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Outstanding Language Resource Localized in 20 Languages

Bab.la offers free dictionaries, vocabulary sets, flash cards, quizzes, games, conjugation tables, phrases, travel survival guides, a forum and, yes, even more.

The website is localized in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto (!), French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish and Turkish. Wow!

What does "localized" mean?

"Localized" (localised in British English) means that Bab.la's interface is available in all these languages, so speakers can surf the site in their native tongue. This can be useful for intermediate and advanced learners who want the challenge of surfing in their target language.

Learning Resources for 20 Languages

All the above languages also have learning resources available!

Of special note on Bab.la are the free Survival Guides, downloadable PDFs for quick access to phrases and language essential for travel conversation, complaints and computers. Chatting, computing and complaining has never been so simple!

The phrasebooks available are also of special note, as they cover quite a lot of ground that is often not covered in traditional phrasebooks. These are separated into four main categories: Application, Academic, Business and Personal, and are available for all the languages above - quite a boon to anyone needing quick access to phrases used commonly in application processes and academic, business and personal settings.

To give a quick example of this, you can quickly find useful common phrases for email communication, invoicing, reference letters, announcements and invitations, reservations and more.

Dictionaries, Vocabulary Sets, Quizzes, Games and Conjugation Tables

The dictionary area of Bab.la offers quick and easy translation between all the languages above.

The vocabulary section offers vocab sets for job, school & university, travel, self-study, fun & hobbies and official exams.

The quizzes and games are fun for children and can even help keep teens and adults entertained while learning.

The conjugation tables are quite useful for the appropriate languages, which currently include Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Portuguese. Some of these are also offered in sets, such as Polish <> German or French <> Italian, for the polyglots out there who like learning another language via a foreign language they already know :)

Tools: Broswser Plugins, Webmaster Widgets, Mobile Apps

All in all, Bab.la offers an amazing amount of material for free! There's even more that hasn't been covered here which is included in their Tools section. This includes dictionary toolbars and plugins for common browsers, dictionary widgets for websites and mobile dictionary apps (the apps are not free).

Summary

At last, a study abroad school reservation website that just plain rocks hands down: eurolanguages. Not only is it quick and simple to find English language schools in dozens of European cities, it's also free to use! Naturally the courses aren't free, but you are not charged a euro cent extra than what you'd pay directly to the school. Plus you get to use their slick, user-friendly and eye-candy-rich Web reservation interface that allows you to compare instantly and make the best choice for your particular needs.

Currently for the English language, you can find study abroad programs and language schools in England, Ireland, Scotland and Malta. Cities include London, Dublin, Edinburg, Bournemouth, Eastbourne, Galway, Harrogate, Kercem, Scarborough, Shrewsbury, Sligo, Sliema and Wexford.

Depending on the language school you choose, different options for facilities and extra-curricular activities exist. These include such goodies as audio learning labs, computer access, free wifi (wireless internet), eating/dining area, tea/coffee, television room, wheelchair/handicap accessiblity (elevator), cultural trips, pub trips, snack machines, printing and fax services, bookshop/bookstore, study area and library. It is surprisingly quick and easy to see which of these features a given school offers, providing you with a snapshot of what the school has going for it.

Of course, you'll need a place to stay while studying abroad, and eurolanguages makes that quite simple as well. You can either choose to find your own accommodation or select between several options including homestays with half or full board.

Eurolanguages encourages transparency by allowing users to rate and review language schools right on their site. These reviews are accessible while viewing information about a school, and can provide additional insight into what individual learning experiences have been. Currently you can rate on teaching, location, features and fun.

All in all, Eurolanguages is providing an amazing service to anyone interested in studying English in Europe - with no extra fees! They are definitely worth checking out. Thanks to the whole team for this much-needed free Web service.

Eurolanguages is also available for French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish, including programs that combine skiing with Italian lessons and surfing with Spanish instruction! Let the fun begin :)

From Website

Finding and confirming a place on an international language course is difficult, and searching online isn’t always helpful. There are 1,000’s of results for every destination, without any indication as to which one is best. So how can anyone decide on which city? which school? and at what price? And who do you contact?, and who can you trust?

You can trust us. We offer you more choice than ever before, with up to date information on all available schools and courses, and the insight and tools to compare them. We even offer fellow student reviews and ratings for reassurance. It’s like asking a friend for advice, except with eurolanguages, you can read the advice of 1,000’s of fellow students just like you. And when you’ve found your favourite, just pay a 20% deposit online to confirm your place.

Even though we think the schools we work with are great, we know you don’t necessarily care what we think. That’s why we don’t give you our opinions on the school; we let other students tell you theirs. And when you’ve finished your course we’ll ask you yours. Simple really.

On top of that, we’ve made it simple to actually book your place. We’ve taken care of the contractual side of things between you and the school so you don’t have to deal with endless paperwork in a language you are trying to learn. We’ve also given schools a management tool, so that when you buy a course with us, it’s guaranteed.

Over the last few decades the majority of language students have chosen to stay with a host family during their time at an international language school. For many, this is a great opportunity to practice the language, experience the culture, and above all an economical way to stay. To book a bed with a local host, which will be organised and confirmed by your school, simply select the available options on the booking screen.

Visit Eurolanguages.com

Summary

Avatar Languages offers a unique English language-learning experience in Second Life. Second Life is a virtual world with plenty of people from all over the world wandering around in digital forms, known as avatars. Avatar Languages has a language school for English learners right there in Second Life. You can log on and go there to learn!

This is a unique language-learning model, made possible only very recently thanks to our speedy technology. The possibilities are broad, as you can teleport to anywhere you want! Sushi in Tokyo with an English teacher? No problem. A tour of London with an English tutor? No worries!

Avatar Languages brings these and other possiblities to users of Second Life, combined with private tutors and an innovative language learning environment. You can chat via Skype, collaborate with Google Docs, learn with online whiteboards and more - all as part of their method.

Currently English is the only language offered. Spanish, Aymara and Quechua will be taught soon as well, and it could very well grow from there. Check them out for a free intro lesson to see if it will work for you.

From Avatar Languages

Learn English in Second Life

Let your Avatar take you to new worlds and advance your English. Learn English speaking with real teachers in a virtual school. An innovative new language school in Second Life - virtually the best English school in the world.

Professionalism

Qualified Teachers: we are all qualified, experienced, native English speakers. Meet the teachers...

Cutting Edge Methods: we will get you talking and using your English in real situations.

Free Trial Lesson

We offer a 15 minute lesson, absolutely free with no commitment. The free trial lesson includes access to our virtual campus in Second Life.

During the lesson we will assess your level of English and help you to determine your learning goals.

How it Works

You can be learning English with us within minutes - you probably already have everything you need!

* Internet
* Microphone & Speakers
* Computer
* Second Life Avatar (basic account)
* Skype, MSN or Yahoo

Virtual Fun

Meet other students in our student cafe and practice your English. You will get to know other students both in Second Life and real life.

Allow yourself to escape into a world where your imagination can go wild. You will learn by playing and having fun.

See how exciting it will be...

Visit Avatar Languages

From Second Life

Second Life® is a 3-D virtual world created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe.

From the moment you enter the World you'll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you've explored a bit, perhaps you'll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.

You'll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow Residents. Because Residents retain intellectual property rights in their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other Residents.

The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the inworld unit of trade, the Linden™ dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden dollar exchanges.

Welcome to the Second Life world. We look forward to seeing you inworld.

Visit Second Life

Summary

Yolango is a new (free!) site for learning English through online videos complete with transcripts and level divisions. It provides users with loads and loads of real video content from all over the Web. Those with an account can keep track of the videos they have watched recently and mark their favorite videos. It also maintains a scoreboard for user score rankings.

Many things are cool about this approach. It is straightforward, allows users to learn through content that they enjoy and can relate to, find other content based on keyword tags and expose themselves to literally thousands of videos on hundreds of topics all in one place. In addition to using tags, they've made it possible to further filter a keyword tag by "Category" (Music, Film, Travel, News & Politics...) or "Scenarios" (Transportation, Education, Dating and Relationships, Scandal and Gossip!...). The added transcripts are a boon to any English learner to improve not only listening comprehension, but also reading comprehension and, thus, writing skills.

Also available through the site are a series of activities for each video - pretty cool! You can choose activities such as fill in the blank, questions and definitions. (In order to do so, you have to have an account and be logged in.)

Yolango does a great job leveraging the immense volume of online videos and filtering them for the users to jump in and start learning. A great idea and an excellent execution. The site design is clean and lively, loads quickly and it would appear that there's a bright future for this hard-working team. Bravo Yolango!

From Website

Yolango.com is a new way for English language learners from around the world to immerse themselves in a wide variety of authentic and interesting videos. What makes Yolango different from other sites, however, is that all of our videos have been carefully transcribed and captioned. What’s more, Yolango captions are clickable, enabling users to receive definitions, usage examples and world level translations in 13 different languages for words they don’t know or would like to study further. Every video at Yolango also offers several challenging interactive games that build users’ listening, vocabulary, spelling and comprehension skills. Users compete to earn points and rise to the top of the Scoreboard.

Yolango.com is currently in Alpha release. Many, many more videos as well as powerful new features and communication methods are planned for the future.

Visit Yolango.com

Summary

Wikipedia's Simple English Free Encyclopedia is an interesting concept that has actually created quite a following. The idea behind the wiki is to collectively create a free and open encyclopedia with articles that can be read by people with only a basic knowledge of English, and to help them learn and improve while discovering new topics.

I would recommend the Simple English Wikipedia for folks interested in learning about topics that intrigue them while simultaneously learning English. I enjoy this method because it is more meaningful to me than random texts that might not interest students, or have little information pertinent to what they are motivated to read about. Keep 'em interested!

When combined with the wonders of Wiktionary English, there is a lot of educational material and practice content to work with on Simple English Wikipedia. Enjoy!

From Website

About Us

This is Simple English Wikipedia. Wikipedias are places where many people work together to make encyclopedias in many languages. We only use very simple English words and simple ways of writing here.

There are tens of thousands of articles in this wiki. All of the pages are free to use. There is a discussion in the GNU Free Documentation License.

You are invited to help! You may change these pages and make new pages. Read the help pages and other good pages to learn how to write pages here. If you need help, you may ask questions at Simple talk.

What to Do

Use easy words and shorter sentences. This lets people with little English read them.

Write good pages, with care. The best encyclopedia pages have useful information. They are also carefully written.

Use the pages to learn and teach. These pages can help people learn English. You can also use them to make a new Wikipedia to help other people, if you change the words to your own language.

Visit Simple English Wikipedia.

Part of the content for this article is adapted from an article on Freestyle Language. If you are interested in reading about language bits and bobs that are "freestyle" in nature, have a look.