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A Hidden Gem for Language Lovers and Learners

This article presents a unique approach for intermediate to advanced (and beyond) learners of many languages to gain exposure to interesting material in their target language(s). It has to do with a very popular website that features short (usually less than ten minutes) presentations by some of the world's greatest and most famous minds (not always both ;) on their specific areas of expertise. It's called, simply, TED, and the presentations are called "TED Talks".

The TED website itself is not geared towards language learners or educators yet is useful for both. It is especially useful for English learners, as all the talks are in English. But it's also useful for anyone learning most of the world's most-spoken languages (as well as numerous lesser-spoken ones) who want to simultaneously watch inspiring, funny, courageous, fascinating, informative, persuasive, ingenious and often jaw-dropping presentations about technology, science, entertainment, design, business and global issues - all while gaining exposure to their target language. Here's how and why...

Free Online Translation Service in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew and Japanese

Reverso is a free translation website for many languages. It is also a also a dictionary, verb conjugator, grammar helper and spell-checker with a handy toolbar for instant access to these features directly in your browser.

Reverso services are available for French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew and Japanese. This means you can translate between any combination of these languages, such as Arabic to Japanese, Russian to Chinese, Hebrew to Portuguese and so on.

Plus, the reverso.net website has been localized in English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Italian, Czech and Romanian, meaning the entire user interface is available in those languages.

The ability for users to give feedback on the translations adds a community feel. Also offered is a free newsletter. For quick and easy translation between all the languages above, Reverso is a great tool!

Teachers can recommend this resource to students, especially their toolbar for quick access to translations on the fly while browsing online material in the target language.

Language Learning Tips on Using Free Wikimedia Resources

This article points out six useful ways to use Wikimedia content from Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikiversity, Wikinews, Wiktionary and Wikiquotes for learning languages free.

What's highlighted here is also great for teachers because it is licensed via Creative Commons and available to use for free.

Spanish is used as an example here, but the same ideas are applicable to all languages for which content is available.

1) Know General Info about Your Target Language

Find out general information about a language by viewing that language's Wikipedia entry. For example, here's the Spanish language entry on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language

It contains loads of general information, as well as specifics about grammar, alphabet, pronunciation, etc.

2) Use Wikibooks and Wikiversity Courses to Get Started

Daily Front Pages from 89 Countries

Thanks to Newseum.org, you can catch a glimpse of today's front page from hundreds of the world's newspapers - in nearly two dozen languages - for free. A great way to gain exposure to news in a language you are learning, the website and iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch app created by Newseum.org are truly outstanding.

Browse the website or use the app to immediately gain access to the front page of hundreds of newspapers around the world, complete with a downloadable, readable PDF version. This is quite useful for language instruction based on lessons from today's world news.