Submitted by: polyglot
Mon, 02/12/2007 - 05:58
Submitted by: polyglot
Mon, 02/12/2007 - 05:01

Free Language is a place to get quick access to specific kinds of content for learning a language.

There is an extensive list of categories that allow content to be filtered in very intentional ways.

For example, a learner or teacher in search of Russian language-learning materials for teenagers can visit the article listing for just that:

Submitted by: polyglot
Sat, 02/10/2007 - 04:51

Daily French Pod is a great resource for learning French. I just added four of their podcasts to the site, covering materials for levels from beginner to functionally fluent:

Submitted by: polyglot
Fri, 02/09/2007 - 07:36

I just added a couple of podcasts for learning Japanese. I am trying to balance out the amount of resources for each language, and Japanese had the fewest, so I started there!

Here is what I added:

Learn Japanese Podcast at LibSyn
Learn Japanese at Japancast.net Podcast

Both are great podcasts with lots of info, so for all you Japanese learners out there, have at 'em.

Submitted by: polyglot
Thu, 02/08/2007 - 19:41

The Linguist on LanguageI just came across a post at The Linguist regarding whether or not beginning language students learning a foreign language need a teacher. Here is a snippet:

"What about beginners? Don't beginners need a teacher to explain the language, to teach the grammar? What if the new learner starts to speak incorrectly? How will the beginner figure out the meaning of even the easiest content items?

My answer! Beginners do not need teachers. Beginners and teachers have nothing to say to each other. They can only communicate in a language other than the target language.

Submitted by: polyglot
Tue, 02/06/2007 - 07:16

The first Free Language Letter was sent today! If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, please sign up for it!

The Free Language Letter will be sent out no more than once a week, and more likely about once or twice a month, depending on the amount of content being added to the site, and whether or not there are any mentionable changes happening.

Have a look at the first edition.

Submitted by: polyglot
Mon, 02/05/2007 - 06:18

I wanted to inform everyone about the latest updates over the last day on the site.

We have added the following resources for English, Russian and Mandarin Chinese:

Submitted by: polyglot
Sun, 02/04/2007 - 00:46

This is a small plug for a website that is a side project: Mandarin Chinese Info

The site has a lot of good info about learning Mandarin Chinese. Here are some of the key links:

Mandarin Chinese Blog Links
China Travel Resources
Free Mandarin Chinese Language-Learning Resources
News about the Mandarin Chinese Language

Submitted by: polyglot
Fri, 02/02/2007 - 21:43

Thanks to Drupal taxonomy and the pathauto module, this site is able to have quite an extensive category list with corresponding URLs.

Submitted by: polyglot
Fri, 02/02/2007 - 02:31

I just want to let everyone know that there will be lots more resources added over the following weeks and months. We have launched with only a few resources for each language, and the idea is to steadily fill them out with our own research as well as suggestions we receive through our contact form.

Submitted by: polyglot
Fri, 02/02/2007 - 02:05

I am happy to announce that Free Language Version 2 has been released today!

This is an exciting release, the first of line of released we plan on unfolding as time and budget permits.

This release enhances the usability, adds commenting capabilities, tags, better information architecture, lots of new podcast feeds and more.

We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Submitted by: polyglot
Fri, 02/02/2007 - 00:59

I came across this in the daily surfing I get into. It is a nice list.

Language Tools from the Internet Archive

Free and usable!

Submitted by: polyglot
Fri, 02/02/2007 - 00:56

Byki has stepped up their freeware. You can literally download and use their software to start learning the basics of over 74 languages in minutes without paying a cent. If you decide to continue learning past the basics, you can upgrade to the full version for a reasonable $49 USD.

Byki Free Language Software Downloads Logo

Software can incorporate many elements into the learning process - audio and visual for example - which create an interactive, multi-media experience while learning.

Submitted by: polyglot
Fri, 02/02/2007 - 00:39

There are thousands of languages living on Earth. It will be quite some time until I am able to list all of these here! However, I am adding this page in case people are interested in finding out more information about some of the world's more widely-spoken languages, and are not yet aware of the wonders of Wikipedia.

For each language listed below, there are either two or three links.

- The first link is to the Wikipedia page in English about the language.
- The second is a link to the Wikipedia home page for content in the language (e.g., all the existing content written in the language itself).
- The third is a link to the Wikibook in English about the language.

If you are interested specifically in how to learn a language, have a look at How to Learn a Language. If you want to see all the language resources available on Wikibooks, check out the Wikibooks Languages Bookshelf. And quickly, for those who might be interested, navigate over to the Wikipedia List of Languages!

Arabic

Arabic Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - العربية
Wikibook about Arabic

Chinese (Mandarin)

Mandarin Chinese Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - 中文
Learn Mandarin Chinese with Wikibooks

Czech

Czech Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - Česky
Wikibook about Czech

Dutch

Dutch Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - Nederlands
Wikibook about Dutch

English

English Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - English
Wikibook about English

French

French Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - français
Wikibook about French

German

German Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - Deutsch
Wikibook about German

Hebrew

Hebrew Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - עברית
Wikibook about Hebrew

Hungarian

Hungarian Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - Magyar
Wikibook about Hungarian

Italian

Italian Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - italiano
Wikibook about Italian

Japanese

Japanese Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - 日本語
Wikibook about Japanese

Korean

Korean Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - 한국어
Wikibook about Korean

Polish

Polish Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - Polski
Wikibook about Polish

Portuguese

Portuguese Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - português
Wikibook about Portuguese

Russian

Russian Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - Русский
Wikibook about Russian

Slovakian

Slovakian Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - Slovenčina
Wikibook about Slovakian

Spanish

Spanish Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - español
Wikibook about Spanish

Swedish

Swedish Language on Wikipedia
Wikipedia - Svenska
Wikibook about Swedish

I hope this page feeds Free Language users' understanding of languages, as well as spreading the word about Wikipedia and Wikibooks, as well as Wikimedia in general.

These links will eventually be sorted into the language-learning resources for all languages on the site.

Submitted by: polyglot
Fri, 02/02/2007 - 00:31

I thought I would throw this link on here since a lot of times I put links on my del.icio.us account and then later post them here properly when I get the time.

So... check it out!

Submitted by: polyglot
Fri, 02/02/2007 - 00:27

Meetup.com has groups for learning different languages all over the world. With this free (and pay to upgrade) service, you can meet up with people in your area who are interested in learning, practicing and helping out with the target language you are interested in.

Following is only a partial list of the languages available at Meetup.com:

Arabic Language Meetups
Cantonese Language Meetups
Dutch Language Meetups
French Language Meetups
German Language Meetups
Greek Language Meetups
Hebrew Language Meetups
Hindi Language Meetups
Italian Language Meetups
Japanese Language Meetups
Korean Language Meetups
Latin Language Meetups
Mandarin Chinese Language Meetups
Polish Language Meetups
Portuguese Language Meetups
Russian Language Meetups
Spanish Language Meetups
Swahili Language Meetups
Vietnamese Language Meetups

More languages:
Find a Meetup

Submitted by: polyglot
Tue, 01/30/2007 - 21:17

The Linguist on Language Logo

I just came across this article, which has some interesting ideas on a general manifesto for all language learners. It is written with English as the language being learned, but it can be applied to any language:

I can be FLUENT in English. My goal is to be FLUENT. My goal is not to be perfect. My goal is just to be FLUENT. I can be FLUENT and still make mistakes.

F:First I must forget what I learned in school. I will make a fresh start. I will forget the rules of grammar. I will forget the quizzes and tests. I will forget all the times I made mistakes. I will forget what my teachers taught me. I will forget my native language. I will forget who I am. I am a new person. I am an English speaker. I will make a fresh start. I will have fun! I will focus on things that are fun and interesting. I will learn.

L:I will learn how to learn. I will listen a lot. I will let myself go. I will listen and let the English language enter my mind. I will listen often. I will listen every day. I will listen to the same content many times. I will listen to the meaning. I will listen to hear the words and phrases. I will listen early in the morning. I will listen late at night.

U: I will understand the language. I will understand what I hear and read. If I can understand what I hear and read I will be able to speak and write. Until I can understand what I hear and read, I will not be able to speak and write well. But there is no hurry. I will work on understanding. I will read a lot and especially, listen a lot. I want to understand the meaning of English. I do not want to understand the rules of grammar.

E: Every day is a learning day. Every day the language is entering my brain. I enjoy reading and listening every day. I study with energy and enthusiasm. I study interesting things and enjoy the language. If I enjoy the language I will improve. Let the language enter my mind. There is no need to push myself. I am getting better every day.

N: I will never say that I am no good. When I read and listen I will tell myself “nice going”! I will learn naturally and easily. I will be nice to myself. I will not be nervous. If I make a mistake I will say “never mind”. If I cannot understand something I will say “never mind.” If I forget a word I will say “never mind.” If I have trouble saying what I want to say , “no problem”. I will continue.

T: I will Trust myself. I will be confident. Confident learners improve quickly. I will treat myself with respect. I will tell myself that I am doing well. I just need to keep going, no matter what. The more I listen and read using The Linguist, the more I will understand. The more words and phrases I save the more I will know. Soon I will be ready to speak and write well. I will take it easy. I know I will succeed. I will trust myself and trust The Linguist.

Have a look at the website.

Submitted by: polyglot
Sun, 01/14/2007 - 21:24

The Linguist Logo

I just came across the following quote by Steve Kaufmann on The Linguist Blog:

"One day I will work on improving my German. I will not hire a teacher. I will not go to a school. I will listen to and read content that interests me. I will save words and phrases into a database for review. I will gradually get used to the correct phrasing of German. It will be faster and more pleasant than having someone correct me. That is how I got this far, and the same approach will take me the rest of the way."

This resonated with me and my particular way of learning a language once I have achieved a certain level of proficiency. I am intrigued by the part of saving words and phrases to a database. I wonder what kind of database he uses? This made me think about the possibility of using Drupal for learning languages. Of course, we are already using Drupal here for language-learning by listing resources, but it is not quite the same. We have a database of language-learning resources, not a platform for categorizing and structuring in your own way the many elements involved in learning a language. I am going to look into doing this, and if it works out, we might even integrate some of the features here for people to use when we go for V3 (Version 3), when users will start to join in and we'll start building an eclectic community.

As an aside: Apparently, Steve Kaufmann's comment about not liking to be corrected when speaking a foreign language caused a bit of a stir! He followed up on this with a post you can find here.

If you want to learn German, visit our learn German section or view the tag cloud for German learners.

Submitted by: polyglot
Sat, 01/13/2007 - 19:00

I went to log in to Google AdSense today and found that the site was down. It would have been rather annoying, but I became interested with the many languages that the "site down" notice was written in.

I decided to post it here for those who may be interested.

One quick note: If you can see all the languages without trouble, you are set for most fonts. If not, you know that there are some fonts you need to get worked out with your browser.

The Multi-Lingual Notice

"The Google AdSense website is temporarily unavailable. Please try back later.
We apologize for any inconvenience.

Google AdSense の web サイトは一時的にご利用いただけません。後で再度お試しくださいますようお願いいたします。
お手数をおかけいたしますことをお詫びいたします。

Die Google AdSense-Website ist vorübergehend nicht verfügbar. Bitte versuchen Sie es später noch einmal.
Wir entschuldigen uns für eventuell enstandene Unannehmlichkeiten.

Le site Google AdSense est temporairement indisponible. Veuillez réessayer plus tard.
Nous vous prions de nous excuser pour le désagrément occasionné.

El sitio web de AdSense de Google no se encuentra disponible en estos momentos. Por favor, inténtelo de nuevo más tarde.
Disculpe las molestias.

Google AdSense 网站暂时无法浏览。请您稍候再尝试。
对于造成您的不便我们感到抱歉。

Il sito AdSense di Google è temporaneamente non disponibile. La preghiamo di provare più tardi.
Ci scusiamo per il disagio.

De website van Google AdSense is tijdelijk niet beschikbaar. Probeert u het later opnieuw.
Onze excuses voor het eventuele ongemak.

Google AdSense Sayfası geçici olarak hizmet dışıdır. Lütfen, daha sonra tekrar deneyin.
Bu geçici sorundan dolayı özür dileriz.

O site do Google AdSense não está disponível no momento. Tente novamente mais tarde.
Pedimos desculpas pelo inconveniente.

The Google AdSense website is temporarily unavailable. Please try back later.
We apologise for any inconvenience.

Witryna programu Google AdSense jest chwilowo niedostępna. Prosimy spróbuj później.
Przepraszamy za wszelkie niedogodności.

Веб-сайт Google AdSense временно недоступен. Попробуйте, пожалуйста, еще раз через несколько минут.
Мы приносим свои извинения за причиненные неудобства.

Google AdSense webbplats är för tillfället inte tillgänglig. Försök igen senare.
Vi ber om ursäkt för eventuellt besvär.

Google AdSense-webstedet er ikke tilgængeligt i øjeblikket. Prøv igen senere.
Vi beklager ulejligheden.

Google AdSense 웹사이트를 일시적으로 사용하실 수 없습니다 . 나중에 다시 시도해 보십시오 .
불편을 끼쳐드려 죄송합니다 .

Google AdSense-webområdet er midlertidig utilgjengelig. Prøv igjen senere.
Vi beklager eventuelle problemer dette medfører.

Google AdSense 網站暫時無法流覽。請您侍候再嘗試。
對於造成您的不便我們感到抱歉。

A Google AdSense oldal jelenleg nem elérhető. Kérjük, látogasson vissza később.
Elnézést kérünk az esetleges kellemetlenségekért.

Google AdSense –sivusto ei väliaikaisesti ole saatavilla. Yritä myöhemmin uudelleen.
Pahoittelemme tämän aiheuttamaa hankaluutta.

Stránka Google AdSense je dočasně nedostupná. Zkuste to později.
Omlouváme se za způsobené nepříjemnosti.

Stránka Google AdSense je dočasne nedostupná. Skúste neskôr, prosím.
Ospravedlňujeme sa za spôsobené nepríjemnosti.

Google AdSense sučelje trenutno je nedostupno. Molimo Vas pokušajte kasnije.
Ispričavamo se za neugodnosti.

إن موقع Google AdSense غير متوفر وقتيا. يرجى تكرار المحاولة لاحقا. نعتذر عن أي إزعاج.

אתר Google AdSense איננו זמין כרגע. אנו מצטערים על אי הנוחות. אנא נסה שנית מאוחר יותר.

Google AdSense уебсайта е временно недостъпен. Моля опитайте по-късно. Извиняваме се за неудобството.

Η ιστοσελίδα του Google AdSense δεν είναι διαθέσιμη προς το παρόν. Παρακαλώ δοκιμάστε αργότερα. Ζητούμε συγγνώμη για την ενόχληση."

If you are interested in learning a language, visit our learn a language page to get started.