Foreign Languages
Foreign
Language Programs
Several useful and very affordable foreign language programs for Mac
and Windows. If you send them your textbook, they will include ALL
vocabulary words from the book in WordTutor.
Learn
Spanish with Hungry Frog
The original Hungry Frog game developers. Students answer questions
in Spanish, then try and save frogs by eating attacking bugs! Several
on-line FREE games using Shockwave. (See next link to download Shockwave
player FREE.)
Shockwave
You'll need this FREE plugin for your web browser in order to take
advantage of FREE programs developed in Shockwave. Follow the on-screen
prompts to download, then install.
Language
Toolkit Writer and Reader
This guy from England has designed one of the easiest to use multimedia
authoring programs for foreign language learning I've ever seen and
used. Language Toolkit Writer allows you to drag and drop illustrations,
QuickTime movies, sound and pictures to create multimedia lessons
for your students to then practice. Hey, why not have students create
their own lessons! There are also several other programs available.
(Sorry, Macintosh only)
Handheld
Language Tutor
This is a Palm software site that list 3 programs for foreign language
learning. They are simple flash card modules, but still helpful for
memorizing useful vocabulary. Look for more handheld language tutors
in the future as handheld computers become faster and more powerful.
General Sites
WebActivity
Directory
Teachers
Helping Teachers
Language
Links
Hispanic Culture
Factmonster.com
This is a great site to find information about different Hispanic role models. From rock starts to a list of Hispanic congressman you can find it here. Also provided are crossword puzzles, games, lists of Hispanic countries and much more.
Scholastics
The Scholastics Web site offers an extensive amount of information about Hispanic culture. There is an area dedicated for teachers including research information, biographies, and lesson plan ideas. Students have their own area which includes games, puzzles and reading information about famous Hispanics and their contributions to society.
The History Channel
The History Channel Web site provides movie clips, information, and much more for teachers and secondary students. Students can watch streaming video clips, find biographical information and images about Hispanic culture month. There is an area for teachers with activities and lesson plan ideas.
Famous Hispanics of the World and History
This site gives an alphabetical list of biographies of famous Hispanic people. The list includes musicians, Nobel Peace Prize winners, women, sports figures, writers, scientists and more.
Notable Hispanic American Biographies
Notable Hispanic Americans are listed from A to Z. Biographies are provided for people such as, pop star Christina Aguilera and actress Raquel Welch but also for US State Representative Nydia Velázquez or missionary Junípero Serra.
Latino Legends in Sports
This site is about sports legends of Latin America. Featuring news articles of present Latino athletes and biographies of past and present Latino sports legends. This site also includes forums, trivia and statistics of Latino athletes.
Latinos in History
Find Hispanic people who have inspired others with their thoughts, actions and ideas. Allows the viewer to choose an era and then find Hispanic influences during that time period.
Latina Women of NASA
This site is inspirational for young Latina women. NASA has created a site listing the diverse Latina women working for NASA. This site also includes links for Hispanic astronauts.
EspanOle!
This site includes biographies of famous and influential Hispanics. This site is divided into several categories for easy navigating. Viewers have a choice from the following categories: Artists, Writers, Astronauts, Singers, Screen Stars and even Political and Military.
Italian Language
Italian History Index
This page includes tons of culture resources, broken into categories like topical, chronological, and geographical. Much of the page is in Italian, and links are in mostly English or Italian.
Antologia (frammentaria) della Letteratura Italiana
This page includes links to dozens of authentic Italian texts, including Dante and Boccaccio.
Language Quest
This site lists many different languages and software for each. For Italian, the site lists nearly a hundred resources, including software, books, audio, and video items for sale.
Italian WebQuest Resources
This page includes links to a handful of Italian WebQuests with various content goals. The WebQuests vary in quality.
Online Foreign Language Quizzes
Transparent Language
This site contains a selection of proficiency tests that assess the user's level in understanding the language. Each quiz has multiple-choice grammar and reading comprehension questions. When the user is finished, the site gives a breakdown of the score for each question. A great tool for pretests in advanced language classes!
Syvum Language Translation Games and Quizzes
This site has a tremendous amount of quizzes to choose from - most centering on basic vocabulary such as months, days, colors, etc. The quizzes also come in many formats - multiple choice, fill in the blank, and even a version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." The downside - this site is covered by pop up and other advertisements - not inappropriate - but annoying all the same!
Quia: Language Quizzes
Visit and use a selection of quizzes based on World Languages from Quia. These are free to use, though you will not have access to the automatic grading that subscribers to this Website have. However, you get access to a host of online quizzes in a variety of forms - matching, "concentration", flash cards, word searches, etc.
Literacy Center
This site is originally designed for preschool children learning to read in different languages. However, the interactive activities and audio pronunciations make it perfect for beginners! Students can click on letters to hear them pronounced, spell different words, review colors and numbers, etc. Lots of fun for even the youngest learners!
Foreign Languages for Travelers
Move through the somewhat confusing main page to get to the heart of this Web site - zesit will be worth it! Students can click on common beginner's phrases to hear a sound file of the phrase pronounced correctly. Then, they can take a series of online quizzes on the information. Great for involving different learning preferences!
World Language in the Elementary School
Fairfax
County Public School: Partial Immersion
Read about how schools in Fairfax County, Virginia are implementing
a partial immersion program. Includes lists of schools to contact.
World
Language Resources
This site claims to offer "the world's largest selection of world
language products." A search engine allows you to select from "a comprehensive
collection of products for language learning, translation, dictionary,
OCR, fonts and many other uses."
World Language Webquests
Immigration from Germany
Students are asked to play the role of a German immigrant throughout history. Participants will keep a journal of their trip and reflect on why they have left as well as the trials and tribulations they will face arriving in a new land.
Road Adventures
Learn about the country of France through this creative WebQuest. Students are asked to participate in and MTV like "Road Rules" challenge throughout the country of France.
LE MUSEE DE BEAUX ARTS DE BELLEVILLE
Explore major art movements and select works to be displayed in a French chateau/museum.
NAVEGAR É PRECISO
A WebQuest in Portuguese, which involves discussing and choosing criteria to evaluate web pages to build a page about Pernambuco.
