Learning a Language

To help bring alive learning a new language, we have compiled a list of resources, including our Learning to Learn Guide, that might be of interest to you or at least a good place to start, good luck! 

We are happy to support links to useful pages on the BBC’s website and include recommendations to other resourceful sites. 

Remember to check out the on-going good deals on the Amazon BBC Active Languages Store.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Language-Books/b/ref=amb_link_156975627_27?ie=UTF8&node=429978031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=left

Quickstart Apps
The BBC have launched four apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad for Italian, Spanish, French and German.  The Quickstart Italian App was picked up in 'new and noteworthy' on the App Store.  The apps are in a narrative of 14 episodes of a weekend away with three friends. But it works, guiding the user through the usual tourist experiences such as finding your way around a new city or ordering food at a restaurant.   Quickstart uses the iPhone's functionality a lot better than many language apps—when playing the audio of the friends' conversations, you can choose to have subtitles of the English translation or not; another useful feature is you can record yourself speaking the phrases and play it back to compare against audio of the native speaker. The flashcard quiz is fun, and the entire app feels like good value for money.

Price: £5.99, available to download from the iTunes App Store
For more information go to: http://www.bbcactivequickstart.co.uk/

BBC Languages

Keep an eye on http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages for interesting language and culture-related programmes on TV and radio.

Learning English www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish

Italian drama for beginners:  A long-lost map, a secret recipe and a family feud - where will it all end?  You decide.  Learn Italian online with this brand new interactive drama:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/lamappa  Complete 12 interactive episodes at your own pace... but watch your back!

Choose your own adventure:  To solve the mystery you'll need to talk to people, exchange phone numbers, book hotel rooms, solve clues and explore regional cuisine... all this in Italian!  Each of the interactive episodes is linked to a set of learning activities and animated tutorials to help you in your journey:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/lamappa/syllabus

Real Italian:  Already proficient? Don't despair! The characters in La Mappa Misteriosa speak 'real' Italian, making this drama an excellent resource for all learners.  Take a look at our user guide to discover all of La Mappa's features, including English and Italian subtitles, interactive features, video lessons and more:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian/lamappa/userguide

Hungry for more?  Read about Italian for food lovers on BBC Food. You may even find some mouth-watering surprises...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/food/2011/09/italian-for-food-lovers.shtml

Interactive courses in other languages
La Mappa Misteriosa is the latest in a series of the BBC's immersive language learning dramas.  Building on the popular Ma France and Mi Vida Loca interactive courses, La Mappa Misteriosa offers an even higher quality of drama and elements of gameplay – such as the ability to choose the outcome of the story and to collect clues.

Ma France: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/mafrance/flash

Mi Vida Loca: http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca

Other websites

Market Leader

The Market Leader Business English series uses authoritative authentic sources to explore topical business issues. It helps to build the professional standard of language needed to communicate in the modern business world.

http://www.market-leader.net/

The Open University

Open2.net is the online learning portal from The Open University and the BBC.

http://open2.net/healtheducation/education/language.html

Country Guides

For clients doing business or travelling globally, click on the map for the country you are interested in.

http://premier.rw3cg.com/PremierHome.aspx

Foreign Language TV Stations

When learning a language it is important that you try and get yourself accustomed to the way in which the language is spoken by a native speaker, you can do this by watching the appropriate country’s TV channels.   Not only will it give you an understanding of the speed in which the language is spoken but will also help you to learn about the country’s culture.  To help illustrate this we have used French TV as an example and produced a guide to watching French TV online.

TV5Monde

French news station

http://www.tv5.org/

We will continue to update this section on a monthly basis, in the meantime if you have a question or a suggestion for this page, please contact us.