Reviews
Hundreds of resources to help you teach yourself
AFFOI
French, Organizations
AFFOI, short for Assemblée des francophones fonctionnaires des organisations internationales, seeks to safeguard the linguistic diversity of international organizations. On its website, AFFOI asserts, “La diversité linguistique, culturelle et conceptuelle est une condition sine qua non…
Foreign Service Institute Language Courses
Arabic, Dutch, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Audio Lessons, Websites
These Foreign Service Institute language courses were recommended by a reader. I haven’t tried them, but the holdings are extensive and consist of older courses that are now in the public domain. They are also free, so the main…
The ING New York City Marathon
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Sports/Fitness
Yeah, I know, the marathon is supposedly about running 26.2 miles. I am a runner, so I can appreciate that. Still, for me, New York City’s annual marathon spectacular is more about culture and language. Because of the global obsession…
Modern Language Association Language Map
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites
The Modern Language Association has a spectacular online language map showing the languages of the U.S., as well as a data center with searchable language information. For free! These tools will be updated soon…
Central Park
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Parks, Kids
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.…
Académie française (French Academy)
French, Organizations
In countries not the United States, it is not unusual to find an organized body of language experts who weigh in on questions relating to their national language. You know, like a Council on American Grammar and Usage—except we…
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites
If you are a social-media holdout, I am not going to try to convince you that you should dive in now. There are, after all, pros and cons to being on Facebook. If you are already on Facebook,…
New York French American Charter School
French, Classes/Conversation, Kids
This school on West 120th Street, I was told, is the first public French-American charter school in New York City. Its larger mission, according to its website, “is to develop global citizens who are well-prepared…
Haskell Library
French, Bookstores/Libraries, Classes/Conversation, Kids
Members of the French Institute Alliance Française have access to its magnificent John & Francine Haskell Library. With your adult membership fee of $95 (less for seniors, academics, and children), you can check out music, learning tools, movies, and…