Bang!Zoom! Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 can we make these two posts of yours a sticky at the top?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 Yay my idea was used, lol! I thought it was such a great resource! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest banana456 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Thanks for the lists! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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