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Center for Applied Linguistics
General, Organizations
The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) is a nonprofit organization “working to improve communication through better understanding of language and culture.” It was established in 1959. Its many activities include work on ESL and foreign-language education, language…
Middlebury Language Schools
Arabic, French, General, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Classes/Conversation
I don’t normally include language schools here, but Middlebury is famous for its summer programs. While I have not experienced one myself, I have heard great things about them over many years from people I trust. The typical…
Daniel Tammet: The Boy With The Incredible Brain
General, Radio/TV/Video/Film
Click here to see an incredible video about Daniel Tammet, a language savant who learned Icelandic in a week. Yes. A week. That is insane. Mr. Tammet is a writer and linguist with what is known as high-functioning autistic…
Word Bookstore
English, General, Polish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
This lovely independent bookstore in Greenpoint has all kinds of books in English, but what caught my eye when I stopped by in 2011 is that it also had Polish books for children. Not huge numbers of them, but between those…
NYC & Company Official Information Center
General, Websites, Organizations
NYC & Company’s mission is to “maximize travel and tourism opportunities throughout the five boroughs, build economic prosperity and spread the dynamic image of New York City around the world.” They have various Official Information Centers around town,…
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…
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,…