Helpful Links for Learning a Language

Today I was looking at a bunch of websites, looking for tips on learning languages. I just posted a good website about the process of deconstructing a language to find out how hard the language learning process is going to be. I've also added the site to the links section to the right.

But these links are helpful for actually learning a language.

My Happy Planet

With MyHappyPlanet, you can practice speaking with a native speaker, learn more about other cultures, and make friends with people anywhere in the world. We’ve built in great features so you can teach and learn from each other through live chat, messaging, videos, and fun lessons.

MyHappyPlanet.com


Wikibooks - How to Learn a Language

This website touches upon the various methods of learning a new language, and gives examples. A great place to check into if you're in a slump, or need a new method to try learning your target language. It also has it's complement website, how to TEACH a language.

How to Learn a Language
How to Teach a Language


Omniglot

Omniglot.com is a great website with a wealth of information on languages, how to learn languages, and the history of language.

Omniglot Language Learning Page


Pick the Brain - How to Learn a Foreign Language

Pickthebrain.com has a good blog post by Steve Kaufmann about learning a foreign language. He just lays down some good rules to follow, and some more advice. It's short and sweet.
1) Spend the time!
2) Listen and read every day!
3) Focus on words and phrases!
4) Take responsibility for your own learning!
5) Relax and enjoy yourself!
At this site, I looked up Steve Kaufmann and found out more about him. He has his own language learning site called LingQ.com, and a language learning blog.

Pickthebrain.com - Learn a Foreign Language
LingQ - Language Learning Website
Steve Kaufmann's Language Learning Blog

Mindtools

Mindtools.com is a website devoted to teaching memory techniques. This is a good article on their website about language, since vocabulary acquisition is just memorizing new strings of syllables and connecting them to meaning. One thing I like is the "100 words" list they post--it's a list of the 100 most used words that account for around 50% of the daily words spoken. Of course it's words spoken in English, but the idea is still a good one. If you can find the most used words in a language, and an effective way to memorize new words quickly, you can learn a language pretty quickly.

Mindtools article