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Learning Languages for Free

By Daniel McAdam

At my somewhat advanced age, I am happy to report that there are at least two things of which I am reasonably certain:

It is good to learn useful things, and;
Everything else being relatively equal, "free" is better than "costly."

Recently, I've combined these two ideas, and come up with various free ways of learning languages. My motivation for this is fairly straightforward, in that I think it would be good for me to learn Spanish, but not so good that I actually want to spend money on the project. If you, too, would like to strike a blow against hyperconsumerism, read on.

Method One - Go to the Public Library

This seems rather obvious; but, if it's so obvious, why are so many people spending so much money on language books that they probably never use? Many public libraries have decent sections of language texts, and some also have language courses on CD. My local library has a good section on Spanish and French, along with a smattering of books and tapes on other languages.

Method Two - Subscribe to a Podcast

This is the method I'm actually using right now, and it's a kick. I found a podcast called Coffee Break Spanish on iTunes, and it's just what I was looking for. If you're confused about iTunes, let me explain; it's a free download that works on your PC, and you don't need an iPod to make it work - it works right on your computer. If you do have an iPod (like me), then you can transfer things from iTunes onto your iPod, and listen to podcasts while driving, or hiking, or exercising at the gym. But really, you don't even need iTunes (although it is free) or an iPod, because you can also go directly to the Coffee Break Spanish website. This particular podcast is a real hoot, because the two persons teaching Spanish both have strong Scottish accents, and they're teaching Castilian - as opposed to South and Central American - Spanish, so you learn to pronounce "gracias" as "grathias." If you're someone like me, it's these little oddities in life that make existence more fascinating.

But what if you want to learn something other than Spanish? Well, Coffee Break Spanish is part of the Radio Lingua Network, where you can also learn French, Italian, or German. Going back to iTunes, there are tons of podcasts listed for just about every language you could think of.

Method Three - Listen to Your DVD's in a Foreign Language

If you own DVD's where you have a language selection, try something other than English.

Method Four - Find Someone Who Speaks the Language You Want to Learn, and Befriend Them

You have to be careful here - I'm not advocating using people. So maybe this method wouldn't, or shouldn't, be entirely free, because you ought to at least treat people to dinner, or something like that. The idea originally came to me when I read a biography of that great adventurer, Sir Richard Francis Burton, and discovered his method for learning languages, in which most lessons apparently took place in bed. Recognizing that my companion is a bit less liberal in her thinking than Sir Richard's wife was in hers, I'll probably stick to the podcast thing.

¡Hasta luego!

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