Check out Colango, The Social Network for Language Learners.

Update 2017: Colango no longer appears to exist on any app store. : (

 

Polyglots and language enthusiasts rejoice! At long last a promising social network for language learners appears to be on the horizon, and the potential for it to grow into something big is real and truly exciting!

Colango, a brand new Android app and social network for language learning launched its beta in August and seems to be off to a bright start as it collects users and begins building its reputation and services.

At the moment, as can be expected, the network is still quite small with only a few hundred users, but with a little bit of time and effort that could change.

The brilliant thing about Colango is that its content is all user created – much like any other social network. You create “statuses” in the form of miniature lessons for your followers or the general public.

New users have the option to explore the network looking for content creators they’re interested in following or starting new lessons of their own and build their own following – or both!

To find out how these lessons worked I headed over to the “All Languages” dashboard and experimented with a few lessons on basic Arabic and Korean phonetics. I was pleasantly surprised by how simple, yet effective these very basic learning sessions were.

They took all of about thirty seconds to complete, but after just a couple I managed to retain a better understanding of Arabic and Korean phonetics than I have through studying them -albeit extremely casually- in the past.

Better yet, just like with Facebook or Twitter, you can comment on these lessons either with text or voice recordings. This makes it super easy to get quick audio feedback from native speakers and other learners who are also following the same course.

Colango’s interface is neat and tidy. It’s incredibly easy to use and navigate – requiring little to no tech savvy.

And of course – it’s free!

Unfortunately, because it is so new, Colango is still too small to exhibit an awful lot of activity. I attempted to search for Russian language material and was sadly unable to find any, but hopefully this will change. I attribute this to a low number of active members and I sincerely hope that this project expands into something truly great, and I think that given a little bit of time it certainly will.

Another major drawback is that Colango is only available for Android devices. Colango has confirmed that an iOS version will be made available in the future but that estimates as to when are not currently known. iOS users interested in Colango can sign up to receive a notification when it is released here.

In addition to iOS, a brower based version will also be made available in the future.  However specific lessons posted on the app can be shared currently by creating a link when users select the share icon. Friends or followers should also be able to view their profile and other courses. This adds a significant amount of functionality!

But for now; Android users shouldn’t wait to get involved with Colango. Check out their app on the Google Play store and get involved in growing the community! The app is still in beta so expect the occasional bug. Also be sure to offer any feedback you may have that might improve Colango!