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Inexpensive (and free) ways to learn a foreign language in the Triangle

POSTED BY
Jody Mace
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Parlez-vous français? Hablas español? Have you ever wanted to learn a new language?

Here are some inexpensive–or even free–ways to learn another language, including American Sign Language. Whether you’re just getting started with basic vocabulary or you’re ready to practice conversation over coffee, these resources will help.

Learn about apps, programs and websites that you can use anywhere, as well as some in-person resources in the Triangle.

Foreign Language Apps and Online Learning

Apps and online learning are excellent ways to jump start the learning process.

These are all examples of online learning apps that teach you languages.

Often these companies offer a free version with commercials, and a free trial of the paid version, to get you started before the monthly fees begin.

Right now, there are two Groupons for Rosetta Stone. 

While the apps can help you build your vocabulary and get comfortable with sentence structure, basic grammar and pronunciation, they probably won’t make you proficient and definitely won’t make you fluent.

To get to the next level of understanding you need to turn to a more immersive experience and possibly some formal learning.

Immerse Yourself as a Listener (and Reader)

Don’t rely on one source. It will take a degree of obsession to become fluent. Seek out opportunities to listen to speakers of the language you’re learning. Here are just a few ideas.

Tune-in Radio

Tune-in Radio features stations from around the world, including music, news, talk radio and more. You can listen on your computer or your device. There’s a free version, and a premium version without ads. 

Search Tune-In Radio by language to find radio shows in more than 100 languages.

Kids’ Shows on YouTube

If you search YouTube for “baby shows in Spanish” you’ll find some shows that teach Spanish to young children, but what is more helpful, if you’re looking for immersion, are the shows intended for Spanish-speaking children. Watching Peppa Pig in Spanish or Caillou in French is a good way to immerse yourself in a new language because the vocabulary will be simpler and more repetitive than in shows intended for adults.

Read and Look Up

Read articles that are written in the language you’re learning, and look up the words you don’t know. This will be time consuming, but you’ll know that you’re making progress when you need to look up fewer words.

MIT Libraries has organized a large number of foreign language newspapers, by language, but you can easily find more on the internet.

Listen to Stories

On The Fable Cottage, a free website, you can listen to a fable told in English, and then listen to it in French, Spanish, Italian or German. These stories are well-told, and with repeated listenings of the familiar tales, more and more of the words and phrases will become familiar. You can just listen, or you can see translations of sections of the audio as you listen.

Your Library

Libraries offer several resources for learning a foreign languages, at no cost.

Wake County Public Libraries:

  • Transparent Languages: Robust online courses, mobile apps and resources for over 100 languages

Durham County Library:

  • Transparent Languages: Robust online courses, mobile apps and resources for over 100 languages
  • Gale Courses: Instructor-led online languages courses, including Beginning Conversational French, Conversational Japanese, Instant Italian, Spanish in the Classroom and more

Chapel Hill Public Library:

  • Conversation and film-based resources to help you learn more than 70 languages
 

In-Person Foreign Language Classes in the Triangle

Here’s when your local community college comes in handy. Wake Technical Community College offers evening classes and online classes in:

  • Spanish
  • French
  • Italian
  • American Sign Language
  • Korean
  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • Russian

Check out the Wake Technical Community College’s website for current offerings. 

These classes provide formal instruction to help you with grammar, verb conjugation, and syntax. Evening and online classes start at different times of the year and don’t necessarily follow a semester calendar, so check the course catalog for scheduling.

Practice with a Group

Now that you can put together a sentence, the next step is to practice listening and speaking the language. After all, people communicate primarily via speech. That’s where meetups and clubs come in handy.

The Triangle German Conversation Meetup group describes the group this way “Are you learning German and you like to practice speaking German with others? Or are you from Germany and you like to meet German learners in the area and have fun?”

One member said “It is simple. We meet at a cafe and chat!” That’s the perfect solution for anyone hoping to practice their newly attained language skills.

There are meetup groups in the area for practically every language and skill level. 

If your goal for this year is to parlez or habla something new, these resources will help you get started.

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Posted by Jody Mace Filed Under: Learning

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