I am currently only in fluent in one language, English, but I’m always interested in learning more.
There are many online resources you can use to help you learn a new language ranging from online dictionaries to full online courses and many of these are free!
I spotted an interesting free language learning course on the Internet called Mango whilst reading Lifehacker . It seems to be pretty good and it mainly involves hearing and reading phrases and memorising them (at least at the introduction phrases! As far as I got!). Whilst somewhat primitive this is fantastic way to gain a basic knowledge of a language (useful if you’re going on holiday etc.). Currently, Mango lets English-speakers learn French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese; Mango also offer a course in English for Polish-speakers (but sadly not Polish for English speakers which I would personally would’ve appreciated).
The Open University publishes free course material for French, German, Latin and Spanish.
If you’re already studying a language but lack a proper dictionary shame on you! But really, there are quite a few good online ones. My personal favourite has to be the Wiktionary which is a multi-lingual online dictionary. Sadly Wiktionary isn’t very centralised and I find myself often having to check both the English Wiktionary and the Wiktionary of the language I wish to translate into to find a translation. This can be time-consuming.
There are many online dictionaries which are specific to two languages. The best ’specialised’ dictionary is probably dict.cc for German-English and English-German translation (although it is annoying that it doesn’t give the plurals of words in it), Poltran’s useful for Polish translations (but it’s really slow to load and WordReference seems quite good for Spanish, Italian and French translation.
You could also consider using the Wikipedia reference desk on language, but don’t overuse it as it relies entirely on volunteers.
Tags: language, web 2.0, learning, e-learning
im trying to learn mandarin but its a very very slow process. but worth it coz i love the language. thanks for the links
I saw that too (Mango) and sent it to a friend who’s learning spanish…I wonder how good it really is…
I`d like to learn Portuguese on-line. Any tips?
casa: Mango has a course I think.
You know I’m fluent in 3 languages. And, yes, I have tried using some online language learning tools. They didn’t work. At least not for me.
At the end of the day you’ll need a good ‘ol teacher to learn a new language.
Livemocha has online lessons and conversations with native speakers and other learners. It’s fun to join with friends and practice. It’s free, tutors and all. I think it really helps to have lessons and be able to dialog.
I’m afraid the old adage of “you get what you pay for” holds true for me. While many free programs are in fact of good quality, I think for many people the act of purchasing a program or hiring a tutor or registering for a course, may be the motivator to insure that they proceed with learning their target language.