Resources
- COERRL: Center for Open Language Resources and Language LearningOne of 16 National Foreign Language Resource Centers (LRC's) funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The overall mission of these federally-funded centers is to improve the teaching and learning of foreign languages by producing resources (materials and best practices) that can be profitably employed in a variety of settings.
- Foreign Service Institute (FSI): language coursesThis is the United States federal government's primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats as well as other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in Washington.
- MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW): Japanese Language
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This site contains free online college-level courses focused on the Japanese language. - Open Culture: Learn 48 Languages Online for Free:This site offers a plethora of free online courses (1,200 in all), audio files and videos in foreign languages and English on the Web or through Youtube. Be aware that it asks you for a donation.
- Open Learn - LanguagesThis Website offers a treasure trove of learning materials from the Open University based in the United Kingdom. You will have access to free online courses, videos, audios, e-books, activities, and articles related to cultures and languages.
- U.S. Peace Corps: Language CoursesThe U.S. Peace Corps has been sending volunteers from the United States to countries all over the world for over 50 years. In fact, Live Lingua was founded by one of these volunteers.
- All国語辞書, Japanese ⇔ Japanese (Android, iOS)This app dictionary searches across a variety of online 国語辞典, including Yahoo!, Weblio, Goo, Excite, Kotobank, Google, and more. It supports handwriting recognition for kanji and kana on Android. Free.
- Cultural JapanA discovery tool for resources and objects on Japanese culture collated from cultural heritage institutions in Japan and internationally. Currently there are over one million objects on the platform.
- ForvoThis is a pronunciation dictionary with hundreds of languages translated into audible words. It also has useful phrases for travel,
- Japanese Cherry Blossom CustomLibrary of Congress historical film of the ancient custom of cherry blossoms flower viewing symbolism.
- POPjisyoThis is a free Japanese-English translator that can pick out and provide information on individual words and phrases.
- VerbixVerbix is an independent non-profit organization that aims to promote and protect linguistic diversity. This site and the Verbix for Windows software support verb conjugation in hundreds of languages, ranging from national and international languages to regional and even extinct languages.
- CIA World FactbookThis resource provides information on the history, people and society, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military as well as transnational issues for 267 world entities. The Reference tab includes: a variety of world, regional, country, ocean and time zone maps; Flags of the World; and a Country Comparison function that ranks the country information and data in more than 75 Factbook fields.
- Alexander Street Videos: Foreign LanguageThis database offers courses, educational importance and some films in foreign languages.
- Films On Demand: Foreign LanguageThis database offers films about the importance of learning a foreign language as well as some instructional films.
- News Web EasyThere are a number of ways to use this site. Listen to the news presented in a simplified and slower format. Read the news with popup definitions, either alone or while you listen to it read aloud. Then when you are confident you understand the content, watch the original broadcast and read the original transcripts.
