Help and be Helped with Writing in Foreign Languages

Lang-8 is a free, unique and popular website for learners of many languages to come together and correct each other's writing. Native speakers review writing submitted by learners who wish to improve. You can help and be helped!

The free tools provided in the interface are straightforward and tuned in such a way that it's quite easy to correct another user's writing, as well as to see exactly how others have corrected yours.

Lang-8's interface also provides social tools for interacting amongst users, including a way to find language matches to suit your needs.

"Learn another language the way you learned your own"

The Michel Thomas Method of language learning is one of the longstanding players in the audio world of language self-education.

The recorded French course is guided by Michel Thomas himself. Newer versions and languages are guided by instructors trained by MT.

The gist of the MTM

The gist of the original method as conceived by Michel Thomas is that you learn by listening to the teacher, who takes on the responsibility for your learning. There is a focus on not stressing or worrying about learning and instead on just being guided by the teaching itself and picking up French as a result of continued exposure.

The MT way of learning touts "no homework, no writing and no memorizing".

Online English-German Translation

dict.cc is an amazing English-German dictionary available for free. This dictionary stands out by being user-driven with a lively active community.

It is more than simply a dictionary, too. The website offers tools for learning and reviewing vocabulary, a forum for getting translation help from real people and a database that can be downloaded and used free.

The site also offers a free toolbar as well as a Firefox plugin for translating on the fly while browsing the Web.

It is also not limited to English and German, as it has thousands of translations for over a dozen languages. View their multilingual database here.

"Learn another language the way you learned your own"

The Michel Thomas Method of language learning is one of the longstanding players in the audio world of language self-education.

The recorded German course is guided by Michel Thomas himself. Newer versions and languages are guided by instructors trained by MT.

The gist of the MTM

The gist of the original method as conceived by Michel Thomas is that you learn by listening to the teacher, who takes on the responsibility for your learning. There is a focus on not stressing or worrying about learning and instead on just being guided by the teaching itself and picking up German as a result of continued exposure.

The MT way of learning touts "no homework, no writing and no memorizing".

Free Online English Video Course

English Punctuation Made Simple is a free course from Udemy instructed by Silviu Marisca.

23 lectures, 2.5 hours of video content

This course offers 23 lectures and 2.5 hours of content geared to help you write better, organize your thoughts logically and become a better communicator.

Not for total beginners

These lessons are appropriate for intermediate to advanced English students.

Free online Russian video course

Russian Alphabet, Reading and Cyrillic Cursive Writing is a free course from Udemy instructed by Leonid Mechik.

7 lectures and 45 minutes of content

This course offers 7 lectures and 45 mins of content aimed at teaching you the cyrillic alphabet as well as Russian phonetics, reading and cursive writing.

Free online Mandarin video course

Chinese is so Easy is a free course from Udemy instructed by Anna Lee.

11 lectures & 1 hour of video content

This course offers 11 lectures and 1 hour of content geared toward teaching you to greet people and introduce yourself, inquire about family and talk about your hobbies and skills.

Aimed at beginner learners

These lessons are appropriate for people with no prior experience with Chinese, beginners interested in improving speaking and listening skills quickly and anyone who wants to live in China.

Free app, too

Free online French course

Le Passé-Composé Express is a free course from Udemy instructed by Jessica Biedermann.

12 lectures and 30 minutes of video

This course offers 12 lectures and 30 mins of content aimed at teaching you to use the passé-composé properly.

For advanced beginners

These lessons are appropriate for advanced beginner French learners.

Free Online Mandarin Chinese Video Course

Dream, Learn, Exercise in Chinese is a free course from Udemy instructed by Yao Tsai.

22 lectures and 38 minutes of video

This course offers 22 lectures and 38 mins of video content focused on teaching you to be able to effectively communicate in daily social settings using common patterns and a dash of Chinese culture and etiquette.

For novices

These lessons are designed for novice Mandarin learners.