User:Liface~enwikibooks/Language Learning Resources

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General[edit | edit source]

  • SharedTalk - the only good thing Rosetta Stone has ever done. A surprisingly slick, free flash app that allows you to connect with native speakers in various text chats, audio chats, and private messages.
  • Unilang - like SharedTalk, but uses IRC and has a bunch of other goodies as well, like a Wiki.
  • LiveMocha - a RosettaStone-like online language learning platform. Offers free introductory courses in English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish, although access to advanced content is behind a paywall.
  • Busuu - almost the same as LiveMocha. Some people prefer one over the other. Probably a good idea to try both and see which one you prefer.
  • Lang-8 - a tool that allows users to submit blog posts or texts written in their target languages for correction by native speakers.
  • OpenSubtitles - the largest connection of subtitle files on the Internet. Subtitles can be downloaded for free and played by VLC player or other media players.
  • langoLAB - Webapp that connects native speakers with those wanting to learn their language.
  • Wiktionary - Language frequency lists - Helpful if you want to learn the x most frequent words in your target language.
  • RhinoSpike - get any audio file you upload read by a native speaker of that language. Useful for learning correct pronunciation.
  • Tatoeba - a multilingual sentence corpus with almost a million sentences. Better than a dictionary if you want to know how a specific turn of phrase or idiom is translated.
  • mylanguageexchange.com - find a tandem partner in your target language
  • Anki - flash cards based on a Spaced Repetition System, which is widely agreed to be the best way to learn and keep your vocabulary. Runs as a browser-based tool, via phone apps, and via a slick downloadable program for Windows, MacOS, and Linux.
  • Memrise - an online game that takes the principles of Anki, combines them with mnemonics, and adds a social format.
  • Verbling - matches people learning one language with people learning another, through video.
  • LingQ - all-in-one solution that features foreign language texts accompanied by audio with native speakers. Also has a community/tutoring aspect and a vocabulary builder.
  • Learning With Texts - open-source application that allows you to upload your own texts in your target language and build your vocabulary, getting quizzed along the way. Based on LingQ.
  • FSI Language Courses - free language courses developed by the Foreign Service Institute. These courses are great quality and written by people that are extremely skilled in the field of foreign language learning. Because these are public domain materials, they may be a bit dated. Each course comes with a PDF and an audiotape.
  • Babbel - online all-in-one course with social networking and wiki elements. First lesson is free, after that, it's 10€ per month.
  • Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center - Provides a number of free products that the US Military uses to train soldiers and employees to learn languages. Geared toward Middle Eastern/Asian languages.
  • Word2Word Language Learning Links - links to tons of different courses
  • Prudl

Dutch [edit | edit source]

Audio and Video[edit | edit source]

  • nederland.fm - Links to online Dutch-language radio stations
  • 2BDutch - A collection of Dutch videos with subtitles in English, German, Spanish, French, and Portuguese
  • Uitzendinggemist - Dutch TV online

Courses[edit | edit source]

Dictionaries[edit | edit source]

  • MijnWoordenboek - Dutch to English, French, Spanish. Bad interface, not too many words.
  • Uitmuntend - Dutch to German. If you know German already, this is the preferred Dutch dictionary. It has a superior interface and more entries than MijnWoordenboek.
  • INL Taalbank - Dutch to Dutch definition dictionary. Also contains dictionaries from earlier forms of the Dutch language.

Forums and Chat[edit | edit source]

Grammar[edit | edit source]

  • dutchgrammar.com - The best use of a wiki I've ever seen for language learning. One Belgian woman named Bieneke has basically condensed the entire grammar of the Dutch language into one easily-navigable site.
  • Verbix Verb Conjugator - Dutch - the major online Dutch dictionaries do not offer verb conjugators, so the Verbix site can be a helpful resource

Text[edit | edit source]

French [edit | edit source]

Audio & Video[edit | edit source]

  • lafrance.fm - Links to online French-language radio stations
  • pluzz.fr - French television online

Dictionaries[edit | edit source]

  • WordReference - the best online French-English dictionary. Has an entry for every word you can think of, and even if you can't find it, they include forum entries automatically in their search where people have asked about the word.

Forums[edit | edit source]

Grammar[edit | edit source]

BonPatron - paste in any French text and it will correct your grammar and orthography.

German [edit | edit source]

Audio and Video[edit | edit source]

  • deutschland.fm - Links to online German-language radio stations
  • The Global Experience - Easy German - A YouTube series of street interviews in Germany, with German and English subtitles. Great for learning slang and how people actually speak in real life.

Courses[edit | edit source]

Dictionaries[edit | edit source]

  • LEO - the most widely-used German-English dictionary. Has a forum component included in search, so if a word is not in the dictionary, it may be referenced in the forum.
  • dict.cc - considered to be the one of the top two German-English dictionaries along with LEO. Has more words than LEO overall and a forum component as well.
  • Duden - the de-facto German definition dictionary.

Forums and Chat[edit | edit source]

Text[edit | edit source]

  • Deutsch Perfekt - a magazine with articles in 3 levels of German (easy, medium, hard) that includes grammar and comprehension exercises.

Grammar[edit | edit source]

Spanish [edit | edit source]

Audio and Video[edit | edit source]

Courses[edit | edit source]

Dictionaries[edit | edit source]

  • WordReference - the best online English-Spanish dictionary. Has an entry for every word you can think of, and even if you can't find it, they include forum entries automatically in their search where people have asked about the word.

Forums and Chat[edit | edit source]

Grammar[edit | edit source]

Italian [edit | edit source]

Audio and Video[edit | edit source]

Courses[edit | edit source]

Dictionaries[edit | edit source]

  • WordReference - the best online English-Italian dictionary. Has an entry for every word you can think of, and even if you can't find it, they include forum entries automatically in their search where people have asked about the word.

Forums and Chat[edit | edit source]

Grammar[edit | edit source]

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