Hebrew

Relevant Text Ads

Web Hosting

I recommend HostGator Web Hosting.

Random Quotes

"Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it."

• Albert Einstein

Delicious Linkblog

Browse archives

Site Search

Nine Newsletters in, Free Language is Going Strong

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

Number Eight of Newsletter for Free Language Learning Materials is Out

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.

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

Huge List of Language-Learning Resources

Learn

Afrikaans

LearnAfrikaans.us Learn Afrikaans Free Online Language Courses
Beeld South African News in Afrikaans
Study and Learn Afrikaans Easy at EasyAfrikaans.com

Arabic

The Arabic PodClass
LLHQ Arabic Class Podcast
UK India Learn to Read Arabic Lessons
BBC News in Arabic
Learn Arabic Language Wikibook
University of Chicago Arabic Circle Lectures Podcast
Madinah Arabic Beginner Language and Reading Courses
Free Learn Gulf Arabic Language Resources
Learn Arabic Free at Speak7
Download Free FSI Arabic Language Courses
Syrian Arabic Free Illustrated Textbook with Audio Download

Cantonese

CantonesePod Podcast
Cantonese.ca Website
Sheik.co.uk Cantonese Resources
Radio Free Asia in Cantonese

English

The Linguist on Language Podcast
BBC Learning English Website
BBC Learning English Blog
BBC World News in English
ESLPod.com English as a Second Language Podcast
languagecaster.com Learn English through Soccer/Football Podcast
Breaking News English EFL/ESL Learning Podcast
Exam English Free Practice Tests
The Bob and Rob Show English Lessons Podcast
English Feed English Listening Practice Podcast
Business English Pod Podcast
ESL Business News Podcast
Podictionary English Dictionary Podcast
English1010.com Free Audio and Written English Lessons Online
Listen to English-Learn English Podcast
Internet TESL Journal for Teachers of English as a Second Language
Effortless English Podcast Gives Automatic English for the People
EnglishClub.com Free ESL Learn and Teach English Lessons, Games, Forums, Quizzes, Chat
TheEnglishLanguage.org Directory of Websites about the English Language
BetteratEnglish.com Better at English ESL/EFL Podcast for Real People

French

FrenchPod Podclass
French Learning Center
BBC Afrique News in French
DailyFrenchPod Beginner Lessons Podcast
DailyFrenchPod Intermediate Lessons Podcast
DailyFrenchPod Advanced Lessons Podcast
DailyFrenchPod Video Podcast
Learn French by Podcast
Easy French Poetry Podcast
BBC Languages French
Learn French Wikibook
The French École French for Beginners Podcast
RFI News in Slowly-Spoken French Podcast
World Nomads iPod French Language Podcasts
Improve Your French with the Lille Podcast from France
Download Free FSI French Language Courses

German

Deutsche Welle Slowly Spoken News in German Podcast
My German Class Video Podcast
Deutsche Welle Sprachbar Podcast
Deutsche Welle Top Thema mit Vokabeln Podcast
Deutsche Welle Stichwort Podcast
Deutsche Welle Alltagsdeutsch Podcast
Rocket German Beginner Language Course
Deutsch-Lernen.com Website
Deutsche Welle News in German
Learn German Wikibook
MyDailyPhrase.com German Podcast
Learn to Speak German with this Free Podcast

Hindi

Learn Hindi from Bollywood Movies Podcast
Free Hindi Lessons from Syracuse University
Virtual Hindi from NYU
Hindi Script Tutor
A Door into Hindi
HindiLanguage.org Website
World Nomads iPod Hindi Language Podcasts

Indonesian

Beginning Indonesian Learn Bahasa Indonesia Course
Learn Basic Bahasa Indonesia Phrases at Expat.or.id
SEASite Indonesia Resources for Learning Bahasa
World Nomads iPod Lingo Indonesian Language Podcast

Italian

LearnItalianPod Podcast
BBC Languages Italian
Corriere della Sera Italy News in Italian
Centro Studi Italiani Online Classroom
MyDailyPhrase.com Italian Podcast
World Nomads iPod Italian Language Podcasts
Let's Speak Italian Podcast: Learn in Minutes a Day

Japanese

JapanesePod101 Podcast
Japanese-Online.com
Machigai Podcast
Learn Japanese Podcast at LibSyn
Learn Japanese at Japancast.net Podcast
Underground Global Japanese Tutorial
World Nomads iPod Japanese Language Podcasts
KanjiQuizzer.com Free Sura Sura Kanji Quiz Web Software Interface
Kanji-a-Day.com Learn Japanese Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana Daily Study Aid Website

Korean

Study and Learn About the Korean Alphabet or Writing System at Omniglot.com
Learn Korean Alphabet, Basic Conversation and Key Vocabulary
KBS World Radio Let's Learn Practical Korean Web Tutorial with Audio

KoreanPod Learn Korean Podcast on Podomatic

Mandarin Chinese

Sinosplice
Chinese Lessons with Serge Melnyk Podcast
Serge Melnyks Learn Mandarin Chinese Weblog
Chinese Learn Online Podcast
PublicChinesePod Podcast
Xinhuanet News in Chinese
Deutsche Welle News in Chinese
MandarinTools.com Online Chinese Learning Tools
ChineseTools.com Website
Mobile Chinese Flashcards Cell Phone Software
Adsotrans Dynamic Chinese Annotation Website and Software Project
World Nomads iPod Mandarin Chinese Language Podcasts
Download Free FSI Mandarin Chinese Language Courses
Learn Chinese Through Music: Mandarin Language Study through Pop Music
learningmandarinpod Learning Mandarin Chinese Podcast and Video Podcasts
CSLPod.com Chinese as a Second Language Podcast

Portuguese

Brazilian Portuguese Podcast
Portuguese Online Website
Sonia-Portuguese.com Website
BBC Brasil News in Portuguese
BBC Languages Portuguese
Tá Falado Free Brazilian Portuguese Podcast for Spanish Speakers
Learn Portuguese Wikibook for Beginner and Intermediate Learners/Students
Easy Portuguese Website for Beginner and Intermediate Brazilian Portuguese Learners

Russian

A Spoonful of Russian Podcast
Master Russian Website
BBC News in Russian
Russian Language .Net Free Online Lessons
Listen 2 Russian Website
Taste of Russian Podcast with Free MP3 Audio and PDF Transcripts
langintro.com An Introduction to Russian for the Casual Learner
Learn Russian Wikibook for English Speakers Learning the Russian Language

Spanish

StudySpanish.com Website
Coffee Break Spanish Podcast
BBC Mundo News in Spanish
Learn Spanish Survival Guide Podcast
BBC Languages Spanish
Business Spanish Website
Chile Podcast and Video Podcast
InstaSpanish.com's Insta Spanish Podcast
Notes in Spanish Intermediate Podcast
Notes in Spanish Advanced Podcast
Rolling Rs Learn Spanish Podcast
World Nomads iPod Spanish Language Podcasts
Improve Spanish with Español Podcast or Spanish Podcast
Rojas Spanish Language Podcast for Intermediate and Advanced Learners
Download Free FSI Spanish Language Courses
SpanishRomance.com: A Variety of Spanish Language Content

Multi-Lingual

italki.com Free Skype VoIP and IM Language Partner Community
NetTVDB Free Database of Internet/Web TV Stations in Multiple Languages and Countries
PhraseBase.com Multi-Lingual Conversational Phrase Database Resource
expatriates.com Free International Multi-Lingual Language Exchange Partner Classifieds
FoxLingo Free Firefox Browser Extension Software for Translating Web Pages
Global Internet TV Gateway Portal with Web TV in World Languages
Online Flashcard Exchange Community

Teach

English

TEFL.net Free Resources for English Teachers/Educators with TEFL, ESL, TESOL Help
EnglishClub.com Free ESL Learn and Teach English Lessons, Games, Forums, Quizzes, Chat
TeachingEnglish.org.uk BBC British Council Teaching English Resources

Language-Learning Specific

BBC Better at Languages

Commercial Resources

Arabic

Rosetta Stone Learn Arabic Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

English

Rosetta Stone Learn US American English Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

Japanese

Rosetta Stone Learn Japanese Software Level 1 (Commercial)

Mandarin Chinese

Rosetta Stone Learn Mandarin Chinese Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

Spanish

Rosetta Stone Learn Latin American Spanish Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

Free Language Blogs are Rolling

Free Language has now got six people blogging on the Free Language Blogs.

There are quite a lots of varied resources there pertaining to many languages.

Have a look. It might be interesting to you.

Well, Folks, It's Been a While

I have been traveling around Central Europe for a month, then moving back to the States for a while. Thus, I have not been posting info here lately. I left the aggregator going, though, for fresh info to be on the site. ;)

At any rate, I figure I owe those people out there who are interested an explanation about what is happening with cmanifestations.net and all the other sites that I have in this network including freewiki.info, freemusicsoftware.info, freelanguage.org, freethesounds.org, anonymousphoto.com, mandarinchinese.info, woodriff.org, freereality.org and mychinablog.com. Not to mention the many more that I have in the works and have no released just yet.

Well... here goes.

I am going, little by little, to update or just plain start over, with each of the sites using the newly updated and really sweet Drupal 4.7 content management system (galore). I want to keep up the work with putting lots and lots of information out on the web for free - info that has to do with the things I am most interested in. I think that if it works out to make a living by putting free information on the web, researching what I love and having a few (unobnoxious) text ads and affiliate-encoded links throughout the quality info, I will be a happier person that I already am. :)

For the time being I am working like mad to release a drupalized version of the Heart of the Initiate website. The folks over there are wonderful beings and we are working together to get their site brought up the speed with the wonderful world of Web 2.0.

Until I get that site up and running - and it is a big one - I will be putting off the upgrades of the cmanifestations sites.

No worries though! The new sites will be released in a timely fashion, as well as the old ones to be upgraded.

In fact, I am really looking forward to it.

So please do keep checking in as I will be leaving some notes of progress as I move along.

If you have not already done so, you can keep up easily by signing up for my Feedburner RSS/XML Feed.