I know of a few Compendiumites currently studying second or third languages, or even several languages at once. For those who are on the lookout for language learning resources on the web, or even language partners, let this be the thread in which to find them and post about them. It would also be helpful for people to give their accounts of self-teaching methods here, making note of what has been most and least effective for them.
For starters, it would make sense for posters here to specify which languages they are learning and whether or not they would be a willing language partner for anybody who wants to practice. I was thinking that allowing open practice in this thread might not be a bad idea, but then I realized that trying to find resources amidst a sea of unintelligible conversation would probably not be the most ideal activity for anybody wanting to benefit from this thread. So, no practicing here! (Sorry.)
I suppose I'll give a brief introduction related to my own language learning ventures here: I am currently studying Spanish through a number of online resources, and am trying to formulate a good self-teaching system. Currently, I am trying to digest one article from an online Spanish newspaper every day. I try to grasp the main points in the article and then read the article aloud, which is typically an entertaining experience. I also idly listen to a number of mainstream Spanish news podcasts. I'm not sure how much the latter is actually helping me, besides familiarizing myself with the sound of native Spanish. I consistently add to my vocabulary list in "notepad" while reading the news in Spanish and making note of interesting new words which I translate through Google Translate, a really remarkable tool. Every time I add to the list I review it by mentally composing about five or six sentences made up of many of the newer vocabulary words. This is a very helpful activity.
I benefited greatly from the many Spanish classes offered in public schools in Texas. I definitely would not recommend jumping into major foreign publications without basic knowledge of vocabulary, sentence structure, and conjugations which introductory foreign language courses provide.
I would be glad to practice Spanish with anybody, my only stipulation being that it happens through Livemocha. If you want to friend me there, send me a PM here.
In my scouring of the web I've found several great language resources. First I'll list those which are not specific to one language.
Livemocha - A website which offers amazing introductory courses for a number of languages, and facilitates connections with language partners. I could go on and on about this website, but I'll spare everybody here and instead just say that it is highly recommended.
BBC Languages - This is a decent way to gain familiarity with a number of languages, although it does not offer the best free basic courses. It does offer some unique "fill in the blank" exercises which utilize authentic news stories. However, on a couple of occasions I've found that the audio files which are supposed to accompany these exercises are missing.
Google Translate - Indispensable!
Now, for Spanish-specific links:
elmundo.es - This is a mainstream news site in Spanish which I've found very good for reading comprehension practice. For news stories of interest to North Americans, in particular "noticias estadounidenses", check out the
North America section.
News in Slow Spanish - A weekly news podcast in "slow Spanish", for intermediate learners who tend to miss too much in mainstream Spanish news podcasts to benefit from them. I have to listen to one podcast many times over to "get it", so the fact that this is only updated weekly is not a problem for me.
BBC Mundo Podcast - A good mainstream Spanish news podcast. Updated weekdays.
Democracy Now! Lost Titulares De Hoy - The Spanish language version of my favorite podcast.
Chrono Traducciones - From the "News and Updates" section. Thanks, Z!