Free Language Courses May 23, 2007
Posted by Barrett in : Global, Culture, Languages , trackbackI have always wanted to study a foreign language (one that is still spoken, for a change). Of course, an extended immersion experience in a foreign country is the best and probably most efficient way of learning a new language. I, however, neither have the time nor the means to travel to distant lands to fulfill my dreams of becoming a polyglot.
My wife and I discussed the matter and decided that we would study Spanish together this summer. We figured that if we were diligent we could speak Spanish with one another in the home — a mini-immersion experience. I began scanning the web for the best language learning program for us. There are an incredible number of programs out there and many online reviews highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each (as well as a number of fraudulent reviews, obviously pushing a particular program). I narrowed my choices down to Rosetta Stone, Learning Spanish Like Crazy, Pimsleur Spanish, Barron’s Mastering Spanish, and FSI Programmatic Spanish.
I considered three factors when determining which program to purchase. First, I wanted the program that was best structured for my learning style. For me, this meant that the program must contain an audio element as well as some kind of text book, so that I can study the grammar. Second, I wanted a program that would fit my needs so that I could study at home and while on the road where I might not have access to the internet. Third, I wanted something that wasn’t going to cost an arm and a leg. With these considerations in mind, I determined that FSI Programmatic Spanish would be the best all around program for me.
FSI Programmatic Spanish was developed by the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State to teach diplomats, FBI agents, and other government personnel. The course is praised for being one of the most effective ways to learn Spanish. It is criticized for lacking some of the more dynamic elements of other programs, and for being a very demanding course, requiring serious dedication.
A number of different publishers offer the full suite of FSI Programmatic Spanish courses on CD or by download. Prices vary significantly. The best price I found was through amazon.com, which offers the full set of courses for under $190.
$190 still seemed a little steep to me, so I continued to search for a better deal. I quickly learned that FSI Programmatic Spanish as well as many other FSI foreign language programs are either in the public domain or under a creative commons license. In other words, these programs are available for free!
At least two websites offer free access to and/or downloads of FSI materials. The best site is FreeLanguageCourses.com. They offer many of the language courses for quick download in a zipped file. All of the text files are in PDF, and all audio files are in MP3 format. This means that you can put the audio files on your iPod and listen to them in a plain, train, or automobile. So far, FreeLanguageCourses.com provides access to courses in Arabic, Cambodian, Standard Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Khmer, Spanish, Swedish, and Thai. They also provide free downloads of other possibly helpful sources.
Another site, FSI Language Courses, offers access to even more of the FSI courses. However, the audio files are not easily downloadable, and their server seems to have some intermittent problems.
So, now that you know how to obtain quality language resources for free, all you have to do is set aside an hour or two everyday to study, find a speaking partner, and get to it.
Comments»
Hi,
There’s also the www.spanishsense.com using podcasts and other very cool tools. They’re the group who did the amazingly successful www.chinesepod.com to instruct Mandarin.
I have been during the Mastering Spanish series for a while now. This of course is the same as FSI, just rebadged under Barrons. Level one was about 12 CD’s, and now I’m on CD #6 of level 2. Anyway, just wanted to say that I love the course. Its funny because the first two CD’s of level 1 were HORRENDOUSLY boring (95% pronunciation drills for a few hours)… but things took a drastic turn for the best after that. I will point out the following however… the textbook states that these courses are for those who “already have basic knowledge of spanish and want to improve their fluency”. Personally, I’d go a few steps beyond that and say that you should be pretty familiar with your conjugations before diving into this course. I think its ideal for those book taught students that can already read and write pretty doggone well, but but simply can’t put sentences together well. It will take that student to the next level for sure. But let it be known that your introductory course this is not! Just my $.02, fwiw.