The eduFire Blog

Of course, we think eduFire (not to mention SuperPass!) is an absolutely incredible way for any homeschooler  to learn a language or new skill, but we can’t always go and toot our own horn when there’s so many others that do such a good job as well. Here is a list of seven free resources (besides us) that home schoolers can use to study a language quickly and effectively. With the web, using software on your computer is old. These resources are often better, more effective, and free!

Smart.fm

Smart.fm is one of the most in depth flashcard programs on the web, and it’s all free. With user generated lists there are an infinite number of possibilities, from Japanese to Spanish to art and more. They’ve done an incredible job studying how the brain learns new things and applying it to an application that anybody can use. No matter what you’re learning, it’s time to throw away your index cards and get Smart.

Lang-8

Lang-8 is so innovative when it comes to the idea of “community” learning. I don’t know how many hours I’ve spent writing and reading on this website. Lang-8 means “infinite languages” (turn that 8 on its side), because it supports all languages. The idea behind Lang-8 is pretty simple, but also really effective as well. You write journal entries (or other content) in the language that you are learning. People who are natives in the language that you are learning will correct your journal entries using Lang-8’s fabulous set of correcting tools. Then, in theory, you would go help people who are learning your native language by correcting their content. I’m always really surprised (happily surprised) by the community and how eager everyone is to help each other out! Start writing now!

Busuu

Busuu is another community driven site, and does a great job making language learning fun! Using the site, it almost feels “game-like” which, when done well (like Busuu) helps kids enjoy learning. Busuu’s platform includes dialogues, interactive tests, listening practice, community, vocabulary training, and more! If you just visit their website you’ll see why it’s different from everyone else!

Babbel

Babbel is another site that makes learning fun (actually, all of these are!). Babbel believes that it’s important to “make the connection between different sense, and associations between diverse kinds of content.” I couldn’t agree more! Everything on the site has a picture or audio along with it, and learning is much more interactive than traditional learning resources, which essentially means Babbel’s system will adjust to your level over time.

iTunes

iTunes, believe it or not, is a great way to practice a language. More specifically, the podcast section (because it’s free). Did you know that you can scroll down to the bottom of the iTunes store and change your location? If you do this, you can’t download any content that costs anything, but you can (for example), change your location to Japan, then go to the Japan podcast section where you have access to a wealth of listening resources that comes from real, native speakers of Japanese. The great part is that when you change locations, all your menu items stay in your native language, which makes it really easy to navigate!

Twitter

Twitter has really boomed in the last few months, which means more and more people from all over the world are Tweeting in 140 characters or less. I’ve found that Twitter is great for both reading and writing practice, mostly because everything comes in such manageable bite-sized chunks. If you follow people tweeting in the language that you’re learning then it’s easy to read / translate incoming tweets just because they’re so short (and not overwhelming, like a text or newspaper translation). Also, for writing, you’ll find that it’s easy to write 140 characters at a time.You can do it in between other things, so you’re always making use of your time. Tweet! (don’t forget to follow @edufire!)

Innovative Languages (Pod101 Series)

You may not have heard of Innovative Languages by this name, but I bet you’ve heard of all their fabulous online products (JapanesePod101, FrenchPod101, etc.). Now, they do have paid versions of all these things, but they offer quite a bit of content for free as well. You can learn a lot from their free audio content, and of course, you can learn even more by upgrading your account. To see a list of languages they cover, just head on over to the products page and gander at the list in the left sidebar.

So what is missing from this list? Add your own favorite homeschool language learning resources to the comments section to help everyone out!

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