I believe in free education, one that’s available to everyone; no matter their race, gender, age, wealth, etc… This masterpost was created for every knowledge hungry individual out there. I hope it will serve you well. Enjoy!
FREE ONLINE COURSES (here are listed websites that provide huge variety of courses)
Please feel free to add more learning focused websites.
*There are a lot more learning websites out there, but I picked the ones that are, as far as I’m aware, completely free and in my opinion the best/ most useful.
As an aspiring polyglot, it’s important that I have a bunch of resources at my disposal for language learning. I use a variety of resources for my learning, such as books, websites, apps, T.V. shows, movies, etc. These are some of my resources!
-Websites-
1. Omniglot
This website is more for finding information about languages and finding languages to learn. It has a very comprehensive list of languages and you can find plenty of secondary resources for learning the language. You can find tutors for that language, and even songs in your target language. I can just about guarantee you that no matter what language you’re looking for, it will be documented here. It is absolutely amazing, and it is a FANTASTIC resource for the dedicated linguist.
This is both a website AND an app, however, I tend to use the website more frequently, mainly because I’m always on my laptop anyway. The learning system that this website uses makes out very easy to stay motivated, and the lessons are organized amazingly. Currently, the website offers about 27 different language courses for English speakers, and various language courses for speakers of languages other than English. You can set goals for yourself, take multiple courses, be involved in discussions, and even do translating activities. Beware though, it gets VERY addicting.
Also a website AND an app, this is my all time favorite resource for learning languages. It has SO many languages to choose from, and it even offers subjects other than languages, although foreign language learning is its primary appeal factor.
Although this sector of BBC has been archived and is no longer updated, it still contains some valuable information. It includes some useful phrases, alphabet guides, and jokes in many languages. You’re bound to learn something new there, so check it out!
This website offers language courses constructed by the U.S. government, and relies heavily on audio-based learning. However, many of the language courses include lessons in the form of pdf. There is a very large selection of languages to choose from, so this resource is very good for getting an excellent introduction to your target language.
Claiming to be the internet’s largest collection of free public domain language learning materials, this website is a MUST for language learners. It contains the FSI courses, Peace Corps language learning materials, and the DLI (military) language courses. It also offers Skype sessions for language learners in several different languages! The main appeal of this website, however, is the Peace Corps language material archive. There are SO many different languages to choose from, and there are many ebooks and audio files to take advantage of here.
This website offers texts that translate English texts into 55 other languages. It is not a translator, it merely provides reading material in foreign languages to learners. It is a very useful website, especially for analyzing how sentences are formed in other languages.
This website is really helpful for explaining grammatical concepts and for learning general stuff about languages, such as verbs, vocabulary, nouns, adjectives, basic phrases, foods, etc. There are quite alot of languages offered on this website, so it’s a great resource!
This website is great for learning languages through a sentence based, contextual experience. It’s a bit like Duolingo in that sense, and it requires you to fill in missing words from sentences. In my opinion, it’s better for people with a background in their target language, and they offer many different options for languages. It’s also good for speakers of a native language other than English!
This is a great website for ancient language learners, and it provides resources for Egyptian, Mayan, Hittite, Latin, Old English, Etruscan, Gaulish, and several others. I have found the majority of resources that I have looked through helpful to my learning efforts. They have dictionaries, grammars, charts, and texts, and it is a very comprehensive resource.
This is a good resource for learners looking for audio files to help them practice their listening. I haven’t used it all too much, but there are many language options, so you’re bound to find a language that you find interesting on here.
This is a great resource for getting feedback on your writing in your target language. You can post things in your target language, and native speakers of that language will correct it, and you can do the same for other people! It’s very helpful, and is a great resource if you have to write in your target language often.
This website offers a few books to read in different languages and is good for comparing different languages of the same book. This makes for good practice for reading in your target language.
There are quite a few languages courses on this website, although several of them cost money. However, there are quite a few courses that are free, and are good for introducing you to your language of choice.
As mentioned above in the websites section, this app is so amazing for on-the-go language learning, as well as for subjects other than languages! It helps users memorize concepts with “meme” which are pictures that will remind you of what the word or concept means, and it’s such a unique and fun learning experience! It has the feel of using flashcards, but I just love using this app so much.
2. Duolingo
Also mentioned in the websites section, this app is great for both learning new words and reviewing words that you have either memorized or have just been exposed to. There are grammar lessons available, translation activities, groups that you can join, and Duolingo makes it fun to learn a language with it’s reward system.
3. HelloTalk
This is my absolute FAVORITE app to talk to native speakers of my target language(s). You can become language partners with people, help others with translations, video/voice call, send voice messages, and have as many partners as you want! It’s an absolutely amazing app, and I highly recommend it to everyone! Warning- If you’re a native English speaker looking for a native Chinese speaker, you will get HUNDREDS of requests. It might overwhelm you for a second.
4. TuneIn Radio
This is really great for finding stations in your target language, and it helps with practicing both comprehension of spoken language as well as introduces you to awesome music in your target language!
5. Tigercards
This app presents words in the form of lists, and gives you vocab so that you can review it. Not the best presentation of words and it doesn’t really offer a memorization technique like Memrise, but it’s still helpful!
6. Busuu
This app is a bit like Duolingo, and it offers German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, Italian, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Japanese, and Chinese!
7. uTalk
This app offers so many different languages, it’s pretty incredible. There are games that you can play, phrasebooks, and several other features. The interface is also really awesome and simple, so it makes learning easier than usual. Definitely a must have.
8. Innovative Language
I haven’t used this app much, but I have heard that the lessons on this app are very good, and you can download the lessons so that you can view them offline.
9. FlashSticks
This has been super helpful to me, in addition to the games and flashcards that it offers, it also provides an object scanner, which uses your camera to scan objects and then tells you what it’s called in your target language!
10. Mondly
This has been an awesome resource for me since it’s a bit like Duolingo, only with more unique language options. I’m currently using it to learn Hindi, however, there are tons of other language options. The interface is awesome, and I love using it.
11. MindSnacks
This company makes several different language apps, and currently I’m using the Mandarin, Japanese, and French ones. So far, I’ve really enjoyed these apps!
12. Spotify
Through Spotify’s “Word” category, there are many different playlists dedicated to language learning, such as for Arabic, Mandarin, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, and Swedish!
13. Quizlet
This is more of a diy language learning resource. It is not an inherent language learning resource, however, if you learn best through lists and/or flashcards, then this app allows you to make cards and review vocab that way! I use it all the time for exams!
14. FluentU
This is an awesome app for watching videos in your target language, and is really good for learning new words.
-Books-
1. Teach Yourself
This series offers an astounding number of languages, and I have found them to be pretty effective in helping me learn languages. I have used the Russian, Arabic, Mandarin, and Irish ones.
2. Barron’s Grammar and Verb books
I really like the way Barron’s does language books, so far I have used their Japanese grammar book and their Russian verbs book, and I really like the layout of them, especially the grammar book!
3. Dk Visual Bilingual Dictionaries
These are so helpful for me, I’ve been using the Mandarin and Japanese dictionaries for a long time, and they are so comprehensive and awesome!
4. Ethnologue
These aren’t language “learning” materials, but rather they help me find new languages to learn. These are more for the linguistic lovers, since they catalog almost every living language in the world in every country, and provide language maps and statistics. There’s really fascinating stuff in those books, so I highly recommend purchasing them.
5. The “Dirty” books
So far, I have only used the Japanese version, however, I really like what the book includes, and it’s great for learning slang in your target language, and things that traditional textbooks wouldn’t teach you.
6. Living Language
I LOVE these books so much, I’ve used the Russian, Mandarin, and French ones and I’ve found them very helpful! The layout of these are very nice, and they’re pretty comprehensive.
7. Tuttle books
Tuttle offers several different language books, and they all are very good in my opinion. I have used their books for Arabic, Korean, Mandarin, Japanese, and Hindi.
That’s all that I have right now, but if you all would like more resources than I will definitely make a second one!
not to be That Guy but nobody cried this much when brazils national museum burned down in september, just goes to show how much people favor white history!!!
to be fair, i didn’t hear squat about this. i would have been just as unhappy about that event as this
and theres a reason you didnt hear squat about it!
because people favor white history!
notre dame got immediate coverage and attention, even though notre dame will be okay. even though the art has been saved and spared, even though it has happened before and will happen again
when the national museum of brazil burned in september, there was hardly any coverage. even though the majority of what had taken hundreds of years to collect had burned. even though the national museum of brazil was home to art from pompeii and egypt as well.
am i saying that what has been burned and demolished at notre dame isnt devastating? no. absolutely not.
but its real fucking telling what people care about when MULTIPLE people now have responded saying they hadnt even HEARD of brazils national museum burning lol
Y'all… The Museu Nacional (National Museum) held the largest collection in LATIN AMERICA.
The fire destroyed over 20 million relics. You read that right. 20 MILLION. Dinosaur fossils, mummies, and indigenous artefacts. More than 90% of the items the museum held were destroyed.
Notre Dame can still be repaired. It was already renovated 2 centuries ago. Notre Dame can be rebuilt. The historical items the Museu Nacional held CANNOT be replaced. The museum was absolutely DESTROYED.
The Declaration of Independence of my country was signed at this very museum. Throughout the fire, museum employees ran inside to rescue as many items as they could.
A lot of Latin America’s history fully VANISHED in this fire. This was a huge hit for us. Y'all care so much about white history and are freaking out over Notre Dame, when an event that destroyed much more history got no attention whatsoever from the international community.
I rest my case.
I’m furious. Furious over the fact that I didn’t even hear about it. In fact I haven’t even heard of this museum in school or around the internet. It sounds so precious and even though the notre dame was very devastating and sad, MILLIONS of pieces of history was destroyed in this museum but not a peep about it on the news?!?!? That’s really just wack. Kids can you say colonizers.
You know what’s also horrible? This fire destroyed whole LANGUAGES. There were records of extinct indigenous languages inside this museum, and they were destroyed. This fire caused God knows how many languages to be completely lost to time.
Unfortunately, the native peoples who spoke these languages were mostly killed, meaning that when records of their languages were destroyed, their entire CULTURES were gone. Imagine that.
Not to mention the dinosaur fossils that were destroyed. The native American mummies.
The fact that so little people outside of Brazil ever heard of this fire blows my mind.
I heard about it, and now I’m depressed about it all over again.
I only heard about this disaster via Tumblr, which is really fuckin’ telling.
