Summary

BBC Languages German provides solid learning resources for beginning and intermediate German learners. There is a self-contained beginner's course, a 12-week newsletter course and multiple video resources, a TV series and a book!

The BBC has done an amazing job of providing free learning resources for many of the world's languages, including Chinese, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and others.

This is a great site for total beginners to start learning practical German that will serve while traveling in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

From Website

Quick Fix: Printable holiday phrases with audio and mp3 download

For Beginners

German Steps: A self-contained online course

German in 12 Weeks: Sign up for weekly emails with tips and encouragement

Talk German: A video-based online resource with activities plus TV series and book

Intermediate

Cool German: An audio guide to German slang with mp3 downloads

German for Work: Information and practice for those using German at work

Other resources

Deutsch Plus: A longer TV course with book and website

German across Europe: A historical and geographical profile of the language

Germany Inside Out: Website complementing TV travel documentary

Visit BBC Languages German.

Summary

German language learners and lovers delight! Deutsche Welle (German Public Radio) and Miro have teamed up to create a fabulous and free video player that smoothly and effortlessly brings together loads of Deutsche Welle's German (and English and more) video and audio content into one easy to use player that can run on Linux, Mac and Windows.

The result for the end user is quick and eye-candyful access to loads of quality news and cultural content in German regarding Germany and the rest of the world. Just download (from Miro or Deutsche Welle) and start watching and listening to DW's news, podcasts, video podcasts, YouTube channel and more - all in one place.

If you are interested in using Miro for more than just Deutsche Welle (it plays almost any audio or video format you can find out there, including saving and viewing of YouTube videos), you might consider downloading Miro and then subscribing to the Deutshe Welle channels (view these in English or German) that interest you as well as all the other RSS feeds (audio, video, text, HD, even BitTorrent!) that you're into. You can also subscribe to all DW channels with one click at this page.

Miro is 100% "free and open-source, because open media matters". Check out the Miro Guide for loads of InternetTV channels.

Bravo Miro and Deutsche Welle! :) And an extra-special thanks to the Participatory Culture Foundation.

From Deutsche Welle Website

Podcasts auf einen Blick: Mit dem Miro - Deutsche Welle Player haben Sie ausgewählte DW-Audio- und Video-Podcasts übersichtlich in einem Player.

Auswählen und abspielen: Stellen Sie sich Ihre Favoriten zusammen und erhalten sie die neuesten Inhalte direkt auf Ihren Desktop. Der Miro - Deutsche Welle Player unterstützt zudem alle gängigen Video- und Audioformate. Der Player bietet eine Vielzahl von weiteren Kanälen zum Abonnement an und mit der integrierten YouTube-Suche sowie einer Auswahl an HD-Inhalten sind tausende Videoinhalte nur einen Klick entfernt.

Download the Deutsche Welle Miro Player or visit DW's website.

From Miro Website

Video RSS

Video RSS feeds are at the core of our vision for internet TV. They provide a simple system that any publisher can use to distribute their content. Viewers can bring feeds from anywhere together into one place. Miro is compatible with more feeds than any other video app.

Auto-Download

Set any channel to download new videos as soon as they are published. You can also tell channels to stop downloading new stuff if unwatched videos are piling up.

1-Click Subscribe Buttons

If someone comes to your website to see a video, take the chance to turn them into a subscriber. 1-click subscribe buttons let users go from web to Miro with a single click.

Watch the Bubbles

Numbers in a blue bubble next to a channel name indicate that new videos have been published since you last viewed that channel. Green bubbles mean that there are new videos downloaded that you haven't watched yet. Move your cursor over a green bubble and it becomes a play button.

Rename Channels

Right-click on any channel to rename it.

Download the regular Miro Player, watch a screencast about it or view more of it's features.

Making InternetTV

The Participatory Culture Foundation has also created an excellent resource for folks out there interested in making InternetTV. They are 100% real deal.

Deutsche Welle on Free Language

Free Language has much love for Deutsche Welle!

Deutsche Welle Slowly Spoken News in German Podcast
Deutsche Welle Sprachbar Podcast
Deutsche Welle Top-Thema Mit Vokabeln Podcast
Deutsche Welle Alltagsdeutsch Podcast
Deutsche Welle Stichwort Podcast
Deutsche Welle News in German
Deutsche Welle News in Chinese

Summary

FSI is an acronym for the Foreign Service Institute, "the (US) Federal Government's primary training institution for officers and support personnel of the U.S. foreign affairs community".

Over the years, the FSI has researched, designed and taught language courses to Foreign Service staff and diplomats. These courses are now available and licensed to the Public Domain.

FSI-Language-Courses.com (and .net) is a sweet and simple website that provides users with the ability to view and download the Foreign Service Institute's courses for 31+ languages. The content is provided by individuals donating time and resources in an overall effort to provide quality languages-learning materials for free worldwide.

Sounds good to me. :)

In the German section of the site, there are currently two volumes of a basic course in German. This course gives total beginners a solid and useful introduction to practical situations that you actually encounter in your average day while traveling, studying or working in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstien, Switzerland, et al.

From Website

Welcome to fsi-language-courses.com, the home for language courses developed by the Foreign Service Institute. These courses were developed by the United States government and are in the public domain.

This site is dedicated to making these language courses freely available in an electronic format. This site is not affiliated in any way with any government entity; it is an independent, non-profit effort to foster the learning of worldwide languages. Courses here are made available through the private efforts of individuals who are donating their time and resources to provide quality materials for language learning.

Visit FSI-Language-Courses.com German Courses.

Summary

Babbel.com is the bomb. Not babble or Babel but Babbel! It's a website with slick tools and a smooth interface (modeled after a video game console) geared primarily towards learning and retaining loads of vocabulary terms and key phrases through audio visual.

The interface is pure eye candy and it loads quickly (I use a standard DSL connection) and works solidly. I have been testing Babbel out for a while now and it has never gotten buggy on me. The system tests me on terms and phrases I have already learned while incorporating new ones about topics that I elect and, thus, are more likely to be interesting and useful to me.

This excellent virtual flash card software also allows users to upload images to represent vocabulary items (be they nouns, verbs, phrases or what have you) and improve the learning experience for others. Users rate these images on how relevant they are for the term they represent, collectively choosing what most people feel best represents that term or phrase.

The flash card stacks are organized into "packages" (groups of cards) that treat a common theme, such as youth hostels, winter sports, restaurants and eating out, fruits and vegetables, clothing, standard greetings, giving and receiving compliments, etc. With input and contributions from the users, these packages get consistently better as more folks contribute.

Add to this the social twist that Babbel offers - the ability to hook up with other users interested in sharing language skills - and you have a well-rounded platform for beginners to excel rapidly in their first weeks and months working with a new language.

Currently, Babbel offers these features for learners of English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. This site is also localized in those languages, so if you like a challenge you can learn German in French, study Spanish in Italian, etc. This is cool for people who already have enough knowledge in a foreign language to understand and navigate the interface and can simultaneously maintain one language while learning a new one! I am learning German through the site, and I have chosen German as the interface language. That's another option for total immersion in the target language.

Thanks and many props to the folks at Babbel. :) I will definitely continue using the site to learn German - and I'll be waiting for more languages to appear on soon.

NB: Babbel isn't just a website, it is a full Web-software-powered environment for foreign language learning built with Flex. You'll need the latest Adobe Flash Player for your browser to enter the learning space. I recommend using Firefox for the best possible browsing experience.

From Website

Babbel.com Brings the Whole World Home

A new website with a social twist makes language learning easy and fun

Up until now, the best way to learn a language -- besides, maybe, in the classroom -- was to pack a bag, get on a plane or a train, and immerse yourself abroad. But what if you could learn, say, French, while eating a croissant in your own home and meet a real Parisienne in the process?

The idea of Babbel.com, the new, free language learning website with a social twist, is just that. This playful application is ideal for a quick start into a new language. With a design inspired by a game console, Babbel makes picking up new vocabulary effortless. But it also enriches and motivates by connecting you with the best teachers around: other Babbel users.

Babbel is truly multimedia, incorporating human voices and user-generated images into the teaching of real-life vocabulary. In Babbel's current languages of English, German, Spanish, French and Italian, you can learn, for example, how to shop for groceries, express your feelings, or flirt. In place of the traditional flash cards, an effective and "intuitive" repetition system makes cementing new content easy. Meanwhile, the unique Refresher tool tracks your learning progress and reminds you what to review.

A participatory experience, Babbel relies on you and its other users to create much of its content. Through a clean, easy-to-use interface, you can make a personal profile, finding a a "Tandem" partner who speaks the language you are learning as a native, or a "learning partner" studying the same language. You also can upload pictures that correspond to vocabulary, and then their relevance is voted on by native speakers before they are included in lesson packages. An extra fun aspect is a high-score tracker, which compares your progress with other users, like a video game.

And now, a new Board multiplies the opportunities for connecting by allowing you to chat real-time about -- or in -- your learning language. It has a section to find and check translations, search for alternatives to fixed phrases, or express spelling or grammatical doubts. There, you can also get in contact with people living in places you may be traveling, ask for tips, or even find a couch to crash on!

As users progress in their language studies, Babbel is fast developing, too. It has just launched full localized interfaces for native Spanish and French speakers, in addition to the current English and German ones.

Babbel is enthusiastically designed by a team of young software experts and language-instruction professionals at the Berlin-based company Lesson Nine. Founders Thomas Holl and Toine Diepstraten have many years of application development, IT management, community cultivation and interactive media experience. The other two founders, Lorenz Heine, was a co-founder and CFO of Native Instruments, and has extensive entrepreneurial experience in the software industry, while Markus Witte has online marketing and management experience, and a solid academic grounding in language, cultural theory and media. Content Manager Ulrike Kerbstat holds Master's degrees in language instruction and interpreting, and is fluent in German, English and French.

Through word-of-mouth, positive response from users, and excitement in the worldwide media, the number of Babbel users has increased at an astounding rate in places as far-flung as Caracas, Manhattan and Mumbai. And the best part is that, for the time being, learning for example how to order a Tapa in a Spanish bar costs a lot less than flying to Madrid: It's free.

Visit Babbel.com and start learning a new language in seconds.

Summary

Café Babel is a multilingual European political, economic and cultural news magazine published by over 20 local teams in many EU countries. The site has news, cultural and linguistic goodies in catalá, Deutsch, English, español, français, italiano and polski.

Café Babel publishes several mini-magazines that bring light to several topics:

• Caffeine
• Tower of Babel (Very cool!)
• Enlarged Europe
• Brunch with...
• Cities
• What's On

The growing network of local teams that makes up Café Babel are European youths interested in and focused on trans-European world affairs, politics, society, economy and culture. To get a more personal look at some of the members of this team (the ladies, at least), have a look at this flickr photo album of The Women of Café Babel. Pretty cool, and it makes it more personal. (Miglena, Araceli, Camelia: if you read this drop me a line. :)

This particular news feed is the German language site-wide RSS feed. You can use it to keep up with what's hot over at Café Babel and practice your German or give students some current events to work with. Many of the articles are written in multiple languages, providing learners and educators alike with excellent material.

From Website

cafebabel.com is made up of a network of local teams across Europe. Bringing together young people from across the continent, this network aims to contribute to the construction of pan-European public opinion through the cafebabel.com magazine.

The local teams are cafebabel.com’s backbone. Their function? To propose subjects for issues, articles and interviews; to recruit writers and translators; to promote cafebabel.com; and to organise ‘café debates’ and events. Interested in setting up a local cafebabel.com team?

Visit CaféBabel.com

Subscribe

Subscribe to CaféBabel News in German
View CaféBabel News in German's Feed on Free Language.