learn german free software applications

Summary

This (lengthy) article brings together a pile of Free Software (GNU GPL'd as Public Domain), freeware and shareware for language learning and reference for Mac OS X.

Software descriptions are taken from Apple Downloads. We will be adding more GPL applications soon.

Summary

Verbix is "an independent non-profit organization that aims to promote and protect linguistic diversity." The tools on their site "contain verb conjugations for hundreds of languages, ranging from national and international languages to regional and even extinct languages."

There are four main things to bring your attention to in this article:

1) WebVerbix, a great free online verb conjugator for over eighty languages.

2) WikiVerb, a wiki site dedicated to languages, verbs, and verb conjugation.

3) FreeVerbix, a freeware version of the Verbix Windows software which bumps the number of available languages to above one hundred.

4) The Verbix website, where all three of the above and more (including the $40 paid version of Verbix 2008 for Windows) are available. Your purchase will support the non-profit group and expand the Verbix non-profit organization and web presence.

Also of import is the list of supported languages for the above-mentioned free and commercial products and online services.

The free Verbix stuff (WebVerbix, FreeVerbix and WikiVerb) provides plenty to work with for language learners and educators alike. The free online version works great for conjugating an enormous amount of verbs instantly.

From Website

UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Verbix is an independent non-profit organization that aims to promote and protect linguistic diversity [UNESCO Observatory: Multilingualism]. This site contains verb conjugations for hundreds of languages, ranging from national and international languages to regional and even extinct languages.

FreeVerbix 7.3 is a universal Verb Conjugator that shows verb inflections in 100+ languages. It is based on Verbix language extension technology, so after installation of Verbix you can easily install any language extension to add more languages in Verbix.

WebVerbix is a free on-line verb conjugator. It contains a subset of Verbix for Windows features.

WikiVerb is a site dedicated to languages, verbs, and verb conjugation. It's not going to be a copy of information available in WikiPedia, but it will focus in verb conjugation. It won't replace www.verbix.com either, but it includes information and languages that are not available there.

Visit Verbix.com

Download Language Freeware

UPDATE: Byki now available for 74 languages! See list below.

Byki is freeware for learning [74] languages, including many less-taught languages for which learning materials are hard to find, such as Georgian, Mongolian and Icelandic. This is a gold mine for folks interested in learning the basics of over [seventy] languages - with no budget!

Along with the freeware, learners have free access to the Byki user community where other users share vocabulary lists for all the languages, instantly providing you with loads of new, free content.

Summary

Anki is a cool little app for learning vocabulary words and phrases. It uses spaced repetition to help increase learning speed and memorization by repeating more often the terms you don't know and gradually decreasing those that you do.

The app is free and is available for Debian GNU/Linux, Windows, Mac OS X and as source code here. The software can be used to learn any language - just create the flashcards and it takes care of the spaced repetition for you.

Also available here is an online version of the software that works right through your web browser and stores your vocabulary on the Anki server. Great for people learning in Internet cafés!

From Website

Anki is a program designed to help you remember facts (such as words and phrases in a foreign language) as easily, quickly and efficiently as possible. To do this, it tracks how well you remember each fact, and uses that information to optimally schedule review times. With a minimal amount of effort, you can greatly increase the amount of material you remember, making study more productive, and more fun.

Anki is based on a theory called spaced repetition. In simple terms, it means that each time you review some material, you should wait longer than last time before reviewing it again. This maximizes the time spent studying difficult material and minimizes the time spent reviewing things you already know. The concept is simple, but the vast majority of memory trainers and flashcard programs out there either avoid the concept all together, or implement inflexible and suboptimal methods that were originally designed for pen and paper.

While Anki can be used for studying anything, it also ships with special features designed to make studying Japanese and English easier: integrated dictionary lookups, missing kanji reports, and more. Sample decks are also provided for Russian.

Anki's scheduling algorithm is based on the proven SM2 SuperMemo algorithm. It improves upon the basic SM2 algorithm by adding features like priorities and a revision queue sorted in order of priority.

Visit Anki Free Spaced Repetition Flash Card Software

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