Best Free Online Language Courses

You don't have to spend a dime if you want to learn the basics of a foreign language. Here are five Internet resources for free language courses today.

Word2word
http://www.word2word.com/coursead.html

First thing you'll notice is how rich the resources are in this website. Word2word.com has a list of about 119 dialects you don't even know exist. As you click on any of the language/dialect links, you'll be directed to the further bottom of the page where specific resources for your language interest is located. For example, I clicked Tagalog, which is the lingua franca of the country Philippines, and I was led to Tagalog Language Homepage (http://www.seasite.niu.edu/tagalog/). The site also boasts of more links to other free educational sites that will definitely get you wanting to learn more of your chosen language.

The tiny box on the top of Word2word.com's homepage is a powerful menu that leads you to different resources containing such links as Language Learning on Youtube http://www.word2word.com/youtube.html, Chatsites, Forums, Meetup, Software, Transliteration Systems...etc. It seems like everything you need to know about a language that is listed in their system is here at Word2word.com!

Internet Polyglot
http://www.internetpolyglot.com/

I'm excited to know that I can learn a little bit of Portuguese for free at InternetPolyglot.com. As soon as you click on the Portuguese link on the left side menu of the website, you will see a drop down list of language to language translation. For example, Portuguese-English, Portugese-Japanese, etc. The main page area will also show you how many lessons are included in this specific free language course. In Portuguese, it will start with Características Humanas 1 - Human Characteristics 1, Casa, Mobília, Objectos de Casa - House, Furniture, and Household Objects, and so on.

Of course, what is a language resource without hearing what a native word sounds like? There's a speaker icon linked on the right of every word in Portuguese, so you know how to say it. Internetpolyglot.com may only have as much as 30 languages in its system, but it is definitely a rich, easy to navigate resource for those who are wanting to learn a different dialect like me.

Ignite the Fire
http://www.ignitethefire.com/foreignlang.html

Clicking on Human-Languages Page link on Ignitethefire.com led me to a free language course site called Ilovelanguages.com http://www.ilovelanguages.com/. I found this more helpful than the former since most of the links that Ignitethefire.com has do not work. Ilovethelanguages.com, however, is "a comprehensive catalog of language-related Internet resources". I noticed that the resources are divided into subfolders resembling like the Dmoz.org directory. Well, they probably are taken from Dmoz.org, but I won't bother finding that out. I can just tell you that the resources are really comprehensive and even specialized, something you won't find in a regular free language course site.

For example, if I clicked on By Language folder and choose Portuguese, I will get a list of more specialized links such as a Brazilian newspaper, A Collection of Home Pages about Portugal, or Rádio Muda, among the scattering of free Portuguese lessons. Overall, it's a really interesting place to learn a language, especially if you are into the more advanced stage of polyglotry.

Freelanguage.org
http://freelanguage.org/

This free online language course website got me lost immediately. Advertising is everywhere. I like the fact that they have a few different podcasts and have links to both free and paid language software. I don't get the tags/labels on the bottom of each entry, it seems like waste of space. I clicked on Portuguese and was assaulted by a bunch of resources that are not directly related to Portuguese, yet are just as useful. Example: How to Learn Languages Online for Free, Video Screencast Part 1: General Introduction. I don't need this. Also: Polyglot Culture: Quick Wikipedia Tip for Multilingual Language Surfing Goodness. I don't need this either. I wanted to get to the core of my search but I get a lot of wiki resources. I'm confused.

Go to Freelanguage.org if you're wanting more material for your free online language course. Otherwise, I would go elsewhere, because as an efficient online researcher, my patience has been tested well enough here.

Education Portal
http://education-portal.com/articles/Free_Foreign_Language_Courses_Online.html

Education-portal.com is a very interesting free online language course resource. Oh, let me paraphrase that. It is a very impressive free online language course resource. Why did I say that? It has links to "real" courses, which means, school-oriented type of courses. For example, they will give you access to universities giving free and open language courses to those who are interested. Some of them are Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, and Utah State University, US Institute of Languages, among just a few.

I tried CMU's Open Learning Initiative and chose French. (Note: I already know basic French so I'm interested to advance my skill.) Well, even though OLI said "The French courses are introductory, interactive video-based courses intended for use by university students and independent learners on the Internet," and that the purpose is mostly statistical, it's still a great way to participate and learn a new language from a well-known university.

Of course if you want accreditation, you can register for a course key and have an instructor help you out. I am now a registered independent learner and have started with my module. You can do the same. There are only 5 modules, and 15 lessons. If you want to take your learning to the next level (maybe become a French language tutor someday) you should apply for an accreditation. Go for it!