29 Powerful Language Learning Tools Within Your Reach

29 Powerful Language Learning Tools Within Your Reach 29 Powerful Language Learning Tools Within Your Reach Learning a language is like doing an extreme home makeover on  your brain.Sometimes the construction  work leaves you with some quirky new  polyglot problems, the mental equivalent of stumbling over half-demolished doorways youve been walking  through on autopilot for years.But the benefits and value added to your mental real estate make it more than worth the temporary mess.And if  youre committed to adding on a sunny Spanish-style veranda, fancy French doors or a whole new Japanese pagoda  to your monolingual starter home, youre gonna need the right tools.Starting with a solid foundation and all the way up to the linguistic detail work, there are an abundance of language learning tools to help you build your multilingual dream home.Some youve considered  using before as youve idly debated whether today is the day to start learning a new language, and others have been hiding in plain sight, masquerading as simple social networks or entertainment sites.But all of them will make excel lent additions to your linguistic toolbelt and better equip you to give yourself a  huge mental upgrade and a life-changing linguistic add-on. Here are some of our favorites from across the web. 29 Powerful Language Learning Tools Within Your ReachLaying Your Linguistic Foundations: Listening ToolsSeek first to understand, then to be understood.This insightful quote was popularized by the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and was intended as a general piece of life advice, but its particularly relevant to language learners who want to start constructing their new linguistic knowledge upon solid foundations.There are a lot of reasons listening is vital for language learning, but first and foremost is that no matter how many phrases you memorize, you cant do anything with a language until you understand the sounds that make it up.There are many tools in the digital and analog world to help you down the path of listening proficiency, from video and radio to podcasts, music  and good old-fashioned conversation. Heres an assortment of listening tools to train your ear to the acoustics of your target language and start building on a sound foundation.Innovative LanguageFrom Afrikaans to Vietnamese, Innovative Language has you covered with one of the best free podcast series for language learners on the web. This podcast series includes video and audio lessons that often focus on cultural aspects of the country or region thats home to the target language, complete with vocabulary building exercises and helpful word lists.Its updated with new lessons every week, with material geared towards absolute beginners all the way up to advanced learners nearing fluency. You may recognize it from its podcast sites (for example, Portuguesepod101) These are the language-specific sites youll be directed to once you enter your email and pick a language. Heres just a sampling of the many popular foreign languages they currently offer:Spanishpod101Frenchpod101Germanpod101 Chineseclass101Russianpod101The material is made and presented by professional teachers, and it’s one of the most prolific and consistent language sites in the game.  Although they have a paid version of the service, thousands of professionally produced audios and videos are given absolutely free.You can benefit from this flood of language content regardless of your state of fluencyâ€"they’ve got something for absolute beginners as well as advanced learners.8tracksOne of the best ways to sensitize your ears to the sounds of a new language is by listening to its music. 8tracks is full of music playlists in any genre or language you can think of: Type your target language in the search bar at 8tracks and click go, or browse through the associated tags and artists that pop up as suggestions.Youll  not only give your ears a glimpse into the sounds of your new language, but also open yourself up to new genres and artists you may not have had the chance to listen to before, giving you a new target-language hobby from day one.Lyrics TrainingLyrics Training takes  a karaoke-style approach to language learning with music. Choose your language, pick a music video and select a level from beginner to expert: From there, the game begins, and depending on the level youve selected, youll have to fill in anywhere from a handful of key words to every word of the lyrics as you sing along. Pick a time of day when your neighbors and roommates are gone, and learn by clumsily belting it out.News in SlowMakers of the News in Slow series, Linguistica 360 helps you train your ear and build your language skills through current events. Choose from French, Spanish, Italian or German and start listening to the days events.Each episode includes a transcription in the target language with helpful vocabulary tips and explanations of the more difficult terms you encounter, a great way to build vocabulary in context while learning to recognize the sound and feel of the language.The Buildin g Blocks of Language Learning: Vocabulary-building ToolsWith some good listening tools under  your belt, your foundations are laid, and youve got some basic knowledge upon which to build the rest of your linguistic talents.The next step is to move on to the raw materials of your construction, the bricks and mortar: learning foreign language vocabulary.Its hard to say exactly how many words you need to really speak a language, or what  the best way to learn new vocabulary words  is.  Start out with some of these tools, and use your imagination to figure out which strategies work best for you.FluentUFluentU exposes you to your target language in action. FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.When it comes to vocabulary-building tools and language learning in general, FluentUs video immersion method is just about the closest digital equivalent to booking a flight and movi ng abroad.Each FluentU lesson will use video content appropriate to your learner level to expose you to new vocabulary, which youll learn not through memorizing dictionary definitions, but by actually seeing how natives use words and phrases in daily speech.In addition to being one of the best ways to build up your foreign language vocabulary, FluentUs use of real-life video content makes it an excellent source of culturally-relevant language learning. As you proceed through the lessons, youll increasingly be watching the same TV and movies that native speakers of your target language are watching in their free time, giving you a better insight into whats current in pop culture and go-to conversation topics for when you run into natives.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that real people speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse ScreenFluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, defin ition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover over or tap on the subtitles to instantly view definitions.FluentU Interactive TranscriptsYou can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs quiz mode. Swipe left or right to see  more examples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.DuolingoAs a language learning tool, Duolingo turns a hammer and box of nails into a game youll actually enjoy playing. That pushy little green bird will coach you through the days you really dont feel like working on your linguistic construction project, and youll  come out of them having perfected  new words and phrases  that youll continue to strengthen as you build up layer aft er layer of vocabulary.MemriseAnother of the most popular vocabulary-building tools on the web, Memrise is the DIY flashcard tool that lets you personalize your language learning. Mix and match vocabulary lessons ranging from basic color and number words to phrasal verbs to different ways to say I love you, and make your own mems as you go, selecting pictures and other mnemonic devices that you custom-make for your own brain.AnkiAnki is most famous for popularizing the Spaced Repetition System or SRS method of vocabulary learning. Anki is open source SRS software that you can download to your computer or use on your phone in app form, downloading any of the over 80 million available pre-made flashcards, making your own or doing a little of each.Anki uses an algorithm to track your progress and knowledge of each vocabulary term you study, helping you prioritize which words need a bit more repetition and which can go on the back burner for now, helping you repeat your drills until you ve mastered the vocabulary.The Mortar Between the Language Learning Bricks: Reading ToolsOnce  youve got some words to build with and a sound understanding of the speech sounds that make them up, one of the best ways to cement your  knowledge is through reading.Reading in a foreign language is one of the safest and most stress-free ways to explore the meanings of those words and how theyre used, as well as to continue building new vocabulary in context. These reading tools will help you develop a foreign language reading habit that  ensures your construction holds together as you continue building.WikipediaWikipedia  for the most part remains  an undiscovered treasure trove for language learners. With millions of articles available in 295 languages, it offers contextualized target language reading replete with images and links that allow you to clarify things you dont understand by reading about them in the language youre practicing rather than reaching for a dictionary definition o r a translation.FeedlyPleasure reading shouldnt be limited to your mother language. Feedly is an RSS tool you can use to create your own customized content streams, with daily updates from blogs, online magazines and other digital content in your target language. You could create different feeds for different languages or divide them into categories like Spanish periodicals, Korean film blogs and news in Farsi.Amazon Foreign Language BooksIn addition to all the free e-books available across the web, Amazon has a robust foreign language books section thatll help you find the right reading material without breaking the bank.Search for a title or just by language, and be sure to download a free sample of the book before buying it, so that you can read a few pages and make sure its both at your reading level and something youll actually enjoy swiping through.Writing Tools to Help Furnish Your LanguageWhen it comes to your literacy in a foreign language, youve gotta use it or lose it.Lea rning a language through reading books  sounds like heaven on earth for some bookworms, but if you really want to pull your freshly-mortared language together, youll need to put pen to paper. Writing in a foreign language, much like speaking, helps solidify some of the connections youve made while listening and reading, and it gives you a safe space to trial-and-error your way through new words, phrases and grammatical constructions. Here are some tools to help you get started.Lang-8Lang-8 is an online community of natives and learners where you can practice your writing and get feedback and corrections from those who know the language best. Write a few lines about what you did today, or maybe  some musings on a movie youve recently seen in your target language, then publish it and wait for the natives to come.Dont forget that exchange goes both ways: Earn points in the community by helping others and suggesting improvements on their writing in your native language!HelloTalkHelloTal k is a mobile app that lets you connect to native speakers of your target language and learners of your language via text. Once you find some conversation partners and start chatting, you can take advantage of the apps integrated translation and transliteration functions (for those learning an unfamiliar writing system), and use the in-app function to hear the pronunciations of the words youre being texted.Foreign Language JournalsFor many learners, a foreign language journal or just an unstructured space where they can try out their language is the key to learning through writing.You can start your own page on a site like Tumblr or start a WordPress blog where you scribble random thoughts and make up your own writing exercises. Adjust your settings to keep it private if youre feeling shy, or go public and actively solicit comments and feedback from speakers of the language.Omniglot Writing SystemsParticularly for those learning a language with a non-Latin alphabet, Omniglots Writin g Systems resource is a spectacular place to start. Familiarize yourself with the new script and find links to online resources for learning it, or just keep the page bookmarked for reference as you get started writing or texting with  some of the other tools mentioned here.Touching Up the Paint: Pronunciation ToolsPronunciation is a tricky part of language learning: Its important to be easily understood, but its easy to get so lost in perfectionistic phonetic details that you lose sight of the bigger linguistic work in progress.An accent wall or some contrasting throw pillows in your house might add a pleasant pop of color, but when were talking about speaking a foreign language, accents sometimes draw the kind of attention that makes us feel less confident in our speaking and leads to making more stress-induced mistakes.You dont need to amaze the natives with your perfect pronunciation, but you also dont have to buy into the myth that adults cant learn languages as well as kids in the pronunciation department. Intermediate and advanced learners who feel like theyve got a handle on everyday communication in their target language can use some of these tools to touch up their foreign language accent.Sounds of SpeechThe International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is one of your best resources for learning about the many different speech sounds that make up the worlds languages, and Sounds of Speech is one of the best tools for practicing it.The University of Iowas Sounds of Speech tool is an excellent interactive visual guide to the mechanics of the mouth, demonstrating exactly how you need to move your tongue and other speech organs to produce specific consonant and vowel sounds, helping you get past the uvular Rs and ambiguous mid-vowels that otherwise trip  up your tongue.ForvoForvo is an exhaustive online pronunciation dictionary, and it belongs in your bookmarks bar no matter where you are in learning a language. Just search the word thats giving you trouble  and listen to user-provided pronunciations from native speakers.Getting Wired: Tools for Connecting to NativesAt the end of the day, language is about communicatingâ€"what good is your new language if you dont have anyone to speak it with?As you finish up construction on the language youre learning, be sure to find a place for yourself in its community of speakers. There are plenty of online tools for finding a language exchange partner,  but here are a few to get you started.VerblingIf you want something a little more formal than your casual language exchange, Verbling is a good place to start looking. Here you can search for professional native teachers, schedule classes with them, and make a schedule and personalized lessons as you go. Its not free, but youll find its a good bit cheaper than most in-person professional teachers, and you can go to class without getting off the couch.You’ll be able to explore hundreds upon hundreds of online language teachers and find exactly the on e who’s right for you. When you search, you’ll get to search based on prices, availability and even the other languages they speakâ€"so if your native language is Chinese or German, you can find a teacher to instruct you in that language. Plus, the technology here makes accessing tutoring sessions extra smooth! You don’t need Skype or another third-party program. It’s all here!WyzAntWyzAnt is an incredible resource for locating stellar language teachers near you. This site is professional and polished, and it features well-educated and well-qualified tutors in your local area. Why not start by seeing whos close to home? You might even find someone you know in your community who can teach you! Then your new language classes can take place at your favorite coffee shop or at your house.HiNativeHiNative lets you casually reach out to native speakers of your target language with the simple questions you never really know how to ask. Is this word masculine or feminine? How come th is word is spelled differently sometimes? Its like carrying a no-strings-attached native in your pocket, and its great in a pinch to answer those pesky questions that otherwise keep you up at night.SpeakySpeaky is one of the biggest free online language exchange communities, and youll find it offers many of the same benefits as similar sites that charge a monthly fee. Use it to find and coordinate Skype exchanges with native speakers of your target language, and be ready to help them with learning your native language as well.MeetupSites like Meetup  arent necessarily meant for language learners, but youre bound to find many linguistically like-minded individuals who are either your neighbors or travelers passing through your community. Meetup is often host to either a general language exchange meetup or sometimes a slew of language-specific meetups depending on the size of the city.CouchsurfingCouchsurfing events also often include regular language exchanges, plus the handy user se arch tool allows you to search for speakers of a particular language in your area who you can meet up with for a coffee and a multilingual chat.Making Sure Youre Up to Code: Translation Tools for In-context Language LearningThere are all kinds of technology hacks for learning a language that can help you navigate your linguistic construction site, but keeping that translation app on your phones home screen might not be  the best one. Relying on translation to build up the foundations and basic structure of your language is a bit like building your house with duct tape and paperclips.However,  once youve built something that more or less looks like a language, it can be an invaluable tool for checking and expanding your knowledge.In general, simple machine translators like Google Translate should be taken with a huge dose of caution: Theyre stripped of the kind of context you find in a visual dictionary, and machine translation is always an approximation at best. The urge to copy and paste into the magic decoder is strong enough that we all succumb to it in moments of weakness, but there are better options for translations that dont damage the structural integrity of your language learning. Here are a few good ones:LingueeLinguee is an online translator that offers contextualized translations that take into account the many different phrases and shades of meaning that can be applied to a single word.Type your query into the search box and youll receive two columns: the language you searched in on the left, and the target language on the right. Each will include the same sentence or paragraph in both languages, giving you the extra context to make sure the word youre translating doesnt mean something totally off the wall.Bab.laBab.la is similar to Linguee in its use of in-context definitions pulled from across the web. It also offers a few handy extra tools like a verb conjugator that will help you explore different forms and uses of the new words and phrases yo ure learning.LinqappLinqapp is the social translation app that lets you go directly to the source and get a native speakers take on your translation query. Despite all the advances in language technology in recent years, machine translation still usually isnt up to the challenge of providing descriptive idioms and native-like turns of phrase that capture nuance and connotation. Instead, turn to Linqapp to get a digitally-enhanced human translation.Welcome to the Neighborhood: Cultural Learning ToolsCulture is inseparable from language. Whatever language youre learning, its a living, growing thing, and theres no better way to learn about its life and those of the people who speak it than through target language media like TV, movies, journalism, literature and the other products of the culture that gives meaning to the language in question.Cultural learning is an abstract thing that  can be  hard to pin down in concrete terms, but there are a few tools that can help you learn more de eply about the meanings behind the words and better appreciate  the cultural benefits of being bilingual.StreemaStreema is a website and app that provides free online access to TV and radio stations in over a hundred countries around the world. Popular world languages spoken across many countries will have a wealth of stations available, but even less widely-studied languages like Amharic or Zulu are available on Streema: just browse through the Ethiopian and South African TV channels until you find something in your target language that takes your interest, and tune in to what the locals are watching.BBC LanguagesBBC Languages is one of the biggest online repositories of free language learning material, including not only free lessons and foreign language cheat-sheets, but also links to real media like TV shows, newspapers and blogs that native speakers are regularly following.Other international news outlets like CNN, Al Jazeera  and Euronews that serve linguistically diverse publ ics across the globe also frequently offer streaming news and other media resources that language learners can easily make use of to inject some current events into their language learning.AlexaOne way to get insight into what matters to speakers of your language is to see what websites they visit most frequently. Alexa is a web tool that ranks the authority of websites, and it offers a list of the most popular websites by country. Youll see many of the same usual suspects across the globe (Facebook, Wikipedia), but keep an eye out for blogs and other media sites that you can read, listen to or otherwise consume to get a feel for your target language in action.Bonus: A Good VPN ServiceMany countries offer public television stations freely online for their citizens, but that means youll need to access the content from a local IP address. Look into some free and cheap VPN (Virtual Private Network) services and install one thatll let you change your web browsers IP address at will, con vincing those servers halfway across the world that youre really logging in from within the country, and get online and oh my god this is almost over now.An easy way to set up a VPN and magically change your location to Germany, France, Korea or any other country of choice is by installing HideMyAss! VPN on any of your devicesâ€"this one works on your computer, smartphone and internet-enabled TVs and game systems.Enjoying Your New Mental SpaceJust like any construction work, your linguistic  remodel is going to be a messy process with lots of ups and downs and mental debris.But dont give up out of frustration: Just remind yourself that its worth it, and  unlike a real home makeover, youll start reaping the benefits of bilingualism long before you close up shop and finish the job.Taking advantage of the best language learning tools available and using them to learn a language efficiently  will give you a smooth path forward and leave you feeling well-equipped for the next linguistic challenge.