5 free & fun tools to learn a new language

There’s no denying it. Technology makes everything so much easier – even learning. It’s something we at itslearning have believed in right from the start.

Take learning a new language for instance. With technology, you have apps and so many other time-saving learning opportunities and resources right at your fingertips.

And, since December is Learn a Foreign Language Month, we’ve put together 5 cool and free resources for learning a new language. Some of these materials can even be used in the classroom as they provide a fun way to pick up a new language, especially for beginners.

Online and mobile apps

There’re a lot of free apps out there from Duolingo to Memrise and Babbel to help you learn a new language at your own pace. Most of the courses are created by native speakers, so you will learn all the nuances as well as how the language is used in everyday speech. These courses are meant for beginners, so you can start easy and work up to higher levels. Test them out and see which one works for you. Just a few minutes a day towards proficiency in a new language.

MOOCs

If you prefer the old school way of learning with a structured approach and conventional coursework, look to MOOC providers like edX, FutureLearn, Coursera or Udemy. They all offer language courses taught by university leacturers from around the world. You can even get a certificate at the end of the course. In fact, I’m using Coursera right now to learn Mandarin taught by a language teacher from Peking University in China.

itslearning

itslearning users have the added benefit of a Library of teaching resources, especially for teaching English – the world’s most popular second language to learn. Teachers can also share their own course materials with other educators across the itslearning community through the Library.

Additionally, the Immersive Reader in itslearning helps students new to a language practice their pronunciation and improve reading comprehension and fluency. Check it out.

Broadcasters

A surprising resource that many are not aware of! The British broadcaster BBC has free English learning materials on its BBC Learning English site, just like Voice of America, which is the largest and oldest international broadcaster funded by the U.S. Congress. Similarly, the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle offers a great, free German language program.

Bonus – Learn Norwegian online

We often get questions about learning Norwegian, since we are a Norwegian company. Well, you will find plenty of free online resources including beginner level courses from the University of Oslo (Uio) (offered via FutureLearn) and NTNU (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology).

Learning a foreign language is a great way to broaden your horizons and get to know new cultures. Plus, it’s a lot of fun. Give it a try today.