Clever language schools from Beijing to Cairo have discovered a
powerful tool: Internet telephony. Voice-over-Internet services
allow language schools in even the most remote corners of the globe
to exploit their comparative advantage¡ªnative speakers and
rock-bottom prices. In cities such as London or New York, an hour of
private, one-to-one language instruction can cost more than $30. But
at Web sites like eChineseLearning.com, private classes with a
native Mandarin speaker cost as little as $5 per hour using online
voice and video services such as Skype or Yahoo! Messenger. Sanaa
Ghanem of ArabAcademy.com, an online Arabic-language school
based in Cairo, says her business is booming thanks to the ¡°better
quality¡± of the technology, not to mention the fact that ¡°everyone
in America knows about it.¡± Whether discount prices are enough to
overcome Americans¡¯ infamous aversion to learning foreign languages
remains to be seen.