Online Foreign Language Flashcards
Internet Company Offers Free Language Tutorials via Daily Emails
Jun 18, 2009
The web-based language-learning sites by Antosch & Lin are just some in a new wave of online tutorials that let users hear, read and practice using a foreign language from their home or office. The company currently offers flashcard sites in 10 languages: German, Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Dutch, Swedish, Thai and Portuguese.
The basic membership is free but limits the user's ability to access all areas of the tutorial. Premium memberships cost between US$3.99 and US$5.99 per month.
Choose the Starting Level for Learning a Foreign Language
The sites claim that users can learn or improve a language in 10-15 minutes per day. In logging on as a new member (free or paid), a user is asked to select his/her language level – complete newbie, basic, intermediate, upper intermediate or advanced--and the daily flashcard emails are tailored to this level.
Looping Vocabulary Lists
One of the most important features of the Antosch & Lin sites are the vocabulary "flashcards," daily lists of words along with definitions in English. Users can manually select their own list of words from the site's vocabulary list, and several of these will appear each day in the daily email. Or, alternatively, the site will automatically generate 3 random words per day.
In addition, learners can set up a vocabulary loop. For this, 30 words they select are repeatedly looped on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, per the user's choice. This facilitates vocabulary memorization and gives users more control over the words they want to learn. Paying members may also practice writing words by hearing them first.
Foreign Language Sentences of the Day
Subscribers to the site can opt to receive in their daily emails a sentence in the foreign language with an English translation. The sentences focus on everyday life and work situations, e.g., "Could you give me a lift to the train station?", or "Due to an internal reorganization, the two departments were merged." With a paid membership, users can also practice writing a sentence by hearing it first.
Reading News, Jokes and Dialogues in a Foreign Language
The flashcards sites also provide users the chance to read topical news stories, jokes and dialogues as part of the daily emails. Vocabulary lists, with English meanings, are provided along with the foreign language texts.
Blogs and User Forums for Foreign Language Learners
Each language site features a user forum so learners can interact with each other about the language learning process. A new feature on many of the sites are blogs with postings on language study tips as well as experiences of English-speaking expats living and working in a second language.
A major limitation of the Antosch & Lin sites is that while learners can hear words and sentences read aloud in the foreign language and practice writing (with a paid membership!), they do not have the opportunity to practice conversational speaking in the language. The flashcard system is ideal, however, for building vocabulary and learning key phrases, especially for learners who have already been exposed to a foreign language and are trying to improve their skill level.
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