Polish
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 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
 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.
 In order to quickly and efficiently add many more useful resources to the users of this site, I have added a lot more aggregator link feeds. Basically, these are feeds that provide links to the resources users are interested in by taking search terms from the search engine zniff and pulling them into this site to accompany the many other resources that are here.
This allows users to see the link feed for the terms "learn (language name) free", where "language name" can be any of the ones below (more coming soon).
Note: These links are not personally selected by me, but are available to users for their benefit and are made possible thanks to the wonders of web syndication.
Arabic
Cantonese
English
Esperanto
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Mandarin Chinese
Polish
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Swahili
Vietnamese
I plan on adding Hebrew, Hindi and others as soon as I can.
Soon I will be implementing a series of resource pages for each language with personally selected links regarding each language. These resources will also contain reviews of the sites that I add in order to best allow users to know what to click and why!
For those of you interested in the search engine optimization side of all of this, it must be noted that this is a great way to add numerous (mostly) quality links to a site quickly and efficiently using the Drupal aggregator module.
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