Welcome to the Eleventh Edition of the Free Language Letter!

With 15 new resources for learning 15 languages, two of our very own brand new language videos plus loads more, the Eleventh Edition of the Free Language Letter is stacked!

What's Inside

• New! Language Video Screencasts
• 15 New Free Resources for Learning 15 Languages
• Language Product Tips
• New Free Language YouTube Channel
• Follow us on Twitter
• Open Content
• Polyglot Culture
• OpenOffice.org Language Extensions
• Language Industry
• Guest Article
• Language Factoid: Oromo

New! Language Video Screencasts

We have initiated a humble effort to disseminate much of the good info found on Free Language via video screencasts that make it easy to get a picture of learning languages online for free while kicking back, watching and soaking up info rather than reading through loads of material. Here are the first two of many upcoming video screencasts!

Video Screencast 1

How to Learn Languages Online for Free, Video Screencast Part 1: General Introduction

With this video we offer a 10-minute intro to useful sites for learning languages online for free. The web tour covers essential resources for vocabulary, grammar, dictionaries, translation, verb conjugation, language exchange and more.

Video Screencast 2

Video: How to Use the BBC Website to Learn English, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, More - Free!

The BBC is such an amazing resource for learning languages online for free that we've done a 6-minute video showing how you can effectively use this resource to learn at least the basics of 36+ languages.

View all of our video screencasts.

New Free Language YouTube Channel

We have started a channel on YouTube for our screencasts:

http://www.youtube.com/user/freelanguageorg

You can help us a lot by rating and commenting on these videos on YouTube.

Follow us on Twitter

We've got a Twitter address for those interested in following our tweets:

http://twitter.com/freelanguage

Language Product Tips

Getting Deals on Language Products

Our Language Marketplace has Been Upgraded!
How to Get Pimsleur Language Products for Cheap including Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and more
How To Get Rosetta Stone Cheap for Any Language including Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Italian and more
Review Guide: How to Get Cheap Deals on Talking Electronic Translators plus Funny Spanish/English Animated Language Video

Language Deals on your Mobile Device

Mobile Language Shop

Thanks to feedback from users, we have decided to launch a mobile language shop for users who are using mobile devices (iPod Touch, iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia, etc) to surf the web to shop and buy language products.

We have worked to make this new website as fast, simple to use and easy to read from a mobile device as possible. We have spared the bling and whatnot to give you a site that just plain works for shopping online via your mobile phone, with features and searches already in place specifically for language products.

We feel this is a valuable service for anyone interested in finding and purchasing language products online via any mobile device!

New Resources

Here is a list of the new resources for learning languages free that have been added to the site.

As well as adding Body Language to the line-up, this time around we focused on getting some links to languages that we only have a few links for (Dutch, Swedish, Irish Gaelic, Oromo and Thai), as well as continuing to build out our resources for some of the more popular languages like English, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.

Body Language

An Introduction to Body Language for Relationships, Business, Success, Public Speaking plus Related Videos, Books, DVDs to Start

Chinese (Mandarin)

PopupChinese.com: Popup Chinese Language Show w/Free Mandarin Lessons (Audio MP3), Free Online Tools and a Hip Team in Beijing!

Dutch

Dutch-Flashcards.com Free Dutch Course with Loop Flash Card System, Sentence Manager, Dictionary, Vocabulary Drills, RSS Feeds

English

BBC Radio Online Gives Free Six (6) Minute English Podcast to Learn and Practise Useful English Language for Everyday Situations

German

RocketLanguages.com Rocket German Language Audio and Software Course from Rocket Languages, Try 6-Day Free German Course

Irish Gaelic

TalkIrish.com: Talk Irish Helps you Learn to Speak Irish Gaelic with Audio Flashcards and Free Irish Word of the Day Emails

Japanese

Japanese-Flashcards.com Free Japanese Course with Loop Flash Card System, Sentence Manager, Dictionary, Vocabulary Drills, RSS

Korean

Korean-Flashcards.com Free Korean Course with Loop Flash Card System, Sentence Manager, Dictionary, Vocabulary Drills, RSS Feeds

Oromo

Learn Oromo Language Basics Online Free, aka Afaan Oromoo or Oromiffa(a), an African Tongue Spoken in Ethiopia and Kenya

Portuguese

Portuguese-Flashcards.com Free Portuguese Course with Loop Flashcard System, Sentence Manager, Dictionary, RSS Feeds

Spanish

LoMásTV.com Spanish Video Immersion Website with Online Spanish Video Subscriptions as well as Free Spanish Lessons

Swedish

Swedish-Flashcards.com Free Swedish Course with Loop Flash Card System, Sentence Manager, Dictionary, RSS Feeds

Thai

Thai-Flashcards.com Free Thai Course with Loop Flash Card System, Sentence Manager, Dictionary, Vocabulary Drills, RSS Feeds

Multilingual

Babbel.com Releases Mini-Vocab Package w/Essential Vocabulary for Last-Minute Travelers: English Spanish French Italian German

Open Content

Open content is content that is Free and Open to the General Public. This means we all own it! This side of languages and language learning is growing fast and will soon be one of the best ways to learn languages online simply because everyone can contribute :)

Languages of Europe and Open-Content Textbooks Collection to Learn and Teach European Languages at Wikibooks.org

Polyglot Culture

From time to time we like to add resources that are fun for polyglots (folks who speak several languages) and language lovers. This is a fun article about using Wikipedia for some serious language goodies.

Polyglot Culture: Quick Wikipedia Tip for Multilingual Language Surfing Goodness

OpenOffice.org Language Extensions

OpenOffice.org has become a widely popular Free and Open solution for those needing a full suite of office applications. Here we point out some of their language extensions.

OpenOffice.org Language Extensions for Open Office Suite Provide Spell Check, Grammar Check, Transliteration, Thesauri and More

Language Industry

From time to time language industry events take place that need to be highlighted. The Language Show at the end of October 2009 is one such convention.

TheLanguageShow.co.uk The Language Show London 2009 for Language Learners, Language Teachers, Language Lovers and Linguists

Guest Article

We're testing out the idea of letting guests publish articles on Free Language. If you are interested in submitting a guest article and receiving links, please contact us with your proposed, totally original, article and we'll get back to you!

The New Google Method of Translating

Language Factoid: Oromo

Oromo, also known as Afaan Oromoo, Oromiffa(a), Afan Boran, Afan Arsi, and sometimes in other languages by variant spellings of these names (Oromic, Afan Oromo, etc.), is an Afro-Asiatic language, and the most widely spoken of the Cushitic family. It is spoken as a first language by more than 25 million Oromo and neighboring peoples in Ethiopia and Kenya, such as the Werji. Older publications refer to the language as "Galla", a term that is resented by Oromo people and no longer used.

Find resources for learning Oromo online.

Nagayattii!

That's "Goodybe" in Oromo. As we say goodbye this time, we want you to know that we welcome feedback from our growing user community. Please contact us if you have resources to suggest, constructive criticism, ideas to improve our website and any other such goodies. They are greatly appreciated :)

Best of luck in your language endeavors,

Chapman
Free Language
http://freelanguage.org

Welcome to the tenth edition of the Free Language Letter!

51 new resources for 12 languages are included in this newsletter! There are also many additional resources not specific to any language but useful for all. See below...

What's Inside

• Featured Resource: Byki Free Software for Learning 70+ Foreign Languages
• 51 new resources for 12 languages! (Arabic, Chinese, English, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Russian, Silbo Gomero and Spanish)
• Mobile Language Learning with iTunes U (iPod, iPhone)
• New Social Language Learning Resource: Busuu.com
• Multilingual Flashcard Services and Software
• Multilingual Online Instant Messenger
• Online Distance Language Learning
• The Linguists Documentary Film
• Free Multilingual Verb Conjugation Software
• eBook on How to Learn Languages Faster and Better
• Study Abroad Programs and Directories
• Constructed Languages (Conlangs)
• Blog Buzz: edufire.com names Free Language in top 20 language bloggers!
• Language Factoid: Silbo Gomero

Featured Resource

Language Freeware for over 70 Languages

Byki offers a free version of their software for learning the basics of 74 languages, including many less-commonly taught languages. An optional upgrade to the commercial product is available if you choose to continue. The software works on Windows and Mac and is certified friendly and spyware free!

Read the full article on Free Language.

Arabic

ArabicPod.net Podcast with Free Common Colloquial and Standard Arabic Audio Lessons
LQToronto.com Download Free Texts and View Free Video Courses to Learn the Language of the Quran with Full Madinah Arabic Course

Chinese (Mandarin)

ChinesePod.com Celebrates the 1,000 Free Mandarin Chinese Audio Lessons Milestone!
ChinesePod.com Olympics Site with Free Mandarin Lessons, Interactive Map of Beijing, Written and Spoken Country Names
Chinese-Course.com Free Mandarin Course with Flashcards/Sentence Manager and Chinese Character Explanations/Annotations
TheChineseReader.com The Chinese Reader Helps Learn to Read Mandarin with Free Chinese Character Text Annotation
Semanda.com Free Chinese Vocabulary Cards with Downloadable PDFs plus Multiple Choice Quizzes for Children (Kids)
hskflashcards.com Free Download HSK Vocabulary Cards in PDF Format + Print New Practical Chinese Reader Text Flash Cards (NPCR)
RocketLanguages.com Rocket Chinese (Mandarin) Complete Language Audio and Software Course for Total Beginners

English

EnglishPod.com EnglishPod Learn English Podcast for Web-Based and Mobile Learning using iPhone and iPod Touch
China232.com China232 Fun and Business English Lessons via Free Audio Podcast Lessons with Transcripts
AvatarLanguages.com Avatar Languages Learn English in Second Life Virtual World plus Tutors via Skype, Google Docs, Whiteboards
StudyEnglishNews.com Study English News for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Levels plus English Proficiency Test and Grammar
Vocabulix.com English, German and Spanish Verb Conjugator, Conjugation Tools, Vocabulary Building, Self-Test Tool, Friend Finder
eurolanguages.com Find and Reserve an English Study Abroad Program or Language School Free Online: London, England, Ireland...

Finnish

Two Resources to Learn the Finnish Language for Free: Online Wikibooks and Byki Freeware

French

French-Flashcards.com Online French Flashcard System, Text Analyzer, Vocabulary List Manager with Audio and Dictionary
french.about.com French Learning+Teaching Resources, French Verb Conjugator, Proficiency Tests, French Grammar Help
RocketLanguages.com Rocket French Language Audio and Software Course from Rocket Languages
eurolanguages.com Find and Reserve a French Study Abroad Program or Language School Free Online: Paris, France, Provence, Nice...

German

German-Flashcards.com Free German Flashcard Course with Dictionary and German Text Annotation
PukkaGerman.com Pukka German Podcast, German Slang, Colloquial German, Idioms, Funny German Sayings for Intermediate to Advanced
Radio Lingua's A Flavour of German Podcast Teaches German Idioms (Idiomatic Expressions) via Audio Lessons
german.about.com German Learning+Teaching Resources, Verb Conjugator, Audio Listening Lab, Grammar, Geneology, Culture, Lessons
Vocabulix.com English, German and Spanish Verb Conjugator, Conjugation Tools, Vocabulary Building, Self-Test Tool, Friend Finder

Hebrew

Omniglot.com Abjad Consonant Alphabet about Hebrew Script with Images, Example Text and Audio

Italian

ItalianPod.com ItalianPod Praxis Italian Lessons Podcast with Free Educational Resources and MP3 Audio
eurolanguages.com Find and Reserve an Italian Study Abroad Program or Language School Free Online: Rome, Italy, Venice, Ski...
Italian-Flashcards.com Online Italian Flashcard System, Text Analyzer, Vocabulary List Manager with Audio and Dictionary

Polish

Polish Wikibook with Basic Polish Language Course

Russian

LearningRussian.Net Learning Russian Website with Beginner Lessons, Grammar Overview and Russian-English Dual-Language Texts

Silbo Gomero

Learn Silbo Gomero, a Whistled Language from La Isla Gomera in the Canary Islands, on Busuu.com

Spanish

Online-Spanish-Course.com Free Online Spanish Course with Flashcards+Sentence Manager and Spanish Text Annotation
RocketLanguages.com Rocket Spanish Language Audio and Software Course from Rocket Languages
spanish.about.com Spanish Learning+Teaching Resources, Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Grammar Glossary, Culture, Course Lessons
SpanishNewsBites.com Spanish NewsBites Free Audio News Bites with Transcriptions about Spanish and Latin America
Useful Spanish Phrases for Travel with Downloadable Audio Recordings for Total Beginners from the Omniglot Website
Vocabulix.com English, German and Spanish Verb Conjugator, Conjugation Tools, Vocabulary Building, Self-Test Tool, Friend Finder
eurolanguages.com Find and Reserve a Spanish Study Abroad Program or Language School Free Online: Madrid, Spain, Valencia...
BBC Spanish Interactive Mystery Thriller Web Video Course for Total Beginners with Spanish Syllabus and Guide for Teachers+Users

Mobile Language Learning with iTunes U (iPod, iPhone)

New iTunes U: Download Educational Podcast Courses to Learn Language with Audio and Video on your iPod for Mobile Learning

Social Language Learning

Busuu.com Busuu Social Language Exchange Partner Community plus Multimedia Photo-Audio Lesson Archives and Video Chat Interface

Multilingual Flashcard Services and Software

Anki Free Flash Card Software for Debian GNU Linux, Mac OS X and Windows Based on Spaced Repetition
Quizlet.com Quizlet Vocabulary Trainer w/Flashcards, Games, Quizzes and Tests w/Multiple Choice, Fill in the Blank, Matching

Multilingual Online Instant Messenger

MeGlobe.com Jabber-Powered, Web-Based Instant Messenger with Automatic Realtime Machine Translation in 14+ Languages

Online Distance Language Learning

Linkua.com Linkua Online Distance Language Learning with Live Video Tutors, One-on-One Lessons and Web Classes

The Linguists Documentary Film

TheLinguists.com The Linguists Independent Documentary Film (Movie) Explores Dangers to Record Dying Languages

Free Multilingual Verb Conjugation Software

Verbix.com Verbix Free Verb Conjugation Website (WebVerbix), Verb Wiki and Windows Freeware (FreeVerbix) for 100+ Languages

eBook on How to Learn Languages Faster and Better

Learn That Language Now! ebook with Quick, Easy and Efficient Method for Learning Any Foreign Language

Study Abroad Programs and Directories

Directory List of International Foreign Language Schools and Language Study Abroad Programs
eurolanguages.com Find and Reserve an English Study Abroad Program or Language School Free Online: London, England, Ireland...
eurolanguages.com Find and Reserve a Spanish Study Abroad Program or Language School Free Online: Madrid, Spain, Valencia...
eurolanguages.com Find and Reserve a French Study Abroad Program or Language School Free Online: Paris, France, Provence, Nice...
eurolanguages.com Find and Reserve an Italian Study Abroad Program or Language School Free Online: Rome, Italy, Venice, Ski...

Constructed Languages (Conlangs)

LinguistList.org Links Page Covers Linguistics plus Constructed (Conlangs), Endangered and Natural Languages and Writing Systems

Blog Buzz

Free Language was written up as one of the top language blogs on the Web!

eduFire.com Blogs about Top 20 Language Bloggers on the Web

Language Factoid: Silbo Gomero

Silbo Gomero is not spoken - it is whistled! (silbar = to whistle in Spanish). This whistled tongue is used by the people of Gomera, one of the Canary Islands off Spain, to communicate between long distances and over rough terrain.

Become a Silbador!

The existence of the whistled language of Silbo Gomero on the beautiful Spanish island of La Gomera has for years fascinated linguists and language enthusiasts alike.

Silbo Gomero was invented in order to facilitate communication between the people of the island across the deep gorges and valleys long before mobile phones were invented. The tradition continues even now with the local government including it in the educational system of the island.

Learn more about Silbo Gomero and watch a video of it being used!

Do widzenia!

Chapman
Free Language
http://freelanguage.org

Welcome to the Ninth Edition of The Free Language Letter.

30 new free resources for 14 languages (4 new!) have been added to the site. There are now 343 resources available for 34 languages.

Quick View of What's Inside

• New! English Overview Page
• New Languages! Hebrew, Irish, Luxembourgish and Norwegian
• New resources for Arabic, English, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Irish, Luxembourgish, Mandarin Chinese, Norwegian, Polish, Russian and Spanish
• List of new web feeds including news and podcasts
• Online Translation Resources and Mozilla Firefox Addons
• Featured Resource: The New BBC Languages
• Language Factoid

New! English Overview Page

The latest language to get a shiny new overview page is English. An overview page is basically a single spot where all the resources for a given language are brought together for users to quickly navigate.

English is an Indo-European, West Germanic language originating in England, and is the first language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the Anglophone Caribbean. It is used extensively as a second language and as an official language throughout the world, especially in Commonwealth countries and in many international organizations.

Visit the English Overview Page and continue reading.

New Languages! Hebrew, Irish, Luxembourgish and Norwegian

Since the last newsletter, four new languages have been added to the site: Hebrew, Irish Gaelic, Luxembourgish and Norwegian.

Arabic

Omniglot.com Abjad Consonant Alphabet about Arabic Script with Images, Example Text and Audio

English

Yolango.com Yolango Learn English Watching Web Videos w/Tags, Categories, Scenarios, Play Activites, Transcripts, Tools
Simple English Wikipedia Free and Open Encyclopedia for Learning and Teaching through Topics Written in Basic English
Deutsche Welle Miro Player for Instant Access to DW's Audio and Video Content in German, English and More
Verbbusters.com Verb Busters Free English Irregular Verbs Quizzes/Tests with High Regard for Privacy
JustVocabulary.com Just Vocabulary Podcast with ESL, TOEFL, SAT and GRE English Words Audio for iPod

French

FrenchPod.com FrenchPod Praxis French Lessons Podcast with Free Educational Resources and MP3 Audio
Loquella.com Loquella Listen, Read and Speak French Using a Free Online Language Tool and the FSI Language Method

German

BBC Languages German
Deutsche Welle Miro Player for Instant Access to DW's Audio and Video Content in German, English and More
OneMinuteLanguages.com One Minute Languages German Podcast Introduction to Basic Greetings and Key Travel Phrases

Hebrew

HebrewPocasts.com Learn to Speak Hebrew at your Leisure with Free MP3 Audio Podcast Downloads
LearnHebrewPod.com Learn Hebrew Podcast with Free MP3 Audio Lessons for Conversational, Listening and Written Practice
FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Hebrew Free Audio Lessons Downloads

Hindi

Namaste Dosti: The Learn Hindi Podcast for Grammar and Vocabulary for Beginners
FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Download Free Hindi Textbook/e-book

Italian

ItalianLingQ.com Italian LingQ Podcast with iTunes MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann

Irish

OneMinuteLanguages.com One Minute Languages Irish Podcast Introduction to Basic Greetings and Key Travel Phrases

Luxembourgish

OneMinuteLanguages.com One Minute Languages Luxembourgish Podcast Introduction to Basic Greetings and Key Travel Phrases

Mandarin Chinese

BBCChinese.com BBC News in Mandarin Chinese
BBC Languages Mandarin Chinese
Loquella.com Loquella Listen, Read and Speak Chinese Using a Free Online Language Tool and the FSI Language Method
ChineseLingQ.com Mandarin Chinese LingQ Podcast with iTunes MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann

Norwegian

OneMinuteLanguages.com One Minute Languages Norwegian Podcast Introduction to Basic Greetings and Key Travel Phrases

Polish

OneMinuteLanguages.com One Minute Languages Polish Podcast Introduction to Basic Greetings and Key Travel Phrases

Russian

OneMinuteLanguages.com One Minute Languages Russian Podcast Introduction to Basic Greetings and Key Travel Phrases

Spanish

Loquella.com Loquella Listen, Read and Speak Spanish Using a Free Online Language Tool and the FSI Language Method

Online Translation

FreeLanguage.com.ua List of Free Online Translators/Translation Websites for Multiple Languages

Mozilla Firefox Web Browser Addons

addons.mozilla.org Experimental and Stable Mozilla Firefox Addons Extensions for Language Support

Commercial Products

earworms MBT Rapid Language line of learn to music audio courses have become a hit!

earwormslearning.com Earworms MBT Rapid Language Learning Products Accelerate Study through Music and Science

Recent News and Podcast Feeds

Below are the most recently added web feeds that Free Language syndicates.

BBC News in Chinese
Hebrew Podcasts' Podcast
LearnHebrewPod Podcast
Namaste Dosti Podcast
One Minute German Podcast
One Minute Irish Podcast
One Minute Luxembourgish Podcast
One Minute Norwegian Podcast
One Minute Polish Podcast
One Minute Russian Podcast

Featured Resource

The BBC has recently updated its BBC Languages resources! The new look and features are a considerable upgrade, making it easier to see all the resources available and get learning the languages you want to learn.

BBC Languages has always been a great place to access self-contained beginner courses in Chinese, German, Greek, French, Italian and Portuguese. There are also tidbits and goodies in other languages.

Recently, the BBC has revamped it's entire website for more flexibility, personalization and ease of use. In the languages section, this means it's easier than ever to find online courses, grammar info, learning games, dictionaries, self-assessment tests, resources for tutors, info about going abroad, photos, tips, stories, audio, video, related links, local class finder, cool/slang words and phrases, etc. It's all there and packed with good content!

Continue reading about the new BBC Languages.

Language Factoid

Approximately 375 million people speak English as their first language. English today is probably the third largest language by number of native speakers, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. However, when combining native and non-native speakers it is probably the most commonly spoken language in the world.

Factoid thanks to Wikipedia.

Slán agat!

Chapman
Free Language
http://freelanguage.org

Welcome to the Eighth Edition of The Free Language Letter.

25 new free resources for 12 languages have been added to the site. There are not as many updates as usual because I have been working behind the scenes on the new overview pages for each language.

Quick View of What's Inside

• New! Afrikaans, Arabic, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese Overview Pages
• Now Available: 34 Languages :)
• New resources for Catalan, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish
• New Social Language Learning Resources
• New News Feeds in Catalan, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish
• Featured Resource: Lingro Public Domain Dictionary and Online Translation Tool (and so much more)
• Language Factoid

New! Afrikaans, Arabic, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese Overview Pages

As I did for the Spanish language before the last newsletter, I have now completed four more language overview sections. Now you will find new homes on Free Language for Afrikaans, Arabic, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese.

These overview pages are basically a single spot where all the resources for a given language are brought together for users to quickly view and navigate. I like to think they are quite packed with excellent resources for learning the respective languages. :) Some are more filled than others, and the overview pages do include an overview of the language, a list of resources for learning the language, podcasts, news resources, a tag cloud, InternetTV stations, recommended software, an aggregator link and feed and other such useful info.

Now Available: 34 Languages :)

With some of the major changes I have been working on, I have also slipped in a large number of new languages. Since the last newsletter, this includes Bengali, Catalan, Czech, Dutch, Filipino, Greek, Hausa, Hebrew, Hungarian, Latin, Polish, Swahili, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese.

Before you get too excited, know that I cheated a bit on most of these and they list mainly resources for learning languages socially, and do not yet list specific resources for those languages. Catalan, Polish and Swedish are the exceptions with one specific resource for each plus the social resources. Specific resources for the rest will come as soon as I can manage!

OK, onto the latest resources added for specific languages and other such goodness.

Catalan

CaféBabel.com Café Babel Local European Political, Economic and Cultural News Magazine in Catalan and 6 Other Languages

English

Blabbinit.com Blabbinit Learn English with Podcasts, Comics, Karaoke, Blogs, Videos and Chat
EnglishLingQ.com English LingQ Podcast with Free iTunes iPod MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann
ECPod.com ECPod Upload and Share English and Chinese Video Podcasts with a Community and Find Language Exchange Friends
Babbel.com Virtual FlashCard Language Share Site w/English, French, German, Italian, Spanish Tools and Video Game-Like Interface

French

FrenchLingQ.com French LingQ Podcast with Free iTunes iPod MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann
CaféBabel.com Café Babel Local European Political, Economic and Cultural News Magazine in French and 6 Other Languages
FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute French Free Audio Lessons Downloads
Babbel.com Virtual FlashCard Language Share Site w/English, French, German, Italian, Spanish Tools and Video Game-Like Interface

German

GermanLingQ.com German LingQ Podcast with Free iTunes iPod MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann
CaféBabel.com Café Babel Local European News Magazine in German and 6 Other Languages
FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute German Free Audio Lessons Downloads
Babbel.com Virtual FlashCard Language Share Site w/English, French, German, Italian, Spanish Tools and Video Game-Like Interface

Italian

CaféBabel.com Café Babel Local European Political, Economic and Cultural News Magazine in Italian and 6 Other Languages
Babbel.com Virtual FlashCard Language Share Site w/English, French, German, Italian, Spanish Tools and Video Game-Like Interface

Japanese

JapaneseLingQ.com Japanese LingQ Podcast with Free iTunes MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann

Mandarin Chinese

EnterZon.com Zon MSU Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) for Learning Mandarin Chinese Interactively
ECPod.com ECPod Upload and Share English and Chinese Video Podcasts with a Community and Find Language Exchange Friends

Polish

CaféBabel.com Café Babel European Political, Economic and Cultural News Magazine in Polish and 6 Other Languages

Portuguese

PortugueseLingQ.com Portuguese LingQ Podcast with iTunes MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann
FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Portuguese Free Audio Lessons Downloads

Russian

RussianLingQ.com Russian LingQ Podcast with Free iTunes iPod MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann

Spanish

SpanishLingQ.com Spanish LingQ Podcast with Free iTunes MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann
CaféBabel.com Café Babel European Political, Economic and Cultural News Magazine in Spanish and 6 Other Languages
FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Spanish Free Audio Lessons Downloads
Babbel.com Virtual FlashCard Language Share Site w/English, French, German, Italian, Spanish Tools and Video Game-Like Interface

Swedish

SwedishLingQ.com Swedish LingQ Podcast with Free iTunes iPod MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann

Social Language Learning

Below are the latest additions to the social language learning section.

Babbel.com Virtual FlashCard Language Share Site w/English, French, German, Italian, Spanish Tools and Video Game-Like Interface
Palabea.net Palabea the Speaking World Social Language Exchange Network with Videolectures, Podcasts, Images, Docs
Worldia.net Worldia International Community for Making Friends to Learn and Teach Foreign Languages via Skype

News Feeds

Below are the most recently added news feeds that Free Language syndicates.

CaféBabel.com Café Babel Local European Political, Economic and Cultural News Magazine in Catalan and 6 Other Languages
CaféBabel.com Café Babel Local European Political, Economic and Cultural News Magazine in French and 6 Other Languages
CaféBabel.com Café Babel Local European News Magazine in German and 6 Other Languages
CaféBabel.com Café Babel Local European Political, Economic and Cultural News Magazine in Italian and 6 Other Languages
CaféBabel.com Café Babel European Political, Economic and Cultural News Magazine in Polish and 6 Other Languages
CaféBabel.com Café Babel European Political, Economic and Cultural News Magazine in Spanish and 6 Other Languages

Featured Resource

Lingro is a truly useful site with a decidedly free and open approach to multi-lingual dictionaries and online web translation. It provides users with quick and powerful online translation dictionaries and study tools, vocabulary lists and games. The site is "committed to building the Web's largest collection of open dictionaries."

I was struck by the straight-forward, no nonsense approach to open content. The site content is empowered and protected by the Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 License. In short, this means the multilingual dictionaries can be copied, adapted and distributed with proper attribution. Equally, content editors must allow their additions to continue to be worked with under the same license. Thus, in an open and free way, lingro appeals to the users for help in creating "relevant translations and definitions" for the these language translation dictionaries.

Since I published the original article, several new changes have been in the works at the Lingro headquarters. Here's a list on their blog of some of the major improvements. There is also a great sections for webmasters that explains how to integrate Lingro into your website. Also added is a new feature for showing each user's personalized reading/vocabulary profile.

They are really cranking it out over there and I send lots of good vibes to this crew that is working to improve Public Domain tools for language learning. :)

Continue reading about Lingro.

Language Factoid

Mandarin Chinese is a category of related Chinese dialects spoken across most of northern and south-western China. When taken as a separate language, as is often done in academic literature, the Mandarin dialects have more speakers than any other language.

Factoid thanks to Wikipedia.

看你下一次!

Chapman
Free Language
http://freelanguage.org

Welcome to the Seventh Edition of The Free Language Letter. Lots has happened since the Sixth Edition.

45 new free resources for 19 languages have been added to the site. See below for language-learning videos, multilingual podcasting, free software downloads, tools, browser extensions, OpenCourseWare, online communities and more.

New! Social Language-Learning Resource Section

Social language learning has become incredibly popular on the web as it has transcended language barriers in previously impossible ways.

For example, right now someone in Russia could be waiting to teach you Russian in exchange for your English skills. Or maybe your native language is Spanish and you want to learn Mandarin Chinese - there's someone out there for that as well! In fact, chances are there are hundreds or even thousands of potential language partners with whom you can achieve your collective language learning goals in a symbiotic fashion...

Visit the Social Foreign Language Learning Resource Section.

Below you will find the most recent additions to the social learning section.

LiveMocha.com Live Mocha Social Language Learning Course and Networking Website
MyHappyPlanet.com My Happy Planet Private Social Language-Learning Community
italki.com Free Skype VoIP and IM Language Partner Community
Dickinson College's Language-Exchanges.org Mixxer Free Skype Language Exchange Community
Lingopass.com Free Global Language Exchange Community
VoxSwap.com VoxSwap Online Instant Message and Voice Social Foreign Language Exchange with Forums and Groups

Spanish Leads the Way

As a new phase of information architecture unfolds at Free Language, Spanish is the first language to have an overview homepage. This is where you'll find a taste of the different Spanish language learning resources on the site in a nutshell.

Visit the Spanish homepage on Free Language.

The other 15 languages currently available on the site will follow shortly.

New Free Resources

Afrikaans

DigitalDialects.com Afrikaans Language-Learning Games and Activities

Arabic

Arabic Language Course for Arabic Learners Familiar with Arabic Script
DigitalDialects.com Arabic Language-Learning Games and Activities
FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Arabic Free Audio Lessons Downloads
SurvivalPhrases.com Survival Phrases in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Swedish, Arabic, Spanish and Vietnamese

Cantonese

FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Cantonese Free Audio Lessons Downloads

English

English Language Learning and Teaching Article on Wikipedia
LanguageGuide.org English Language Guide with Images and Audio Recordings for Learners
lingro.com lingro Free and Open Multilingual Dictionary, Online Translation, Vocabulary Lists and Games

French

DigitalDialects.com French Language-Learning Games and Activities
BitesizedLanguages.com Bitesized Languages Improve Your French, Spanish or Portuguese Skills with Daily Emails
SurvivalPhrases.com Survival Phrases in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Swedish, Arabic, Spanish and Vietnamese
lingro.com lingro Free and Open Multilingual Dictionary, Online Translation, Vocabulary Lists and Games

German

OneMinuteLanguages.com One Minute Language Lessons for Polish, Irish, German and Russian
lingro.com lingro Free and Open Multilingual Dictionary, Online Translation, Vocabulary Lists and Games

Hindi

ISpeakHindi.com I Speak Hindi Website, Podcasts, Dictionary and Resources

Indonesian

LearningIndonesian.com Podcast is a Fun and Easy Way to Learn Indonesian Online

Irish

OneMinuteLanguages.com One Minute Language Lessons for Polish, Irish, German and Russian

Italian

lingro.com lingro Free and Open Multilingual Dictionary, Online Translation, Vocabulary Lists and Games

Japanese

JaplishPodcast.com Japlish Podcast of Funny Phrases in English and Japanese Languages
SurvivalPhrases.com Survival Phrases in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Swedish, Arabic, Spanish and Vietnamese

Korean

SurvivalPhrases.com Survival Phrases in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Swedish, Arabic, Spanish and Vietnamese

Mandarin Chinese

A Torrent File for 500 Free Mandarin Chinese Audio Podcast Lessons from ChinesePod.com
nciku.com nciku Free Online Mandarin Chinese Handwriting Recognition, Conversations, Radical Dictionary
A Pinyin.info Article on Most Difficult and Challenging Aspects of Learning Mandarin Chinese
Learn Mandarin Chinese Videos on YouTube AskBenny Channel
Learn Chinese on YouTube with Mandarin Videos from ActiveChinese
FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Mandarin Chinese Free Audio Lessons Downloads
SurvivalPhrases.com Survival Phrases in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Swedish, Arabic, Spanish and Vietnamese
BitesizedLanguages.com Bitesized Languages Improve Your French, Spanish or Portuguese Skills with Daily Emails

Polish

OneMinuteLanguages.com One Minute Language Lessons for Polish, Irish, German and Russian
lingro.com lingro Free and Open Multilingual Dictionary, Online Translation, Vocabulary Lists and Games

Portuguese

BitesizedLanguages.com Bitesized Languages Improve Your French, Spanish or Portuguese Skills with Daily Emails

Russian

DigitalDialects.com Russian Language-Learning Games and Activities
OneMinuteLanguages.com One Minute Language Lessons for Polish, Irish, German and Russian

Spanish

BitesizedLanguages.com Bitesized Languages Improve Your French, Spanish or Portuguese Skills with Daily Emails
Spanish-Podcast.com Voices en Español Conversational Spanish Podcast
Spanish-Podcast.com Voices en Español Bilingual Blog
SurvivalPhrases.com Survival Phrases in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Swedish, Arabic, Spanish and Vietnamese

Swedish

SurvivalPhrases.com Survival Phrases in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Swedish, Arabic, Spanish and Vietnamese

Vietnamese

SurvivalPhrases.com Survival Phrases in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Swedish, Arabic, Spanish and Vietnamese

Teach English

Our Teach English Section is growing with two new resources added recently.

English Language Learning and Teaching Article on Wikipedia
LanguageGuide.org English Language Guide with Images and Audio Recordings for Learners

Cool Free Tools and Multilingual Resources

We added some cool tools and multilingual resource links, including Firefox browser extensions for improving your productivity in foreign languages online!

Quick Translation Firefox Extension to Translate Single Words in 17+ Languages
Foreign Language Translation Extensions/Tools/Plugins/Add-Ons for the Firefox Web Browser
Langmaker.com Language Maker Website on Auxiliary and Constructed Languages
Word2Word.com Website
The Alternative Dictionary: Slang, Profanities, Insults and Vulgarisms from all the World

Instructional Foreign Language Videos

ExpertVillage.com Instructional Videos on Learning Foreign Languages
YouTube Video Language Lessons at LanguageTube.org

Multilingual Podcasting Resources

SurvivalPhrases.com Survival Phrases in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Swedish, Arabic, Spanish and Vietnamese
OneMinuteLanguages.com One Minute Language Lessons for Polish, Irish, German and Russian

Language News

United Nations Declares 2008 the International Year of Languages

To see the news in many different languages, check out our syndicated multilingual news section.

OpenCourseWare, Open University and Distance Language Learning

Download Free Open University Courses from MIT OpenCourseWare Foreign Languages and Literatures Department
About.com Distance Learning Free Online Language Courses
open.ac.uk OpenLearn LearningSpace Open University with Free Courses in Modern Languages

Free Language Education Software

BYKI.com Download Free Language Software for Learning 42 Languages!

Featured Resource

Mango Languages is fantastic! Truly one of the top language-learning resources available online. Indeed, it may well be the most user-friendly, feature-rich, well-organized and free resource for learning languages online.

Mango Languages offers an amazing amount of totally free lessons and courses for learning a growing number of languages. At the time this article is going to press, these include Brazilian Portuguese, English for Polish speakers, English for Spanish speakers, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Pig Latin!, Russian and Spanish.

Continue reading...

Current Research

I am researching and drafting articles regarding foreign language study in Second Life. This metaverse approach to teaching and learning has amazing potential. Subscribe to Free Language's RSS feed to be sure you get new articles as they're hot off the press.

Language Factoid

Russian (русский) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages.

Factoid thanks to Wikipedia.

Пока!

Chapman
Free Language
http://freelanguage.org