1. Language resources on the web Laura Wilson Reference Librarian Framingham State College April 14, 2010

2. Mango Languages Subscription based, access through the Library BBC / MIT / FSI Access course materials free Google Translate / Babel Fish Translate text Project Gutenberg and LibriVox Online e-books and audio books Second Life and Skype Chat with native speakers Where can I go to learn or practice a language online for free?

3. Online foreign language courses – subscription based Access through the Whittemore Library Trial period Two levels of courses – basic & “complete” Practice listening, reading and speaking Need computer speakers / headphones and microphone Also need Java and Adobe Flash installed Commonly studied languages and lesser-known languages Spanish, French, Italian, Urdu, Tagalog, Pashto ESL courses Mango Languages

4. Free! Audio and video courses for 7 languages 12 week courses in 4 languages Get a certificate at the end! Basic vocabulary for many other languages Some culture information http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/ BBC Languages

5. Courses developed by the Foreign Service Institute Text (vocabulary) & audio (pronunciation) Many languages, some have more materials than others A little confusing, but can offer good supplementary materials to another language course http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php FSI Language Courses

6. Course materials from MIT published for free on the web No login or registration required Undergraduate and graduate courses PDF documents (textbook excerpts, handouts), MP3 files (listening comprehension), lecture notes from the professor, suggested texts for further study http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Foreign-Languages-and-Literatures/index.htm#grad MIT Open Courseware

7. Google Translate Translates text, webpage, documents Over 60 languages available Translator Toolkit Take large amounts of “pre-translated” text, invite others to edit and perfect the text Babel Fish (Yahoo) Translate text or webpage Add Babel Fish to Yahoo Toolbar in your browser Highlight and click text, translate immediately Add Babel Fish directly to your own website Users can easily translate to their own language Google Translate / Babel Fish

8. Project Gutenberg Free e-books (public domain) Many foreign language titles Search by language in advance search http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/search LibriVox Free audiobooks (public domain) Many foreign language titles Search by language under “more” search options http://librivox.org/newcatalog/visitor_advanced.php Combine an e-book from PG with an audiobook from LV. Read and listen at the same time! Project Gutenberg / LibriVox

9. Skype Practice with native speakers for free Need Skype account Instant message, chat via microphone, or video chat via webcam http://forum.skype.com/forum/140-learn-languages-and-more/ Skype language forum http://www.language-exchanges.org/ Site hosted by Dickinson College in PA, dedicated to language exchanges via Skype

10. 3D virtual world (video game) Go anywhere on the virtual planet, connect with native speakers Text or voice chat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKzkfyglJY8&feature=player_embedded Direct links to language-friendly locations in Second Life (need SL account) http://www.avatarlanguages.com/freepractice.php Second Life