Learning a Foreign Language

Learning a Foreign Language

Going to a foreign destination can either be a dream come true or a nightmare that turns into reality. One of the things you could do to get yourself out of a jam in a foreign land is to equip yourself with some knowledge of the local language. Not only can it save you from a whole lot of mess, but by learning the local language of the destination you are going, you can certainly going to open up to new and deeper connections with the locals you will be meeting and also the places you will be seeing.

Other than your travel guide and a local phrase book, the Internet is a great place to start for it offers you a variety of websites that provide free material for you to pick up a foreign language.


One of our favorite website to pick up foreign languages is definitely from the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/). Languages such as French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Greek and etc are available on the website for free. What we love about this website is that it is well designed for self study which is extremely important for most travelers.


Another website that caught our fancy is, Phrasebase.com (http://www.phrasebase.com/english/). You can find phrases from 38 languages and they also provide online classrooms for those who are interested to participate. Registration is free according to the website and you can easily browse through their E-Phrasebook.


Livemocha.com (http://www.livemocha.com/) and italki.com (http://www.italki.com/) are online social networking sites that focus on foreign languages. The great thing about learning in Livemocha and italki.com are that not only do you get the language materials for free but you can also interact with other members that are experts of the language of your choice. So you will be able to ask them questions in regards to your learning.


Now what are you waiting for?? Forge ahead, a new language is only but a click away.