Reviews

Hundreds of resources to help you teach yourself

Schoenhof's Website Is a Window to the World

5 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…

This Is Before I Totally Beat It Up

4 Polish, Books

This Basic Polish book from Routledge says at the outset that it assumes no previous knowledge of Polish. Unlike many other language books, it sticks to that commitment. It begins at the beginning. I’m not going to…

If Only There Were More Pimsleur Polish Lessons!

5 Polish, Audio Lessons

My only complaint about Pimsleur Polish is that there just isn’t enough of it—a mere 30 lessons’ worth. Such a shame. A Pimsleur lesson is a miracle of audio interactivity, with constant prompting that gets you speaking in your…

Intermediate Polish: I Like the Book Design

Polish, Books

I confess I did not get far at all in Intermediate Polish: A Grammar and Workbook (my Polish unit ended before I got past page 10), but I was enjoying it in any case and found it similar in…

Oxford Essential Polish Dictionary: I Really Like This One!

5 Polish, Books, Dictionaries

The Oxford Essential Polish Dictionary is extremely usable and useful. I am picky about dictionaries. I like the aesthetics of this one: the readability of the print, the weight of the book (light), and its dimensions (small-purse…

You Can Speak the Word You Want Translated...

5 Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Apps, Dictionaries

I have a tendency not to get around to downloading iPhone apps onto my iPhone, but fortunately I have a husband who will take my phone and do it for me. I’m very glad he stuck this app on…

Berlitz Polish Pocket Dictionary, with Pencil for Scale

Polish, Books, Dictionaries

For my Polish studies, I ended up using the Oxford Essential Polish Dictionary instead of this one from Berlitz, just because that one happens to be bigger (though still small) and holds more words. The Berlitz Polish…

Live Lingua: Keeping the Free FSI Language Courses Alive

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…

Search for Gujarathi, Yiddish, and More!

5 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…