|
Nowadays, with the vast abundance of resources on the Internet, it surely is possible to learn a language at home online – if one is organized, consistent, and focused. Here are some tips to get you started.
Bookmark and categorize all the language-learning websites you can. Check out how-to-learn-any-language.com to get an overview of the language you’d like to learn. You can also become a language forum member and discuss strategies for language learning with fellow self-teachers.
Check out online lessons at word2word.com, livemocha.com, and babelnation.com. Some sites, such as verbalplanet.com, also offer online lessons, but for a fee. About.com features great introductory and supplementary articles to many world languages.
Here are the sites that you should look for:
- News and radio sites. Read foreign newspapers online for free. For example, you can read Paris’s Le Monde at lemonde.fr. See onlinenewspapers.com or check out the BBC World Service at bbc.co.uk/worldservice to find one in your target language. Also see multilingualbooks.com/online-radio.html.
- TV shows and movies. Check out multilingualbooks.com/online-tv.html to find a channel you like. Look also for foreign movies online, such as on emol.org/movies/international (for free films) and jaman.com (some for free, some with fee).
- Podcasts. There are many foreign language podcasts available, such as A Spoonful of Russian, Italian SurvivalPhrases, and The Arabic PodClass. The podcasts variously consist of full-length lessons, grammar tips, verb drills, recorded conversations, and cultural facts.
- Translation dictionaries. See yourdictionary.com or freedict.com.
- Grammar guides. Check out languageguide.org.
- E-books. Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org) has a plethora of online books in a variety of languages. Also search for audiobooks, such the French audio material on litteratureaudio.com.
- Music. Find vocal artists that perform in your target language, and then search for their songs on iTunes or on other music sites.
- International chat rooms. Practice writing the language with native speakers. You can also sign up for tandem partnerships on sites like how-to-learn-a-language.com. In these arrangements, you can actually speak face-to-face online with someone who speaks your target language and is trying learning your native language.
- Quizzes. You can practice vocabulary and grammar by taking a few quizzes now and again during your study. Check out transparent.com/tlquiz/now_quizzes/index.htm, quiz-tree.com/Foreign_Languages_smain.html, and syvum.com/squizzes/lang.
Follow regular language learning methodology. The three pillars of consistency, method, and focus apply to online study. Find an introductory course that works for you, and study it every day. Set daily goals for yourself, and master each lesson before moving on to the next one.
It is imperative that you listen to your target language and practice speaking it correctly whenever you can. As you make progress, challenge yourself constantly by immersing yourself as much as possible in the language, with online radio, music, TV, movies, and conversation.
|
