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Resources » Articles/Knowledge Sharing » Education »
‘Hi’ in any tongue
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Author: Priyadarshini Nandy
If there’s anything stopping you from saying hello to your French neighbour, it’s just ‘bon jour’. And online language courses now help you communicate better
We’re not so different, you and I, barring the one thing that often keeps us apart — language.
With the world becoming a melting pot and people from different countries travelling all over (be it for work or fun), this barrier too is gradually melting away.
From generations, people have relied on translators to help them communicate with people from other countries. These days, a lot of people just go prepared, with a learning of basics of a foreign language. It has been proved that, at least on a professional level, things often get done better and faster. Even as a traveller, if you speak a few words in the language of the country you’re visiting, your trip might be more comfortable.
But as we juggle life’s different demands, we don’t always have the time to actually go and attend language classes. But now, even that excuse is meaningless. One can sit right at home and learn almost any language one wants, on the Internet.
There are many portals that teach you how to speak foreign languages — from French and Chinese to Arabic and Armenian. While some of these courses are paid for, most are often available to you free of cost.
You just have to make sure that the portal you’re visiting is reliable and has a structure to assist the whole teaching process. Like any other website, these too, need recommendations and verifications.
While some websites give you the basics of languages, that are good for quick words and phrases for communication, there are some that teach you like any language school would — with proper level training, tests, practice etc.
Live Mocha is one of them. A visit to the website and you’ll be able to sign up to learn six popular languages for free — English, Spanish, French, Hindi, German and Mandarin Chinese. Their learning approach is structured with lesson plans of over 160 hours. Consisting of beginner and intermediate level content, teaching everyday conversational language along with a full range of practical reading, listening, writing and speaking exercises.
They also have audio comments, a good way to give other users tips on how to pronounce words, peer review that allows your friends to review your submission when you submit a written or spoken exercise and much more.
Another good place to learn is BBC’s www.bbc.co.uk/languages/. It has a basic step-by-step evaluation process that enables you to test your proficiency in a given language and then sign up for a required course. The best thing about this programme is that they send all the lessons via email, which you can learn in your own free time. This course too, come without any charge.
Other sources:
Arabic: ukindia.mistral.co.uk/zar1.htm
Armenian: cilicia.com/armo_lesson000.htm
Chinese: chinese-tools.com French: french.about.com
German: german.languages4everyone.com/
Hebrew: foundationstone.com.au
Italian: abruzzo2000.com/course
Japanese: learn-japanese.net
Korean: unification.org/ucbooks/kintro/toc.htm
Latin: learnlatin.tk
Portuguese: easyportuguese.com
Russian: masterrussian.com
Spanish: studyspanish.com
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