In-Depth Language Courses

Filed in archive Learning Experiences on August 10, 2007

In the preceding post, I covered web sites that offer a basic intro to foreign languages. People who are planning on staying in a country on a long-term basis, for business or travel, might want to delve deeper into the language spoken in the place plan to call home. Here are my recommendations for language courses. With the exception of one or two, these are either book or software based courses that need to be purchased.

For less costly courses, there are a couple of series to check into. Perhaps the easiest courses are from the Teach Yourself series. They are by no means complete, but provide a good basis for further study and are generally fun to work through. The Routledge Colloquial Series is a bit more serious and in depth, but will provide results similar to Teach Yourself.

Some local libraries offer access to more in-depth courses like rosetta stone, Pimsleur, and the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) language courses. It is over $200 to purchase one of these. In my opinion, the Foreign Service language courses are best for adult learners. Here is an educational site that offers some FSI language courses for free. (The site is sometimes down, but as of this writing, it is up and running).