Reviews
Hundreds of resources to help you teach yourself
Quizlet
General, Yiddish, Flashcards, Tests, Vocabulary, Websites, Kids
Yiddish is not the easiest language in the world for which to find free study materials online. So far, despite some drawbacks, Quizlet has been my favorite Yiddish-vocabulary-practice source and is something I keep finding myself playing around with in…
Digital Dialects Games
General, Multimedia, Tests, Vocabulary, Websites, Kids
The Digital Dialects website is an unexpected online pleasure full of free language games for 60 languages, from popular ones such as French and German to less widely studied ones such as Zazaki (spoken primarily in eastern Turkey) and Oromo (which…
Schoenhof’s Foreign Books
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
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…
Rizzoli Bookstore
English, French, General, Italian, Spanish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
This is a truly gorgeous bookstore with a wonderful selection of books—in English, Italian, Spanish, and French. There are not many stores in New York with a meaningful supply of foreign-language books. This is one, and it seems to…
Lower East Side Tenement Museum
General, Museums/Cultural, Kids
This remarkable little museum teaches visitors about New York City’s immigrant past. You can enjoy it in several ways. First, you can tour 97 Orchard Street, which was constructed in the middle of the 19th century and served as home…
Museum of the City of New York
General, Museums/Cultural, Kids
Founded in 1923, the Museum of the City of New York “celebrates and interprets the city, educating the public about its distinctive character, especially its heritage of diversity, opportunity, and perpetual transformation.” It offers exhibits as well as school and…
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.…
Ellis Island Immigration Museum
General, Museums/Cultural, Kids
The Ellis Island Immigration Museum is a must-visit place for anyone interested in American history. Almost 12 million immigrants came to the United States through Ellis Island, and I have read that nearly half of modern-day Americans are descended from them.…
Älskling
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Shopping, Kids
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…