Hundreds of resources to help you teach yourself
Founded in 1856, Schoenhof’s claims to have the “largest collection of foreign books in North America.” As a student at Harvard, I used to shop at their main store in Harvard Square for my language and literature course materials. I…
Located in the New York State Library in Albany, the New Netherland Institute is the home of the New Netherland Project, run for decades by scholar Dr. Charles Gehring. The purpose of the New Netherland Project is…
The Nederlandse Taalunie, or Dutch Language Union, is a kind of language regulator. It dates back to 1980, when the Netherlands and Flanders signed a treaty agreeing that the two governments would “set joint policy with respect to the Dutch language.”…
Central Park draws international visitors year round, but if you really want to hear other languages, walk around here during the three non-freezing seasons: spring, summer, and fall. Summer especially is crazy with tourists. You can hear dozens of languages.…
Älskling, which means “darling” in Swedish, sells baby clothes online in dozens of languages. When I first encountered this product in an Upper West Side shop some years ago, I was fortunate enough to be given a tour by…
I love this museum because of its tenacious focus on one of my favorite subjects: New York City. They have wonderful exhibits and a fancy introductory movie on New York City, and I have been there many times over the…
This eminent 130-year-old organization “provides opportunities for its members to share their scholarly findings and teaching experiences with colleagues and to discuss trends in the academy.” The Modern Language Association publishes prolifically, academics congregate annually at their annual convention,…
The Mid-Manhattan Library, at 40th Street and Fifth Avenue, is the main language-learning repository of the New York Public Library. I used it a lot in 2009 and 2010, mostly for Pimsleur audio lessons, but also borrowed books and other resources as…
According to its website, CafePress has “the world’s largest selection of artist-designed t-shirts, clothing, accessories, housewares and gifts.” I have included this company here because they happen to sell numerous foreign-language items, such as mugs, hoodies, posters, clocks, and…
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