Free Foreign Language Learning Online

If you are interested in learning a foreign language or if you are looking for foreign language materials to use in the classroom, you may want to consider checking into some of the free courses that are now being offered online by colleges, universities, and other learning institutions. Although these courses do not grant college credit or degrees, they do provide students with excellent instruction in foreign languages. Some of the organizations that currently provide free foreign language learning online include:



MIT


The Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers thousands of free online courses through their Open Courseware Program. The free foreign language courses provide instruction in Chinese, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese. Courses are also available to help students explore various cultures and literature. Most courses include audio, video, and text components.



Carnegie Mellon University


Students can take two different foreign language courses online through Carnegie Mellon's Open Learning Initiative. The first course introduces students to the French language. The second course picks up where the first course left off to teach students intermediate language skills. Both video-based courses are free and include multiple lessons.



University of Notre Dame


The University of Notre Dame offers several free online courses for self-learners. One of the most popular courses delves into the language of Haitian Kreyol, or Creole. The course also explores Creole culture and beliefs through lectures and readings.



Utah State University


The Languages, Philosophy, and Speech Communication Department of Utah State University has made two free Chinese courses available online through the school's Open Courseware Project. This first course introduces students to the Chinese language and culture. The second course continues the instruction. Both courses focus on pronunciation and simple Chinese character writing.



Open University


The UK's Open University is dedicated to providing high-quality university education to all through its OpenLearn project. Some of the free foreign language courses that can be explored online offer instruction French, Spanish, English, German, and other modern languages. Many of the courses are text-based, though there are a few that also offer audio or video materials.



Brigham Young University


Brigham Young University offers dozens of free online courses through their Independent Learning program. Most of the courses fall into the religion category. However, there is one English language course designed for Chinese speakers. The course is split into easy-to-follow modules and includes a wide range of self-study materials.



BBC


The BBC has an amazing collection of modern language courses on its website. All of the courses can be explored for free online and may be taken at the beginner or intermediate level. The 12-week courses (audio and video) provide instruction in 36 different languages, including French, German, Irish, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, English, Italian, and Welsh. Students who sign up for BBC's free email tips can also receive a certificate at the end of each course.



FSI Language Courses


FSI Language Courses hosts an enormous library of free online courses that were developed by the U.S. government. Each language course was used by the Foreign Service Institute at one point and now resides in public domain. The FSI courses offer instruction in more than 30 languages, including Finnish, French, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean, Romanian, and Swahili.



Mango Languages


The Mango Languages online learning system has been hailed as one of the best places to learn a foreign language online. More than 30 million people have free and total access to Mango through their local public library. Individuals who do not have access through their library can still try one of ten Mango Language courses for free.



Livemocha


Livemocha is a free social language learning network that offers over 160 hours of beginner and intermediate level language lessons. The site also gives language learners a place to practice structured conversation exercises with a native speaker. Other Livemocha features include a quiz tool and other community-based interactive tools that are designed to make learning fun and rewarding.



Internet Polyglot


The Internet Polyglot is a really good place to find short foreign language lessons online. The site offers free access to everyone and provides numerous ways to memorize words and their meanings. Internet Polyglot also offers a game section to make learning a foreign language more fun. Some of the languages that can be learned on this site include English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.




Guest post from Karen Schweitzer who writes for the college database at OnlineColleges.net.

The Internet and Content-Based Spanish as a Foreign Language Learning Sites

A Useful and Versatile Foreign Language Learning Tool

If you’re a foreign language teacher or foreign language learner, you should take advantage of one of the most useful and versatile language learning methods available – the Internet. While using the internet for English as a foreign language learning is not exactly news anymore, using the internet as a foreign language learning tool has yet to be fully explored even among institutes and those whose progress in foreign language acquisition has been stalled. Two highly useful approaches that can be successfully applied to the learning of almost any foreign language are content-based instruction and task-based learning.

Learning Spanish Online Using CBI and TBL

As an example, suppose you want to learn or improve your Spanish using the internet. Using Content-Based Instruction and Task-Based Learning you might go onto websites in Spanish in order to learn by using the foreign language to acquire knowledge in cultural or Spanish-language-related areas like foods, travel, geography, music, folk lore, dance and other Spanish-speaking-country-based aspects. Here are some practical websites you could surf for ideas to boost your Spanish language skills while steeping yourself in related language elements. The sites are in Spanish but are not Spanish language teaching sites, instead the focus is on teaching and learning other themes which are taught and practiced in Spanish. Since they are principally web sites for native Spanish speakers, you’ll be getting authentic language throughout while your foreign language communicative skills take off like the space shuttle.

SENA Virtual (http://www.senavirtual.edu.co)

SENA or the Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje in Colombia offers quite a number of free online courses. These are great for learning and practicing the Spanish language in an authentic context while developing knowledge and skills in other areas too. I’ve actually gone through a couple of the cooking courses offered online here too – with excellent results, I might add. It’s an interesting, delicious introduction into the varied cultures of Colombia. Check out one of the cooking videos I produced during the SENA Colombian Foods cooking course in Spanish for “Arroz Llanero” online at YouTube.
Emagister.Com (http://www.emagister.com/)

This adult education site also features free online courses in Spanish. The areas of specialization here include Business Administration, internet, marketing and sales, and human rights, as well as finance, accounting and technical science and mathematics course offerings.

Mailxmail.com (http://www.mailxmail.com/)

This website boasts more than 1242 free online courses in Spanish. So whatever else interests you, you can very likely practice your Spanish language reading, writing and comprehension skills using authentic language. More than 270 internet and computer courses are offered including topics in Power Point, MS Word, Excel, Photo Shop, MS Office, Linux, Java, Flash and programming language tutorials. Another 390 plus courses are business administration and information based to help to hone your Spanish language and business operation skills. This could offer some great insight if you’re living and working in any one of the world’s 21 Spanish-speaking countries.

AulaFacil.com (http://www.aulafacil.com/)

At this likewise excellent web site for a flurry of free online courses in the Spanish language, the extensive lineup is headed by courses in Cooking, crafts, pets, painting and drawing in addition to several self-help course offerings. I found some of the cooking courses online here to be especially interesting too. After all, you do still EAT, don’t you? (Yeah, I thought so!) Well then, one great way into a foreign culture is through its foods.

coEduca.com (http://www.coeduca.com/)

Another good site with a Spanish ton of free online courses for those willing to take the plunge in ramping up their Spanish language skills to new and greater heights. The course theme areas vary from Arts and Culture to Science and Technology through Economics and Business in addition to Computer Sciences and Tourism and Gastronomy.

So your Spanish language acquisition can not only be intersting and fun but lively and delicious to boot. Who said that foreign language learning has to be boring, tedious or dull? In the words of Shaggy, “It wasn’t me”!





Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, prolific writer, author and public speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 100 countries. Get your FREE E-book, "If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then E-mail me for further information.