Jxenja_A:I’m a Master’s student at the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM), and I am writing my thesis about lernu!

Good luck!

- Why did you learn / are learning Esperanto (i.e., what motivated you to learn the language)
It's easier than most? I like languages even though, like many native English folk, I believed I wasn't good at them before. Nowadays, thanks to Esperanto making everything clear and transparent with its logical simplicity, I understand noun cases and adjective-noun agreement, like, I'm better at feeling the difference when I do something wrong, even if I'm looking at German or Polish grammar.

- Why do you participate in Lernu.net (i.e., what does the participation in the community of Lernu.net give you personally)
I use the exercises and tests to try and make progress, but the forums are great just to chat and practice.

Alkanadi:Even though the passporta servo isn't active anymore, it is interesting that people would share their home with you just because you speak Esperanto. In general, it seems like there is a larger Esperanto community because people want to practice speaking with each other. The desire to communicate in Esperanto is what connects this 'community'.

It didn't work up until recently, but I used it just last week to contact someone new in my home city. It's alive!

Thanks a lot to all who answered my questions so far, really, interesting discussion and I learned a lot from you all! Here are a few more questions.
What Lernu resources do you use (or activities you do) and enjoy most?What resources that the website doesn't have (or activities it doesn't provide) yet, you think, should be added?

Jxenja_A:What Lernu resources do you use (or activities you do) and enjoy most?

Ana Pana and Bildoj kaj Demandoj. I like activities that don't rely on translation. Translation is dull! And I use the forum and the instant messenger a lot.

What resources that the website doesn't have (or activities it doesn't provide) yet, you think, should be added?

Free eBooks? I dunno. There's more than any beginner could sensibly use anyway. Maybe there's less stuff for more advanced speakers?

I mean, could have fancy features like audio playback on dictionary items, but since Esperanto is phonetic, there's little reason for it.

Maybe have live chat events, about a set topic? The instant messenger is great, but it's sometimes hit or miss how many people are paying attention at a given time.

Jxenja_A:- Why did you learn / are learning Esperanto (i.e., what motivated you to learn the language)
- Why do you participate in Lernu.net (i.e., what does the participation in the community of Lernu.net give you personally)

I first learned about Esperanto when reading information about the Baha'i faith, the only religion I know that touts the selection of a universal language as one of its ideals. While I'm not a Baha'i, it seemed like a really good ideal. I've always been interested in constructed languages (thanks to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and the use of Klingon in Star Trek) and Esperanto just seemed interesting, too.

I read much more than I post at Lernu.net, because it's beginner friendly and has an active English speaking section that makes it easier for newbies like me to participate.

- Why did you learn / are learning Esperanto (i.e., what motivated you to learn the language)

I don't remember exactly how I found out about Esperanto. I read its summary on Wikipedia, there this website was mentioned, then I decided to give it a shot just because I am a language lover , not because I particularly sympathize with Esperantists and their idea of making Esperanto a lingua franca. For example, many defend that Esperanto is useful to learn foreign languages, and I instead defend that worrying about your mother tongue first before thinking about foreign languages is more important and effective, that way you gain true linguistic insight with a language you already speak; I say that as a linguistics and translation student. I lost interest in Esperanto and no longer learn it as it is not a useful language for me as it may be for others. Though I'm not against the language, it's a nice concept and impressive how far it has come despite being a constructed language.

- Why do you participate in Lernu.net (i.e., what does the participation in the community of Lernu.net give you personally)

For fun, to kill time, since I no longer study Esperanto.