Resource list, long pt. 1

[Bang!Zoom!]

This happened to show up in my Email today, pasting over here for a resource explore if needed. .

 

Library:

There are lots of wonderful resources at the library, including books,

tapes, CDs, videos, and online resources, such as Mango

(http://www.mangolanguages.com/), a full-on learning program. Many

libraries offer free online courseware for language acquisition, so check

your local library for its holdings.

 

Books:

?The Bilingual Edge: Why, When, and How to Teach Your Child a Second

Language? by

Kendall King and Alison Mackey. This book is a good one for a couple of

reasons. First, it?s got a lot of digestible but solid science to back up

what it advocates. Secondly, it has resources.

 

The AP study guides and materials available for many languages are good

places for a little more advanced study at a cheap price.

 

There are many bilingual children?s books, and you can search for them in

the target language on any search engine, or in Amazon. ?Le Chat au

Chapeau,? anyone? DK Publishing books are brightly illustrated with

photographs and high quality binding, so I specifically recommend those for

early vocabulary. If you are a religious family, it is easy to find

religious materials in many languages for side-by-side study.

 

There are an enormous amount of foreign language study books on the market,

and it really is just a matter of personal preference in the style of the

book. Don?t be fooled by the ?Ten Minutes a Day? series ? it?s tough!

 

Online Courses:

 

MIT offers open courseware for foreign languages, including Chinese, German,

French, Spanish, and Japanese. One wonderful thing about this (besides

being free) is that there are culture and literature courses as well, so a

student can get a real flavor for the language and its heritage.

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/foreign-languages-and-literatures/. MIT also

offers some OCW (open courseware) specifically for high school students on

other topics at http://ocw.mit.edu/high-school/courses/.

 

General Websites:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/ - The BBC has a specialized (and for money)

program called Muzzy geared just to kids, but this site works just fine and

is free. There are full courses in seven languages, and more limited

curriculum in others. You can do everything from the word/phrase of the

day, to routine and very orderly coursework. Be sure to check out the video

on how to use it at the site below.

 

http://freelanguage.org/ - If you are trying to decide on a language or want

more information on places to go for a specific language, this site offers

tips and resources for learning a number of languages for free.

 

http://www.multilingualbooks.com/online-radio.html - Find online radio

stations in foreign languages at this site. You can search by language and

music genre.

 

http://www.multilingualbooks.com/online-newspapers.html - Find foreign

newspapers online here. There are a number of them available in common and

uncommon languages.

 

http://www.transparent.com/wotd/ - You can subscribe to a ?word of the day?

email in tons of languages here. There are other resources as well, but

stick to the free ones.

 

http://www.quia.com/web - This site has activities and quizzes in tons of subjects

(including languages) that people have made and submitted. Your child can

even create them!

 

http://www.chillola.com/at/starterpage%20english%20new.html ? This site offers free

activities in many languages. Each language has its own site, and the

printing is in the target language, but you don?t need to understand it to

be able to tell what to do. This is a beginner activity site ? not a program

for acquiring the language.

 

http://www.youtube.com ? Strange, but true. You Tube has lots of language videos

available in any language your child may be interested in. Going on

vacation to China? Here?s a video to practice checking in to the hotel:

 

 

http://teachwithyouripad.wikispaces.com/Foreign+Language+AppsAlthough not

really a website, there are many language learning apps for android and

iPhones, also. This site has a short list, but there are more. I included

this site because the apps were geared to kids.

 

http://foreignlanguagefun.com/ - A support site for teaching foreign

languages, this is an engaging and content-rich site with loads of ideas and

links for homeschooling or other families trying to incorporate foreign

language study into their home.

 

http://www.literacycenter.net/ - For pre-schoolers, this site offers lessons

in four languages, French, Spanish, German, and English.

 

http://www.ipl.org/div/hello/ - Magyar! That?s Hungarian for ?hello.?

Learn to say hello in dozens of languages at this site. This is fun!

 

http://www.word2word.com/course.html - This is a fairly comprehensive list

of language courses available in a huge number of languages. They make no

claim to quality, but if you have an unusual language in mind, this is a

particularly valuable resource. There are lots of links here.

 

There is actually a contest for high school students who are budding

linguists. For more information, see

http://www.naclo.cs.cmu.edu/index.html.

 

High-quality, Complete Programs for Sale:

? Rosetta Stone http://www.rosettastone.com

? Muzzy http://www.early-advantage.com

? Little Pim http://www.littlepim.com

? Professor Toto http://www.professortoto.com

 

Specific Languages: (remember the BBC site and MIT for free courses in most

of these languages)

 

Chinese:

 

Learn Chinese:

http://www.cslpod.com/One/Pod/Default.aspx - Very well done podcast-based

plan

http://learningchineseonline.net/ - Less techno-savvy, but also fairly

thorough

http://www.zapchinese.com/ - Not as thorough as the other sites, this one

has basics and an audio component.

 

Learn how to write the characters:

http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/azi/page1.htm

http://writeinchinese.com/ (pretty!)

http://www.zhongwen.com/shufa/index.html

 

A Character a Day: http://www.learnchineseeveryday.com/ (attractive and not

intimidating)

 

USC?s Chinese Language Program:

http://www.usc.edu/dept/ealc/chinese/newweb/home.htm

 

Learn how to count to twelve:

http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/apr99/number/index.html

 

This looks like a general translation site, but if you explore a little,

it?s got loads of great stuff:

http://www.quickmandarin.com/chineseinput/inputchinesepy.php

 

 

French:

 

http://www.frenchtutorial.com/ This site has both free and premium (although

still cheap) versions. There is audio and print available, so it?s not just

web. They have a Facebook presence, too, so a teen can get reminders in a

cool, teenager way.

 

http://www.frenchrevision.co.uk/ Geared specifically to secondary students,

this British site has audio and three different levels of language.

 

http://www.zapfrench.com/ - Though not comprehensive by any stretch, this

site is free, has audio, and is easy to use.

 

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/French - A wiki textbook for French, this site

allows kids to edit the page as they learn and can add to the conversation.

 

http://fslactivities.ca/ - Geared to kids, this site has activities and is

very easy to work in.

 

http://www.pdictionary.com/french/ - This is an internet picture dictionary.

 

German:

 

http://www.learn-german-links.net/ - Loads of links to places to learn

German and German culture.

 

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,2547,00.html ? Another comprehensive site with

radio and television!

 

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/German - This site is a constantly-constructed

textbook. It has three different levels of lessons, and has a pdf format

available as well.

 

http://germanonline.okstate.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25

&Itemid=40 ? Fairly expensive, but very good, this online class from

Oklahoma State offers through AP level German.

 

http://www.deutsch-lernen.com/ - Comprehensive and free, with a pre-test.

 

http://german.about.com/ - I was skeptical, but there is actually a lot of

good information here. I liked the riddle of the week.

 

Games: http://www.digitaldialects.com/German.htm - These are easy games for

the beginner, but there is a link to a companion site for more advanced

learners.

 

Latin:

 

Learning Latin:

 

This is a free online class specifically for homeschoolers, but open to

anyone: http://www.linneyslatinclass.com/

 

Britain?s National Archives offers this free Latin course:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/latin/beginners/

 

http://www.cherryh.com/www/latin_language.htm - Latin made palatable. This

site is teen-friendly.

 

Even guests have access to lots of materials here:

http://www.dl.ket.org/latin1/index.htm

 

Comprehensive, but not attractive, guide to Latin grammar:

http://www.math.osu.edu/~econrad/lang/latin.html

 

This is a one-man-show, friendly site:

http://learnlatinquickly.com/index.html

 

Greek is also available on this site: http://www.textkit.com/

 

This site is a support site for a textbook program, but even without the

book it has great stuff. The games work, there are cool gadgets, and even

though it looks a little frumpy, the quality fo the material is fine.

http://www.cambridgescp.com/Lpage_A.php?p=clc^top^home

[Joan in GE]

Thanks for the lists!

 

Just wanted to note that the price for Oklahoma State German (not sure for Spanish) is reduced for homeschoolers...the last I heard it was 250 instead of 389...I'll be getting a bill soon...

 

Joan

[Tress]

I would not spend money on "The Bilingual Edge".

 

It does explain why learning languages is usefull and how important it is to raise your kids bilingual. All very nice. Then it shows you how to teach a foreign language: get a bilingual nanny and join a foreign language based playgroup. Tada....saved you $$ that you now can spend on a nanny :D.

[Live2Ride]

can we make these two posts of yours a sticky at the top?!

[Rosie_0801]

can we make these two posts of yours a sticky at the top?!

 

Good idea! I'll message the moderator if I can figure out how. :p

[Live2Ride]

Yay my idea was used, lol! I thought it was such a great resource!

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

hmm, for the most part, I don't really want those as a sticky.

 

It was my understanding that this board was for the families who deal with already bilingual kids, not those learning a new language. Quite a few of those 'resources' are for learning a new language at home.

 

Sure once in a while, we sneak in a question about an actual foreign language, but that's not the goal of the board.

 

Don't get me wrong, some of those resources are great, but they also give a wrong idea about what the board is for.

[Guest banana456]

Thanks for the lists!

[Pen]

I just found this thread! Wow! I had thought this forum was only for families who were bilingual--now I see it is a great resource for those of us who are not but wannabees!