mandarin chinese

Best Way to Get Discount Rosetta Stone Language Products including Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese, German and Arabic

Sat, 06/27/2009 - 20:21 — polymath

Look no further for Rosetta Stone deals!

The links below will take you to a cool little tool Free Language put together to get you the absolute best deals available on all Rosetta Stone products.

Use these links any time you want to find Rosetta Stone products cheap for any of their available languages. The content is always fresh and the deals are always hot!

Click the following link if you wish to see all available Rosetta Stone product deals for all languages at once.

Also find other language deals at our language shop!

Best Way to Get Discount Pimsleur Language Products including Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese, German and Arabic

Sat, 06/27/2009 - 20:17 — polymath

Look no further for Pimsleur language product deals!

Recently Free Language published an article about how to get Rosetta Stone products cheaply using our handy custom language deal finder.

So many people appreciated our article that they decided to do the same for Pimsleur language products!

The links below will take you to a cool little tool they've put together to get you the absolute best deals available on all Pimsleur language products.

Use these links any time you want to find Pimsleur products cheaply for any of their available languages (listed below). The deals are always fresh and hot!

Find more deals on other language products in their discount language store. Best of luck in your language-learning endeavors!

Ninth Edition of Free Language's Foreign Language Learning Newsletter

Sat, 06/07/2008 - 01:25 — polymath

Hot off the press! -->

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

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

Eighth Edition of Free Language Newsletter Shows Big Changes

Tue, 04/01/2008 - 22:31 — polymath

Whenever I publish a new edition of the Free Language Letter I re-publish it here for many reasons, mainly to bring attention to the Free Language website, but also to offer subscribers here a quick summary of the content I am researching and producing at Free Language. So here goes...

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

At Last New List of Updates from Free Language

Tue, 01/29/2008 - 12:41 — polymath

It's been a very long time since polyglot from Free Language has actually published a list of the latest updates to the site. At last, this happened last night. So here goes with a healthy chunk of language-learning goodness...

Foreign Language Translation Extensions/Tools/Plugins/Add-Ons for the Firefox Web Browser
OneMinuteLanguages.com One Minute Language Lessons for Polish, Irish, German and Russian
SurvivalPhrases.com Survival Phrases in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, French, Swedish, Arabic, Spanish and Vietnamese
FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Mandarin Chinese Free Audio Lessons Downloads
FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Cantonese Free Audio Lessons Downloads
ExpertVillage.com Instructional Videos on Learning Foreign Languages
The Alternative Dictionary: Slang, Profanities, Insults and Vulgarisms from all the World
Learn Chinese on YouTube with Mandarin Videos from ActiveChinese
Learn Mandarin Chinese Videos on YouTube AskBenny Channel
A Pinyin.info Article on Most Difficult and Challenging Aspects of Learning Mandarin Chinese
FSI-Language-Courses.com US Foreign Service Institute Arabic Free Audio Lessons Downloads
Dickinson College's Language-Exchanges.org Mixxer Free Skype Language Exchange Community
Quick Translation Firefox Extension to Translate Single Words in 17+ Languages
United Nations Declares 2008 the International Year of Languages
nciku.com nciku Free Online Mandarin Chinese Handwriting Recognition, Conversations, Radical Dictionary
LearningIndonesian.com Podcast is a Fun and Easy Way to Learn Indonesian Online
open.ac.uk OpenLearn LearningSpace Open University with Free Courses in Modern Languages
italki.com Free Skype VoIP and IM Language Partner Community
Download Free Open University Courses from MIT OpenCourseWare Foreign Languages and Literatures Department
About.com Distance Learning Free Online Language Courses
MyHappyPlanet.com My Happy Planet Private Social Language-Learning Community
List of Free Foreign Language Courses Online at Education-Portal.com
DigitalDialects.com Arabic Language-Learning Games and Activities
DigitalDialects.com Afrikaans Language-Learning Games and Activities
English Language Learning and Teaching Article on Wikipedia
A Torrent File for 500 Free Mandarin Chinese Audio Podcast Lessons from ChinesePod.com
JaplishPodcast.com Japlish Podcast of Funny Phrases in English and Japanese Languages
Spanish-Podcast.com Voices en Español Bilingual Blog
Spanish-Podcast.com Voices en Español Conversational Spanish Podcast
BYKI.com Download Free Language Software for Learning 42 Languages!
MangoLanguages.com Mango Languages Free Online Language Courses, Audio, Web Software
ISpeakHindi.com I Speak Hindi Website, Podcasts, Dictionary and Resources
Langmaker.com Language Maker Website on Auxiliary and Constructed Languages
Word2Word.com Website
Arabic Language Course for Arabic Learners Familiar with Arabic Script
BitesizedLanguages.com Bitesized Languages Improve Your French, Spanish or Portuguese Skills with Daily Emails
LiveMocha.com Live Mocha Social Language Learning Course and Networking Website
Lingopass.com Free Global Language Exchange Community
DigitalDialects.com French Language-Learning Games and Activities
DigitalDialects.com Russian Language-Learning Games and Activities

Learn Indonesian Podcast, Mandarin Chinese Web Tools and the International Year of Languages 2008

Mon, 01/07/2008 - 23:56 — polymath

I have made only a few additions to Free Language recently. They are cool, though.

One is a much-needed podcast for learning the Indonesian language.

Another is a sweet free online Mandarin Chinese handwriting recognition and radical dictionary.

And finally, let's not forget that 2008 is the United Nations International Year of Languages.

Free Language is Back with new Resources Added

Thu, 11/15/2007 - 15:26 — polymath

Free Language has just published a few new articles for language learning:

BitesizedLanguage.com Bitesized Languages Improve Your French, Spanish or Portuguese Skills with Daily Emails
Arabic Language Course for Arabic Learners Familiar with Arabic Script
LiveMocha.com Live Mocha Social Language Learning Course and Networking Website
Lingopass.com Free Global Language Exchange Community

Free Language Letter for August 2007

Fri, 08/24/2007 - 14:33 — polymath

Sixth Edition

Welcome to the sixth edition of The Free Language Letter.

Persian/Farsi Language Resource Section Added

We are happy to announce a new resource section for the Persian or Farsi language!

There is now a total of 16 language sections available on the site.

New Free Resources

71 new free resources for 18 languages have been added to the site.

Afrikaans

Learn Afrikaans Wikibook in English

Arabic

Syrian Arabic Free Illustrated Textbook with Audio Download
Learning Arabic Language from Didactiques Langues Publications

Dutch

Valley Trail Free Online Dutch Courses and Lessons for Beginner and Advanced Students

English

TheEnglishLanguage.org Directory of Websites about the English Language
EnglishClub.com Free ESL Learn and Teach English Lessons, Games, Forums, Quizzes, Chat
Effortless English Podcast Gives Automatic English for the People
Listen to English-Learn English Podcast
English1010.com Free Audio and Written English Lessons Online
BetteratEnglish.com Better at English ESL/EFL Podcast for Real People
Learn about the English Language at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
itcansay.com Huge Database of Audio Samples for English Pronunciation Practice, Dictionary, Online Text Reader
Englishmate.com.cn English Mate Podcast for Learning English Online with Real Teachers

Esperanto

Esperanto.info Website about the Constructed Language Esperanto

French

Fancy French: Learn to Speak, Read and Write French Online in Total Immersion with Free Podcast Downloads
Learn about the French Language at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

German

Download Free FSI German Language Audio Courses
Learn about the German Language at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

Hindi

Learn about the Hindi Language at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

Indonesian

Learn about the Indonesian Language (Bahasa Indonesia) at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

Italian

Let's Speak Italian Podcast: Learn in Minutes a Day

Japanese

Kanji-a-Day.com Learn Japanese Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana Daily Study Aid Website
KanjiQuizzer.com Free Sura Sura Kanji Quiz Web Software Interface

Korean

KoreanPod Learn Korean Podcast on Podomatic
LetsLearnKorean.com Let's Learn Korean Group Blog Website
Learn about the Korean Language at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

Latin

Latinum - The Latin Language Learning Podcast from London

Mandarin Chinese

CSLPod.com Chinese as a Second Language Podcast
learningmandarinpod Learning Mandarin Chinese Podcast and Video Podcasts
Learn Chinese Through Music: Mandarin Language Study through Pop Music

Persian

Persian Grammar Book for Farsi Study on Google Books
Farsi/Persian Language Lessons, Reading and Dialogues for Study Materials
Free Learn Persian Flashcards in Sets from Flashcard Exchange
Free and Easy Persian/Farsi Lessons from EasyPersian.com
The Iran Podcast
BBCPersian.com BBC Persian News in Farsi
Learn about the Persian/Farsi Language at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

Portuguese

Easy Portuguese Website for Beginner and Intermediate Brazilian Portuguese Learners
Learn Portuguese Wikibook for Beginner and Intermediate Learners/Students
Tá Falado Free Brazilian Portuguese Podcast for Spanish Speakers
Loads of Podcasts in Spanish and Portuguese Languages

Russian

Learn Russian Wikibook for English Speakers Learning the Russian Language
langintro.com An Introduction to Russian for the Casual Learner
Learn about the Russian Language at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

Spanish

SpanishRomance.com: A Variety of Spanish Language Content
Loads of Podcasts in Spanish and Portuguese Languages
SpanishSense.com Learn Spanish on Your Terms Podcast
Learn about the Spanish Language at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

Cool Free Tools and Multi-Lingual Resources

We added some cool tools and multi-lingual resource links, including internet TV stations, Firefox tools, recording archives and mobile phone phrasebooks!

Global Internet TV Gateway Portal with Web TV in World Languages
FoxLingo Free Firefox Browser Extension Software for Translating Web Pages
Language Learning Advisor Website for Help Learning Foreign Languages
Learno.com Free Online Foreign Language Learning Books
Verbs-Online.com Study French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, English with Verb Tools
UMN's Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition
Newseum.com Free Front Page News from over 50 Countries in Loads of Languages
WordChamp Language Toolbar for Firefox
Wikipedia Language Portal
Free and Open Mandarin Chinese University Lectures from Archive.org
Free Mobile Phone Phrasebooks for French, Spanish, German, Italian, Greek and Portuguese

New! English Language Teaching Resource Section

We started a resource database for language educators. Currently, we have resources for teaching English. We will be adding more languages soon!

Teach English

TeachingEnglish.org.uk BBC British Council Teaching English Resources
EnglishClub.com Free ESL Learn and Teach English Lessons, Games, Forums, Quizzes, Chat
TEFL.net Free Resources for English Teachers/Educators with TEFL, ESL, TESOL Help
Internet TESL Journal for Teachers of English as a Second Language
English1010.com Free Audio and Written English Lessons Online
Top ESL/EFL/TESOL/TEFL/TESL and TOEFL Salad Websites
itcansay.com Huge Database of Audio Samples for English Pronunciation Practice, Dictionary, Online Text Reader

Resources for Non-English Speakers

A few resources for speakers of languages other than English were added. This will eventually expand into localized/internationalized versions of the site.

For now, we have a handful of resources for non-English speakers to learn Mandarin Chinese. We figured with the Beijing 2008 Olympics just around the corner, these would be useful to folks out there.

Apprendre le chinois chez chine-nouvelle.com
Aprender chino a chino-china.com
Chinesisch-Lernen.org Chinesisch Lernen und China Entdecken
InfoCina.net Web site per imparare la lingua cinese
A-China.info: um Web site com informação e recursos para aprender a língua chinesa
Język-Chinski.com: Nauka języka chińskiego poznaj Chiny

New Commercial Resources

9 new commercial resources have been added for 9 languages:

English

Rosetta Stone Learn UK British English Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

French

Rosetta Stone Learn French Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

German

Rosetta Stone Learn German Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

Hindi

Rosetta Stone Learn Hindi Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

Indonesian

Rosetta Stone Learn Indonesian/Bahasa Indonesia Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

Korean

Rosetta Stone Learn Korean Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

Persian

Rosetta Stone Learn Persian/Farsi Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

Russian

Rosetta Stone Learn Russian Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

Spanish

Rosetta Stone Learn European (Spain) Spanish Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)

Blatant Self-Promotion

If you have not already done so, please visit our site and use the social bookmark link on the top right side to add us to any of numerous social bookmarking services such as del.icio.us, furl, magnolia, digg, reddit, newsvine, simpy, bluedot, stumble upon and more. Please help us grow!

The Free Language blogs are still the #1 blog on TopBlogArea.com in the Resources Section. We have moved up from #7 to #4 on BlogTopSites.com in their Resources Section.

Our Alexa rating is also improving. According to this rating, Free Language currently holds the spot as the 308,598th most-visited website in the world! This is up millions from when we released Version 2 on February 1st of this year.

Thanks for all the support!

BETA Testers Needed!

If you are interested in blogging about your language-learning experiences, you are invited to join Free Language! All you have to do is request a BETA user account and we'll set you up!

As mentioned in the March 2007 Free Language Letter, when Free Language V3 is launched, revenue sharing for users will be implemented.

Show Us the Resources!

If you have a favorite language-learning resource (or manage a website of your own) that is not listed on Free Language, please let us know by suggesting a resource. This is a simple way to help us get the word out!

Current Languages

Below is a quick list of all 16 languages for which resource sections are currently available on the site. Resources for other languages are also available at the blog.

Language Factiod

Tschüss (also tschüs) is an informal German parting phrase, used in much the same way as "good-bye" in English-speaking countries such as the United States or United Kingdom.

It is derived from Walloon adjüs (the equivalent of adieu in French), and was first taken up into the Low German language. For this reason, the word Tschüss has historically been more common in northern Germany, though it has gained country-wide acceptance. It is also commonly used in Switzerland and Austria, at the very least in Zürich and its outskirts. However, in southern Germany it is more common for the informal farewell ciao or adieu to be used, and the farewell Auf Wiedersehen is considered appropriate in more formal settings.

Factiod available thanks to Wikipedia.

Tschüss!

The Free Language Community
http://freelanguage.org

Free Language Updates from August 18, 2007

Sat, 08/18/2007 - 14:59 — polymath

Below are the latest front page updates (since the last ones).

Of special note is the new section for learning Persian (Farsi).

SpanishRomance.com: A Variety of Spanish Language Content
English1010.com Free Audio and Written English Lessons Online
Tá Falado Free Brazilian Portuguese Podcast for Spanish Speakers
BetteratEnglish.com Better at English ESL/EFL Podcast for Real People
Loads of Podcasts in Spanish and Portuguese Languages
Top ESL/EFL/TESOL/TEFL/TESL and TOEFL Salad Websites
Verbs-Online.com Study French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, English with Verb Tools
Download Free FSI German Language Audio Courses
SpanishSense.com Learn Spanish on Your Terms Podcast
UMN's Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition
Newseum.com Free Front Page News from over 50 Countries in Loads of Languages
Learning Arabic Language from Didactiques Langues Publications
Learn Afrikaans Wikibook in English
WordChamp Language Toolbar for Firefox
Persian Grammar Book for Farsi Study on Google Books
Farsi/Persian Language Lessons, Reading and Dialogues for Study Materials
Free Learn Persian Flashcards in Sets from Flashcard Exchange
Free and Easy Persian/Farsi Lessons from EasyPersian.com
The Iran Podcast
BBCPersian.com BBC Persian News in Farsi
Wikipedia Language Portal
Free and Open Mandarin Chinese University Lectures from Archive.org
Free Mobile Phone Phrasebooks for French, Spanish, German, Italian, Greek and Portuguese
Fancy French: Learn to Speak, Read and Write French Online in Total Immersion with Free Podcast Downloads
Learn about the English Language at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
Rosetta Stone Learn UK British English Language Software Level 1 (Commercial)
itcansay.com Huge Database of Audio Samples for English Pronunciation Practice, Dictionary, Online Text Reader
Englishmate.com.cn English Mate Podcast for Learning English Online with Real Teachers

The Big List from Free Language

Wed, 08/01/2007 - 21:07 — polymath

This is a big list of the front page articles on Free Language. This does not include blog entries.

Learn

Afrikaans

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

Arabic

Learning Arabic Language from Didactiques Langues Publications
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
LetsLearnKorean.com Let's Learn Korean Group Blog Website
KoreanPod Learn Korean Podcast on Podomatic

Mandarin Chinese

ChinesePod Podcast
Zhongwen.com Chinese Characters and Culture
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

Persian

Persian Grammar Book for Farsi Study on Google Books
Farsi/Persian Language Lessons, Reading and Dialogues for Study Materials
Free Learn Persian Flashcards in Sets from Flashcard Exchange
Free and Easy Persian/Farsi Lessons from EasyPersian.com
The Iran Podcast
BBCPersian.com BBC Persian News in Farsi

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)

Freestyle Language Learning?

Sat, 07/28/2007 - 11:33 — polymath

I have launched a new site called Freestyle Language. There is not too much content there as yet, but here is the idea:

I am a linguist and a lover of languages. My native language is English. I speak fluent French, Portuguese and Spanish. I am fairly proficient with Italian and can eek by in German and Mandarin Chinese.

On this blog, I share my experiences learning languages both on the web and off. On the web, I generally use Free Language to find solid resources. Off the web, I spend any free time working on improving some language or another.

Currently, I am interested in starting studies in Arabic and Russian, as well as continuing to improve my Mandarin Chinese, German and Italian skills. I will blog about all of these languages here - and more.

I will also start a podcast (yes, another one) for people interested in learning the English language. I will offer transcriptions of what I say - nothing fancy.

All original content on this website is protected, empowered and freely-distributable thanks to the GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL). You may recognize this license from Wikipedia.

Freestyle Language also has a blog at Free Language.

I am always transparent about the fact that I have multiple blogs on my own sites! I am, after all, Opal Myth, Freestyle Language and, yes, even polyglot. There are several motivations for doing this kind of potentially confusing role-playing:

1) I am an aspiring polymath, and can't seem to quell my interest in a wide variety of subjects, mainly languages, music production and travel.

2) With Free Language, I am working to build the feel of a presence of a community, if you know what I mean. Thus, I blog under several names to give the feeling that there are numerous people blogging on the site. I am obviously not trying to hide this fact. There actually are a few other people blogging on Free Language: deXta, adoyles and soon shpigunov.

3) Each pseudonym that I use for blogging at Free Language has a different purpose. As polyglot I am the site site super administrator. As Opal Myth I write about interesting things I come across on the web. As Freestyle Language I write about my experiences learning new languages and maintaining proficiency with the languages I already speak.

I also use several sites to inform people about the latest happenings with my various online projects:

Small World Servers
woodriff.org
Mandarin Chinese Info
Conscious Manifestations

And, of course, this site right here. And there are others, which you can easily track down with a little research.

So there it is... wide open.

Don't forget to check out Freestyle Language, which runs Drupal and will also have a podcast for English learners.

Free Language Updates for July 23, 2007

Mon, 07/23/2007 - 15:51 — polymath

Here are the latest additions for the Free Language front page:

learningmandarinpod Learning Mandarin Chinese Podcast and Video Podcasts
Learn Chinese Through Music: Mandarin Language Study through Pop Music
Effortless English Podcast Gives Automatic English for the People
Syrian Arabic Free Illustrated Textbook with Audio Download
Learn Russian Wikibook for English Speakers Learning the Russian Language
Easy Portuguese Website for Beginner and Intermediate Brazilian Portuguese Learners

There have also been some recent changes to the overall site navigation:

Menu Arrangements and Rearrangements

Free Language Loads of Updates

Thu, 07/19/2007 - 11:45 — polymath

Here are the latest articles that have been promoted to the front page:

CSLPod.com Chinese as a Second Language Podcast
TeachingEnglish.org.uk BBC British Council Teaching English Resources
Apprendre le chinois chez chine-nouvelle.com
Aprender chino a chino-china.com
FoxLingo Free Firefox Browser Extension Software for Translating Web Pages
Chinesisch-Lernen.org Chinesisch Lernen und China Entdecken
Language Learning Advisor Website for Help Learning Foreign Languages
Kanji-a-Day.com Learn Japanese Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana Daily Study Aid Website
InfoCina.net Web site per imparare la lingua cinese
A-China.info: um Web site com informação e recursos para aprender a língua chinesa
Język-Chinski.com: Nauka języka chińskiego poznaj Chiny
Latinum - The Latin Language Learning Podcast from London
TheEnglishLanguage.org Directory of Websites about the English Language
Esperanto.info Website about the Constructed Language Esperanto
KoreanPod Learn Korean Podcast on Podomatic
LetsLearnKorean.com Let's Learn Korean Group Blog Website
KanjiQuizzer.com Free Sura Sura Kanji Quiz Web Software Interface
Valley Trail Free Online Dutch Courses and Lessons for Beginner and Advanced Students
EnglishClub.com Free ESL Learn and Teach English Lessons, Games, Forums, Quizzes, Chat
TEFL.net Free Resources for English Teachers/Educators with TEFL, ESL, TESOL Help

Recently, certain blog posts are being promoted to the front page. Find out why.

Free Language Updates for July 13, 2007

Fri, 07/13/2007 - 15:38 — polymath

Just a quick list of the latest from Free Language:

Kanji-a-Day.com Learn Japanese Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana Daily Study Aid Website
FoxLingo Free Firefox Browser Extension Software for Translating Web Pages
TeachingEnglish.org.uk BBC British Council Teaching English Resources
CSLPod.com Chinese as a Second Language Podcast
Global Internet TV Gateway Portal with Web TV in World Languages

Read more

Fifth Edition of the Free Language Letter

Thu, 07/05/2007 - 13:06 — polymath

Free Language has just released the Fifth Edition of the Free Language Letter.

I will republish it here for easy access:

Fifth Edition

Welcome to the fifth edition of The Free Language Letter.

Korean Resource Section Added

We are happy to announce a new resource section for the Korean language!

There is now a total of 15 languages available on the site.

New Free Resources

15 new free resources for 7 languages have been added to the site:

Afrikaans

Study and Learn Afrikaans Easy at EasyAfrikaans.com

Arabic

Download Free FSI Arabic Language Courses

French

Improve Your French with the Lille Podcast from France
Download Free FSI French Language Courses

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

Mandarin Chinese

Download Free FSI Mandarin Chinese Language Courses

Russian

Taste of Russian Podcast with Free MP3 Audio and PDF Transcripts

Spanish

Improve Spanish with Español Podcast or Spanish Podcast
Rojas Spanish Language Podcast for Intermediate and Advanced Learners
Download Free FSI Spanish Language Courses

4 new multi-lingual resources have been added to the site:

Multi-Lingual Resources

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

Commercial Resource Database Started

From polyglot's blog:

"Just wanted to unofficially announce that starting soon we will be posting commercial resources through the front page of the site. There will continue to be a steady flow of free resources interspersed with these commercial resources.

We are doing this in order to create more revenue in order to improve site features, look and feel and organization..."

Find out more.

New Commercial Resources

5 new commercial resources have been added for 5 languages:

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)

Podcast Coming

The first Free Language Podcast show was supposed to be here two months ago, but it was put on the back burner in order to launch the new languages and commercial resources.

We are now setting a potential release date of late-July. We know this is lagging, but it will be worth the wait.

The Blog Gains Momentum

Lots of activity has been going on over at the Free Language Blog.

It is currently the #1 blog on TopBlogArea.com in the Resources Section.

It is also currently #7 on BlogTopSites.com in their Resources Section.

If you are interested in blogging about your language-learning experiences here, you are invited to request a BETA user account on Free Language. As mentioned in the March 2007 Free Language Letter, when Free Language V3 is launched, revenue sharing for users will be implemented.

Current Languages

A quick list of all 15 languages for which resources are currently available on the site:

Afrikaans

Arabic

Cantonese

English

French

German

Hindi

Indonesian

Italian

Japanese

Korean

Mandarin Chinese

Portuguese

Russian

Spanish

Suggest a Resource

If you have a favorite language-learning resource (or manage a website of your own) that is not listed on Free Language, please let us know by suggesting a resource.

Social Bookmark Us!

If you have not already done so, please visit our site and use the social bookmark link on the left side to add us to any of numerous social bookmarking services such as del.icio.us, furl, magnolia, digg, reddit, newsvine, simpy, bluedot, stumble upon and more. Please help us grow!

再见！

The Free Language Community
http://freelanguage.org

EcoCheckOut.com

mandarin chinese

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Rosetta Stone Deal Links

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Pimsleur Language Deal Links

Quick View of What's Inside

New! English Overview Page

New Languages! Hebrew, Irish, Luxembourgish and Norwegian

Arabic

English

French

German

Hebrew

Hindi

Italian

Irish

Luxembourgish

Mandarin Chinese

Norwegian

Polish

Russian

Spanish

Online Translation

Mozilla Firefox Web Browser Addons

Commercial Products

Recent News and Podcast Feeds

Featured Resource

Language Factoid

Slán agat!

Quick View of What's Inside

New! Afrikaans, Arabic, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese Overview Pages

Now Available: 34 Languages :)

Catalan

English

French

German

Italian

Japanese

Mandarin Chinese

Polish

Portuguese

Russian

Spanish

Swedish

Social Language Learning

News Feeds

Featured Resource

Language Factoid

看你下一次!

Sixth Edition

Persian/Farsi Language Resource Section Added

New Free Resources

Afrikaans

Arabic

Dutch

English

Esperanto

French

German

Hindi

Indonesian

Italian

Japanese

Korean

Latin

Mandarin Chinese

Persian

Portuguese

Russian

Spanish

Cool Free Tools and Multi-Lingual Resources

New! English Language Teaching Resource Section

Teach English

Resources for Non-English Speakers

New Commercial Resources

English

French

German

Hindi