to expand to English and Arabic. 
We need at least ten (10) Arabic-learners to sign up to be part of our focus group in order to make this a reality. The benefits for you are immense--you'll learn Arabic. The drawbacks--none. It's free and fast. Please email jake at verbling.com if this sounds interesting, and I'll answer all your questions. You need to email me in order to be part of the test group. You'll find more information below. 


Our press coverage
TV: http://bit.ly/pJvnG5

El País (largest newspaper in Spanish-speaking world): http://www.elpais.com/articulo/english/The/canny/Swedish/linguists/taking/language/intercambios/online/elpepueng/20110727elpeng_13/Ten

TechCrunch: http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/08/verbling-links-up-language-learners-with-native-speakers-through-live-video-chat/


What we are
www.verbling.com lets language learners video chat with native speakers. We’ve built a platform that uses P2P video technology to link up people worldwide so that they can learn from each other. For example, an American learning Arabic might be matched in a video chat with an Egyptian learning English inside the web browser. They practice Arabic first and then switch to English when prompted.

In contrast to how existing language communities work, our users don’t waste time browsing each other’s profiles or scheduling times that work for both of them. Instead, they’re instantly connected with a native speaker of the language they’re learning. They also never have to download anything to their computers. Verbling happens in the browser. 

As language learners and teachers ourselves, we found that the biggest barrier to reaching fluency was the lack of opportunity to practice with native speakers. We Verblings are working to solve that problem. 

What happened
We built conversation exchange software that pairs up language learners to native speakers so that they can practice the languages they're learning together. Shortly after we launched with English and Spanish, news network Al Arabiya wrote an article about us (without telling us), and we instantly had thousands and thousands of native Arabic speakers crowding the site trying to exchange their Arabic for English. This despite the fact that we'd only launched with English and Spanish and that we'd never publicly uttered a word about launching Arabic. These Arabic speakers are very persistent and insistent that we launch with Arabic--extremely motivated learners. If we get American students learning Arabic to sign up, we can and will launch the Arabic-English exchange. The Arabic native speakers have already made accounts and are ready to go. 

What you get
You get unlimited, free access to native speakers of Arabic who are extremely happy and willing to coach Arabic in exchange for some conversation time in English. You will be able to practice with them from the convenience of your own computer. As we literally have thousands and thousands of Arabic speakers eagerly awaiting the opportunity to practice with Americans, you would be guaranteed access to many speakers whenever you want the opportunity to practice with somebody native in the language you're studying. Additionally and obviously, the value in connecting language learners to the cultures and ways of life of real Arabic native speakers is immense and difficult to replicate. What we have is free, fast, and requires no download. It's instant and with around-the-clock support from the three founders. www.verbling.com

-- 
Jake Jolis
Co-founder
Verbling
Cell: +1 (617) 999 5712
Web: www.verbling.com

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