Reviews
Hundreds of resources to help you teach yourself
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…
Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade & Festival
Mandarin, Fairs/Festivals/Parades, Kids
With wind chill, I think the day of the 2013 Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade & Festival in Manhattan’s Chinatown was about 16 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s cold. And no one seemed to care. It is hard to get clear and…
China Institute
Mandarin, Museums/Cultural, Organizations, Classes/Conversation, Kids
China Institute was founded in 1926 by a group of American and Chinese educators, John Dewey among them. It resides in an Upper East Side brownstone from which it offers an array of lectures, symposia, films, exhibits, educational programs, corporate programs,…
Columbus Park, Chinatown
Mandarin, Parks, Sports/Fitness, Kids
You might think Columbus Park is an odd name for a Chinatown park, but as one of New York’s oldest neighborhoods, this area has had many incarnations, and the park itself has had various names, among them Mulberry Bend…
W J Bookstore
Mandarin, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
There are three of these bookstores around New York City, one in each of the three major Chinatowns. Besides the one listed in this entry, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, there is one on 377 Broadway in Manhattan (212-226-5131) and one…
Museum of Chinese in America
Mandarin, Museums/Cultural, Kids
In Manhattan’s Chinatown, this small, friendly, attractive museum has a standing exhibit on the history of Chinese immigrants in the United States. It is a history full of discrimination—and achievement in spite of it. The exhibit includes…
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.…
Global Language Project
Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, Classes/Conversation, Kids
This project was founded by Angela Jackson, a business executive whose experiences living and working abroad highlighted for her the advantages multilingualism conferred on children overseas, in terms of both educational and professional opportunities. Bringing together language instructors, researchers, school…
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…