Reviews
Hundreds of resources to help you teach yourself
Forvo
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Dictionaries, Websites
Forvo’s tagline says it all: “All the words in the world. Pronounced.” Okay, maybe not all, but it is good to have a goal. There are 300 languages on Forvo’s language list, from German and Spanish to…
Assimil
French, Books, Multimedia
Some people whose opinion I respect really like Assimil, a French company offering multimedia programs with different language bases. For example, there are English-based programs designed for English speakers learning other languages, and French-based programs designed for French speakers learning…
Flatbush, Brooklyn
French, Neighborhoods
I went here one day looking for Haitian French. I found a lot of Creole. And maybe a few cuss words. It was fun to walk around, though, and one could certainly see the influence of French on business names…
SparkNotes French Vocabulary Study Cards
French, Flashcards, Vocabulary
These are great. Blue on one side, white on the other, clear print, sturdy, and a good choice of words. Plus inexpensive. Or at least they used to be. Unfortunately, between the time I began this review and the time…
Modern Language Association
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites, Organizations
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,…
French Institute Alliance Française
French, Museums/Cultural, Organizations, Classes/Conversation, Kids
FIAF, as it is known, is a wonderful New York City institution offering diverse cultural events and resources for Francophile New Yorkers. I have gone to a conversation event there, seen French movies, visited the library, taken a few French…
Strand Bookstore
English, French, General, Bookstores/Libraries
This independent bookstore is a fantastic place to visit for a variety of book needs. The foreign-language section is not huge, but it is there. When I inquired about the source of their non-English books, an employee told me they…
Idlewild Books
French, Italian, Spanish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
This Chelsea bookstore, which opened in 2008, radiates bibliophilia. You can buy books in French, Spanish, or Italian here, and also take classes at the store in any of those three languages. The owner, David Del Vecchio, previously worked at the…
La Maison Française of New York University
French, Museums/Cultural, Conferences/Lectures
Founded in 1959 and housed in a 19th-century red-brick carriage house, La Maison Française offers lectures, symposia, films, exhibits, and other French cultural events. It is described on its website as “the most active center of French-American cultural and intellectual…