Babbel

Babbel  is a language course that I have been very hesitant to review because it appears that you only get a very, small amount for free.

Well, it's true. You don't get much for free. About one lesson, that's it.

They have 13 languages to choose from.

I like the feel of the course. Once I got into it I was really disappointed that they didn't offer more for free because I love the format. It kind of reminded me of Rosetta Stone but it has a much better value ($44.70 for a six month subscription). I'm not a fan of subscriptions myself but if you try out Babbel and like it then it something your Mom and Dad might find affordable as a birthday present for you.

There are some really good features here. I liked the "gamey" feel of the site and the writing practice where I was asked to type in letters or even whole words. I even got to listen to two native speakers have a conversation and write in some of the vocabulary.

All in all, it's a good language learning course, but it shouldn't call itself free because it only has a "free demo" of each language. It is worth checking out, though, as you may find it is the language course that will work for you.

Love,

Destiny

Languages: German, Danish, Dutch, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

Free Language

Free Language is a language information site that has information about many free and partially free courses.

And that, my friends, is why I chose to review it.

That and because it kept popping up in my search and I finally decided, "What the heck? I'll check it out. It can't hurt and it does say free in the title."

That's one of my favourite words.

So are gratis, kostenlos, gratuito, and gratuitement

A lot of information here.

There is a lot of information on this site. I scrolled through it for a while and I think it is best if you can check it out for yourself. I would like to say that they have tons of information on learning, teaching, videos, apps, software. You just have to pick the language you are learning and check out all the stuff that is listed under it.

Check out all those languages!

Hope you have fun!

Love,

Destiny

Languages: Too many to list

LanguageCourse.net

Language Course is  a site that helps you pick a school to study a language abroad. You can read reviews about language courses in different countries.

They also have a free vocabulary trainer which is a lot of fun.

I like to spend time on this one because I find it challenging.

You look at flashcards while listening to a native voice.

She goes over the list.

After going through the list you are tested on the vocabulary. There are a lot more features to this course than I even realized at first.

There is a nice video to go with it and teach you how to use the course. This course is well worth it.

Many thanks to LanguageCourse.net for allowing me to embed the video!

Languages: Czech, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish

Google Chrome Apps Day 3: Learn Japanese 1

The Menu for Japanese 1

Japanese 1  is an app that allows you to practice the Japanese that you already know. You can practice hiragana, katakana, kanji, and your vocabulary (in hiragana).

Practice reading and vocabulary

Practice your hiragana



This is a good little study site for someone who is already a Japanese student and just needs practice. It is more serious than the Sugoi family but also better for quiet time.

If you  still need  to learn to read Japanese I recommend  Learn Kana which is an app that helps you learn to read in Japanese. The Google Chrome store actually recommended this to me when I was looking at Japanese 1.

A part of the site Learn Kana

Use it to study the basics of Japanese Hiragana and Katakana.

Google Chrome App Store Day 2: The Sugoi Japanese Funny Cartoon

                                      The Sugoi Japanese Funny Cartoon is great!

There are actually three apps and if you are learning Japanese go ahead and get them all.

The Sugoi Japanese Apps

Enjoy Japanese Sugoi Manga

Watch funny cartoons in Japanese, read, and listen to native Japanese speakers. If you don't know any Japanese you may want to combine this with a language course like LiveMocha or your Japanese classes at school. Look at how many cartoons you can watch. It's free, too!

Learn Japanese Learning With Sugoi Family

This is a fun puzzle game where you put together the faces of the characters and every time you place a character, it is read out loud to you!

Learn Japanese Write Gatakana

In the writing game, you can choose different characters and practice your strokes. This one is a lot of fun. Grace (my Japanese-American best friend) and I played it together and we couldn't stop laughing!

Cinco De Mayo

Cinco De Mayo (Fifth of May) is a celebration of Mexican pride and heritage in the United States.

Here are some good sites where you can learn more about Cinco De Mayo

Time And Date

About Spanish

Learn Spanish My Way

Hope you have lots of fun learning about Cinco De Mayo!

Love,

Destiny

The Google Chrome App Store Day 1: Chinese Tutor

Chinese Tutor is one of the apps available in the Google Chrome app store.  It is for people who already know some Chinese.

If you don't have Google Chrome you can also access Chinese Tutor here. If you do have Google Chrome I recommend getting the app so that you always remember to use it.

There isn't a lot to say about this really simple but useful Chinese app except that you need to know some basic Chinese to get started. This is not for the total beginner. You read Hanzi and have to guess it's meaning. 

You can look up Chinese words in the dictionary. There is also a pronunciation feature, where if you have a microphone you can practice your Chinese pronunciation skills.

So, if you are actively learning Mandarin Chinese or if you are planning to learn it, you need this app! Go get it. Right now.

Love,

Destiny

Languages: Chinese (Mandarin)

Google Chrome Web Store's Foreign Language Section

If you have Google Chrome then you have a great resource for learning languages at your fingertips. I may review some of the apps as a separate review in the future but for now I wanted to review the section as a whole so that you would be able to utilize it yourself and find exactly what you are looking for.

Chrome Store > Education > Foreign Languages

Once you are here you can browse through the apps or you can use the search bar to find the specific language that you want to learn. I like to try out all the language courses so I decided to scan the whole section. It was fun!

Some of the apps I will definitely be reviewing in the future

Chinese Tutor

The Sugoi Japanese Funny Cartoon

Japanese 1

I will probably review more of them that if I find one I love (or hate! You gotta know about the bad ones, too, right?)

So, if you have Google Chrome then you should go check it out. Right now! 

If not you should go get Google Chrome (unless your parents said you're not allowed)

My mom says I need a disclaimer that I am not promoting Google Chrome.

But it is my main browser and I do like it and I do find the App Store on it way useful!

Love, 

Destiny

Espanglish Chat

Espanglish Chat is a free internet chat site.

This is a great, simple little chat-room that has been open for quite some time. It was one of my first hang outs to speak "Spanglish" and it is always a lot of fun to find some buddies and chat with each other here. 

There is not a lot to say about this one but I felt it was useful resource. You can meet and chat with real people in English or Spanish and make friends or do a language exchange.

Definitely check this one out!

YY Nihongo

Yynihongo is a site where you can practice Japanese by immersing yourself.

Nihongo is the Japanese word for Japanese.

Click on the little flashcards and they bring up a picture.

You can click on different things in the picture to hear their name in Japanese. It also shows the name in English.

This site is good for people who have a basic knowledge of Japanese and can read some Japanese.

But even if you can't speak any Japanese you should check out the site if you are interested in learning the language.

I recommend combing this with LiveMocha Japanese lessons and Memrise.

Languages: Japanese

Some Windows 8 Apps for Language Learning

If you have a Windows 8 computer you might want to get some apps that you can use on your new computer. Here are some apps that might help you with the language you are learning.

Chinese

Little Prince Series

Animals 101

Transport 101

This is a cute game which has two modes, a learning mode and a game mode.

In the learning mode you can click on flashcards and hear the Chinese name for animals. 

In the game mode they give you the name for an animal and ask you which one it is.

Transportation 101 is the same way.

Japanese

Learn Japanese Romaji

This is a game for people who know a little bit of Japanese vocabulary. If you don't know all the words you will by the time you've played the game ten or twenty times. The game is easy and if you are competitive, it can be addictive. Drag the words to their matching picture.

Spanish/English

Vocabuland HD

This last one doesn't have a game mode which is actually pretty disappointing considering it would have great potential in that area. It has quite a few vocabulary words in Spanish or English. You can listen to a man or woman say them. I felt like with a name like Vocabuland, I would at least get a game so I felt let down. Maybe in the future they will have a game mode where they say a word and you have to click on the picture of the word. That would be great!

If you are the type of person who likes picture dictionaries and just sit and browse them for hours then this is a good app for you.

So, if you have a Windows 8 computer go ahead and check these out in the app store. You can find most of them by doing a quick search for "Learn Spanish", "Learn Chinese" or "Learn Japanese"