Free Language - Lessons, Podcasts, Courses, Audio, Video, Study Guides, Learning Materials

Omniglot.com Abjad Consonant Alphabet about Arabic Script with Images, Example Text and Audio

chapman — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:25:07 -0500

Summary

Omniglot is an excellent resource for learners of just about any major world language. Simon Ager has put together an exceptional amount of information about the systems used to express language in the written form, complete with images, explanations and audio samples.

This article in particular brings attention to Simon's resources regarding the Abjad (consonant alphabets) used for writing in Arabic.

From Website

There are two main types of written Arabic:

1. Classical Arabic - the language of the Qur'an and classical literature. It differs from Modern Standard Arabic mainly in style and vocabulary, some of which is archaic...

2. Modern Standard Arabic - the universal language of the Arabic-speaking world which is understood by all Arabic speakers. It is the language of the vast majority of written material and of formal TV shows, lectures, etc.

Visit Omniglot.com Arabic Alphabet, Pronunciation and Language

addons.mozilla.org Experimental and Stable Mozilla Firefox Addons Extensions for Language Support

chapman — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:37:30 -0500

Summary

The Firefox web browser from Mozilla is not only a great open source web browser. It's also a fabulous tool for language learners! It would take a long time to list and go through all of the cool things you can do with the addons (extensions of Firefox's core functionality) in the language section of Firefox Addons. Several articles have already been published a few of articles on the topic (see related articles below), one of which contains a link to Firefox addons for translation.

However, another, cooler, resource has just popped up on the radar and anyone dealing with learning languages online, translation, researching and/or reading content in foreign languages on the Web is encouraged to check out this amazing repository for Firefox addons for Language support. The link has been pre-defined for showing the addons that have been updated most recently, both experimental and stable. Here are a few more pre-defined links that will sort the addons by number of downloads, rating and name.

There is a lot of them, but it's definitely worth the time to sift through and find the ones that work for you.

Cheers to CodePublic.org for the link! Below is an example of an addon listing for a Chinese pop-up translator.

From Website

Add-ons extend Firefox, letting you personalize your browsing experience. Take a look around and make Firefox your own.

Quick Translation Firefox Extension to Translate Single Words in 17+ Languages
Foreign Language Translation Extensions, Tools, Plugins, Add-Ons for the Firefox Web Browser
FoxLingo Free Firefox Browser Extension Software for Translating Web Pages

FreeLanguage.com.ua List of Free Online Translators/Translation Websites for Multiple Languages

chapman — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:27:26 -0500

Summary

The FreeLanguage.com.ua Online Translators page has 35+ resources listed for translating to and from many languages online - surprise - for free!

A list of these will be started here soon, but this is already a pretty comprehensive list of the freebie translators available online. Of course, some are better than others, but this site lists lots of them with brief descriptions that are helpful.

From Website

FreeLanguage.com.ua is a directory dedicated to language learning online. Browse free online language courses, language lessons, phonetic resources, language tutorials, language study centers, online dictionaries etc.

Visit the FreeLanguage.com.ua Online Translators Directory

FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Hebrew Free Audio Lessons Downloads

chapman — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:32:31 -0500

Summary

FSI is an acronym for the Foreign Service Institute, "the (US) Federal Government's primary training institution for officers and support personnel of the U.S. foreign affairs community".

Over the years, the FSI has researched, designed and taught language courses to Foreign Service staff and diplomats. These courses are now available and licensed to the Public Domain.

FSI-Language-Courses.com (and .net) is a sweet and simple website that provides users with the ability to view and download the Foreign Service Institute's courses for 31+ languages. The content is provided by individuals donating time and resources in an overall effort to provide quality languages-learning materials for free worldwide.

Sounds good to me. :)

In the Hebrew section of the site, there is currently an entire level one audio course available. This course is for beginners and has 40 units.

From Website

Welcome to fsi-language-courses.com, the home for language courses developed by the Foreign Service Institute. These courses were developed by the United States government and are in the public domain.

This site is dedicated to making these language courses freely available in an electronic format. This site is not affiliated in any way with any government entity; it is an independent, non-profit effort to foster the learning of worldwide languages. Courses here are made available through the private efforts of individuals who are donating their time and resources to provide quality materials for language learning.

Visit FSI-Language-Courses.com Hebrew Courses.

FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Download Free Hindi Textbook/e-book

chapman — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:20:04 -0500

Summary

FSI is an acronym for the Foreign Service Institute, "the (US) Federal Government's primary training institution for officers and support personnel of the U.S. foreign affairs community".

Over the years, the FSI has researched, designed and taught language courses to Foreign Service staff and diplomats. These courses are now available and licensed to the Public Domain.

Sounds good to me. :)

In the Hindi section of the site, there is currently a 131-page student text. There are is no audio as yet.

From Website

Welcome to fsi-language-courses.com, the home for language courses developed by the Foreign Service Institute. These courses were developed by the United States government and are in the public domain.

This site is dedicated to making these language courses freely available in an electronic format. This site is not affiliated in any way with any government entity; it is an independent, non-profit effort to foster the learning of worldwide languages. Courses here are made available through the private efforts of individuals who are donating their time and resources to provide quality materials for language learning.

Visit FSI-Language-Courses.com Hindi Courses.

JustVocabulary.com Just Vocabulary Podcast with ESL, TOEFL, SAT and GRE English Words Audio for iPod

chapman — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:33:38 -0500

Summary

Just Vocabulary is an English vocabulary audio podcast that introduces words from the GRE, SAT and TOEFL lists. The podcast has been going strong since 2005, which is more than most podcasts can claim! You can jump straight to the audio files here.

Just Vocabulary introduces two words per episode and explains them in detail including antonyms, synonyms and example sentences. There are literally hundreds of episodes to choose from, providing listeners with hours and hours of content and hundreds of vocabulary terms. It's really quite impressive. :)

Of course, it's free to subscribe and there is also a newsletter, study quizzes/games and a map of where listeners tune in from. Also available for a nominal price are very useful study guides for iPod.

These audio lessons aren't just for people learning English! With words like quixotic, immure, abstemious and surreptitious, these lessons are incredibly useful for native English speakers preparing for SATs, GREs, college level English courses or just interested in expanding their vocabulary.

From Website

Welcome to Just Vocabulary's new website. We added lots of great stuff, like the Just Vocabulary Map, our new iPod Study Tools, a new game "the quiz" and much more. If you are new to the Just Vocabulary podcast, read more about the show here

About Just Vocabulary

Coming to you from Cape Town, South Africa! Just Vocabulary is an online audio-show/podcast, that introduces 2 words per show. It's aimed at ESL (English as second language) students. It's free, it's short, it's portable and it's on demand. No matter where you are, you can improve your English on the go! Educate yourself and subscribe for free!

The Host

Jan Folmer (1979) is the host of the Just Vocabulary podcast. He lived most of his life in The Netherlands and he moved to Cape Town in South Africa end 2004. English is his second language, which is why he understands the need to improve your vocabulary beyond your basic high school vocabulary. If you have any comments or suggestions, e-mail Jan

Show Format

The duration of each episode is about 5 minutes. During each episode, we introduce 2 English words. First, we give 3 to 5 example sentences, followed by the explanation of the meaning of the word. Synonyms and Antonyms are given for most of the words, and if it useful we give you the history of the word. At the end of the show we always review 1 word from previous episodes.

Most of the words are from the GRE word list which makes Just Vocabulary ideal for study purposes.

Test yourself!

Just Vocabulary wants your to be successfull on the SAT, TOEFL or GRE. Prepare yourself with the online quiz.

Frequently asked questions

Here you find all our Frequently Asked Questions, structured per topic. The questions are ordered per particular topic. If your question is not answered below, email your question and we'll answer it within 24 HRS.

Testimonials

All over the world people are listening to Just Vocabulary. Read what our listeners say about the podcast. And please don't forget to let us know what you think of the show.

Study Tools

We are really chuffed about the Study Tools that we developed to make your learning even more effective, and a lot more fun.

Use our flash cards on your iPod wherever you go to test your vocabulary!

Visit JustVocabulary.com

Subscribe to Just Vocabulary Podcast.
View Just Vocabulary Podcast Feed on Free Language.

ChineseLingQ.com Mandarin Chinese LingQ Podcast with iTunes MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann

chapman — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:17:48 -0500

Summary

It's difficult to "summarize" the booming expansion that has occurred with the Kaufmann crew since "The Linguist" appeared on Free Language a year ago. That is why Free Language has numerous articles on the various websites and resources available through multilinguist Steve Kaufmann's web entelechy, including the many LinqQ [liŋk] podcasts, the LingQ method, revisiting The Linguist on Language and why not throw in a little thelinguist.com love, too. :)

This particular podcast is ChineseLingQ, a roughly weekly podcast with mp3 audio content for Chinese language learners. Transcripts of the podcasts are available through LingQ.

From Website

What is ChineseLingQ?

First of all, the name itself (which is pronounced Chinese Link) needs a little explaining. The first part, “Chinese”, is fairly obvious since we teach Chinese. LingQ is the name of our online learning system which you can find at LingQ.com. At LingQ you’ll study many different languages in a fun, community atmosphere. The “Ling” in LingQ comes from TheLinguist.com the people behind LingQ. Lastly, the “Q” is important because it forms the speech bubble in our logo and throughout our site and because it makes “lingq” sound like “link” (we think!) which is what our system does for you.

At ChineseLingQ...

. we LingQ you to a world of real Chinese content
. we LingQ you to our revolutionary learning tools
. we LingQ you to a community of fellow Chinese learners

Our podcasts may contain interviews, articles, or audiobook excerpts but are most often just general conversations in Chinese. We will usually talk about topics of general interest. Please do send us feedback and topic requests. We’re always happy to hear from you.

After you listen to the podcast, sign up for a free account at LingQ (l-i-n-g-q.com) and study the full transcript using LingQ's revolutionary learning tools.

At LingQ, you may also want to submit writing for correction or join live 1 on 1 and group discussions with our tutors. Plus you will find thousands more podcasts with transcript. Come and find out what LingQ is all about!

Of course, even if you don’t decide to become a member, you can continue listening to the podcasts as long as you like.

Visit ChineseLingQ.com

Subscribe to ChineseLingQ Podcast.
Subscribe to ChineseLingQ Podcast via iTunes.

ItalianLingQ.com Italian LingQ Podcast with iTunes MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann

chapman — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:06:32 -0500

Summary

This particular podcast is ItalianLingQ, a roughly weekly podcast with mp3 audio content for Italian language learners. Transcripts of the podcasts are available through LingQ.

From Website

What is ItalianLingQ?

First of all, the name itself (which is pronounced Italian Link) needs a little explaining. The first part, “Italian”, is fairly obvious since we teach Italian. LingQ is the name of our online learning system which you can find at LingQ.com. At LingQ you’ll study many different languages in a fun, community atmosphere. The “Ling” in LingQ comes from TheLinguist.com the people behind LingQ. Lastly, the “Q” is important because it forms the speech bubble in our logo and throughout our site and because it makes “lingq” sound like “link” (we think!) which is what our system does for you.

At ItalianLingQ...

. we LingQ you to a world of real Italian content
. we LingQ you to our revolutionary learning tools
. we LingQ you to a community of fellow Italian learners

Our podcasts may contain interviews, articles, or audiobook excerpts but are most often just general conversations in Italian. We will usually talk about topics of general interest. Please do send us feedback and topic requests. We’re always happy to hear from you.

After you listen to the podcast, sign up for a free account at LingQ (l-i-n-g-q.com) and study the full transcript using LingQ's revolutionary learning tools.

At LingQ, you may also want to submit writing for correction or join live 1 on 1 and group discussions with our tutors. Plus you will find thousands more podcasts with transcript. Come and find out what LingQ is all about!

Of course, even if you don’t decide to become a member, you can continue listening to the podcasts as long as you like.

Visit ItalianLingQ.com

Subscribe to ItalianLingQ Podcast.
Subscribe to ItalianLingQ Podcast via iTunes.

Free Language - Lessons, Podcasts, Courses, Audio, Video, Study Guides, Learning Materials

Omniglot.com Abjad Consonant Alphabet about Arabic Script with Images, Example Text and Audio

Summary

From Website

addons.mozilla.org Experimental and Stable Mozilla Firefox Addons Extensions for Language Support

Summary

From Website

Related Articles

FreeLanguage.com.ua List of Free Online Translators/Translation Websites for Multiple Languages

Summary

From Website

FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Hebrew Free Audio Lessons Downloads

Summary

From Website

FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Download Free Hindi Textbook/e-book

Summary

From Website

JustVocabulary.com Just Vocabulary Podcast with ESL, TOEFL, SAT and GRE English Words Audio for iPod

Summary

From Website

Subscribe

ChineseLingQ.com Mandarin Chinese LingQ Podcast with iTunes MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann

Summary

From Website

Subscribe

LingQ Podcast Network

ItalianLingQ.com Italian LingQ Podcast with iTunes MP3 Audio using Linguist Method by Steve Kaufmann

Summary

From Website

Subscribe

LingQ Podcast Network