Conscious Manifestations

With the ninth newsletter (below) out, Free Language is moving into language-learning directory status! -->

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 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

The folks over at Participatory Culture are working on some really cool stuff. They are developing an application called Broadcast Machine that leverages BitTorrent to allow people to publish video streams online resulting in a TV-like viewing experience for the end user. Best of all, it is open source.

From the Broadcast Machine website:

"Broadcast Machine is software you install on your website to easily publish video files. It gives you the option of using torrent technology to reduce or eliminate bandwidth costs, even when you are posting high quality video to thousands of people. Broadcast Machine is free, open source software, and is designed for easy installation. It features an intuitive interface, integrated torrent creation, and flexible channel management. Broadcast Machine also creates a browsable archive of videos on your website. But the real purpose of the software is to be the perfect publishing tool for our video player that will be released in July-- Broadcast Machine creates channels that, when viewed in the player, give people a TV-like viewing experience."

Installation is very simple and involves no databases - just files. The development version is currently at Preview Release 10, and supports Creative Commons licenses.

There is a demo on the site.

Go Participatory Culture and Downhill Battle!