Lingq is Adding Beta Languages

For a long long time, Lingq users have been clamoring for more languages to be added. But the people at Lingq clearly have their hands full managing their language learning site as it is. But now, Lingq has finally come up with a way to add more languages, keeping Lingq users happy, without the huge programming committment that comes with it.

Lingq is adding Dutch, Czech, Polish and Arabic as new languages, but only in a 'beta' mode. That means they won't offer full support for those languages until they are ready, and there won't be any content until the Lingq community begins to add it. Fortunately, there have been many Lingq users asking for this opportunity, and the libraries for these languages are already beginning to see some content.

There has been a bit of a chicken-and-egg scenario for a while, as Lingq has been reluctant to commit the resources to develop new languages at Lingq without knowing if there will be enough interest in them, and the users saying that having new languages will draw interest and the community itself will respond and begin to create the necessary content.

I think this is the perfect compromise for Lingq and its users. Lingq users tend to be very independent and self-motivated, so they likely will begin to identify and sort out any bugs or problems with these new languages, making it easier for the people at Lingq to fix them when the time comes. There are also lots of Lingq users who are native speakers or learners of those languages ready to add content for the good of the community, so I think it is just a matter of time for the content to start to fill up nicely.

There are few resources out there for Dutch, Czech and Polish, so they are great additions, and adding Arabic was a natural as it is one of the most sought-after languages. The unique features that Lingq offers, with its potentially huge library of intermediate and advanced material makes it a great resource for language learners after they have worked through the basics.

Steve Kaufmann mentioned that they would add new beta languages every few months, which is great. I think this is a huge step that will really begin to grow the number of users at Lingq, which is exactly what they are most looking for. I just realized that I never posted a full review of Lingq, so look for that in the next week or two.