Have you ever been on your dream vacation in another land and suddenly found yourself lost in the language? Even simple tasks like determining the difference between hair cream and toothpaste, or the unthinkable item for the “other end“ that also comes in a tube can become embarrassingly daunting if you can’t speak or read the language. Then there’s ordering a simple meal and being unsure of what surprise might wind up on your plate. And bigger problems like asking for directions to reach your destination can be frightening if you can’t speak to locals or be understood.
Learning other languages can be fun as well as a huge relief when you wander away from home along with being helpful to travelers visiting your homeland that need a bit of help. Studying a new language has been shown to sharpen memory, improve listening skills and reading comprehension. One study found that students scored significantly higher in math and language arts after one semester with 90 minutes per week of study.There are many reasons to learn to communicate from lands other than your own and basically none not to.The only problem could be the cost, but here you will find five FREE tools to learn another language, so let’s get started!
Duolingo
This is the place to go when you want fun, researched tools that work. Duolingo provides quick, shorter lessons making it easier to comprehend. You’ll earn points and unlock new levels while you take steps toward real-world communication skills. This method is backed by science to teach reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in your language choice of Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean,Chinese, Russian,Hebrew, Portuguese, Hawaiian, Welsh, Hindi, Irish and Polish!
FSI Language Courses
In the late 1950s and early 60s, the U.S. Foreign Service Institute created foreign language courses to train diplomats and government officials. These courses are now available to the public and have been uploaded to the web, available free of charge. There are 44 languages available with four levels of material plus audio to accompany each lesson. The FSI courses here.
Busuu
At Busuu you can study twelve different languages with the free membership that gives you access to many interactive language materials and connects you to chats with native speakers worldwide. You can also upgrade to a premium membership for a small fee that gives you access to more features.
Livemocha
Livemocha offers courses in over 38 different languages with most being free.It is similar to using Facebook while designed for foreign language learners. You can add friends, chat with native speakers and receive feedback on texts that you write in your choice of language study.
50LANGUAGES
At 50LANGUAGES.com you will have a huge variety of over 50 languages, maybe a clue to where it got its name! Those choices include Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.This is the place to go for high-quality content aimed specifically at beginners including preferred skills that need more focus. You’ll find everything you need to learn your new language including online courses, apps, tests, games, vocabulary cards and so much more and the best part…it’s free!
Bonus!
When you are on your way to a bilingual future, you can become more fluent with interaction from those that are native to the land of the language.The best way to reach your conversation goals with a second language is to talk in person with a native speaker. Practice makes perfect so check out sites like HelloTalk to find real people that you can practice with. Pairing up with native speakers can be absolutely free and starts a language exchange where you can help them practice your native language and they will help you practice yours!