Fun Ways To Communication
- Learn to speak “Dog” – type a word into the canine translator to see the doggy translation
- Make your own multicultural flag – to show your multicultural heritage or affinities.
- Rule The Stars – have fun creating a star constellation that moves
- The world’s most difficult languages – good diagram to compare length of learning
- Web Economy Bullshit Generator – via Drayton Bird
Why Learn A Language
- They Understand Us – But Do We Understand Them? – A superb presentation by Andrew Jeppesen to promote languages
Languages By Country
- Country to Language Chart – A list of countries and the languages spoken in them, ordered by precedence where the first language listed is generally the official language of the country. This list is also cross-indexed by language and the countries where the language is spoken.
- Ethnologue – Languages of the world. An encyclopedic reference work cataloging all of the world’s 6,912 known living languages
- The Miniature Earth – A fun video on how life would be if the world were only 100 people… notice the languages spoken and how other cultural differences are represented.
- Language Map for the United States – To learn more about the linguistic and cultural composition of the United States.
How To Learn A Language
- Advice On Language Learning – Some useful tips from Lingualearn.
- Language Advantage - Says they are an independent guide to the best & most innovative language courses in the world
Free Online Language Training
- Babbel – This is a unique place for language learning. Here you can learn or just brush up on French, Italian, Spanish, English or German – at your own pace.
- @CRSpanish – Costa Rican Spanish Word of the Day
- Free educational material explained by the Open University
- Lingus.tv - To learn Spanish with videos
- MIT Open Courseware: Foreign Languages and Literatures - Download course materials to learn languages and some interesting culture courses
- Radio Lingua- Download free mp3 and PDFs. Join the community to learn Catalan, Danish, English, French, German, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Luxembourgish, Mandarin, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian and Spanish
- Spanish Only – Blog to learn Spanish
- Skritter - Learn Chinese Characters (Free in Beta version)
- The Economist In Mandarin – with English sentences too
- Word 2 Word – Free online language courses
Alternative Language Learning
Bilingual Blogs
- Wylees Harvester – Afro-German News on this and that
- Djod – the good life in Shanghai
Bilingual News Sources
- The Economist in Chinese – For Mandarin learners – Weekly translation with English sentences
Movies To Learn English – Interesting for non-native English speakers.
Travel To Learn Languages – Here are a couple of ideas to travel differently… for more possibilities for interaction with the local people.
- Couch Surfing – For casual and low-cost travel
- Cross Cultural Solutions – Volunteer abroad programs
- Homestays And Farmstays – Dive into culture with a homestay or farmstay. Read this article on how lodgings offer an intimate glimpse of what life is truly like in another country. List of resources.
- How To Travel With A Phrase Book – No translation necessary & also develop your cultural skills
- Next Stop – Share what you love to do near where you live. Discover what other people love all over the world. This is an interesting way to network with others
Improve Your English
- @definethis – Use the Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day in your tweets to win prizes
- Australian Slang – Translations into standard English
- English Café – Some good short training sessions
- English Tongue Twisters – To exercise your spoken English skills
- Dictionary: Examples Of Use – A multilingual took. Type in a word to get several sentences using this word
- Double Tongued – A lexicon of fringe English, focusing on slang, jargon and new words
- Diversity Dictionary – for a list of vocabulary related to “diversity”
- English Accents – A short video with different English accents
- “English Speak – 100 free English lessons
- English Trailers – A fun way to study English, with movie trailers.
- Free Rice – For native & non-native English speakers alike. Play a vocabulary game and donate grains of rice each time you have a correct answer
- Grammar Monster – Free English grammar tests to help you improve your language skills
- Heads Up English – Free resources for teachers of English as a second language
- How J Say – An English pronouncing dictionary with instant sound
- Larry Ferlazzo’s Best Sites To Practice Speaking English
- Listen And Write – Dictations to learn English as a second language using current news materials
- Phobia List – A vocabulary list
- Pronunciation Poem - Highlights some of the absurdities of our language. Read it out loud!
- Urban Dictionary – The slang dictionary people write – 3,880,342 definitions
- USA Versus UK Spelling – Vocabulary and spelling comparisons as well as other useful information
International English And The Choice Between American & British English
- American or British English – A quick guide on how to make the best choice for web content
- International English Guidelines
- Internationalize Your English
Please let me know if you have any other links to add to this list.
