I’m lucky that my county library offers a vast amount of resources. (Montgomery County Library for those of you who are local.) They lend me e-books to read on my phone or e-book reader through Overdrive. They have partnered with Scholastic to offer BookFlix which the kids love. There’s even music and videos. That’s just what’s available online. If we visit our local brick and mortar location, our favorite librarians are the best resources.
While poking around my library’s website, I discovered Mango Languages. With my library card, I could access the entire Mango Languages program for free! In fact, your library might offer it as well! Mango Languages has programs for over 16 languages, including English as a second language. All the learning takes place online and the site keeps track of your progress.
My test for any language program is of course, whether they offer Vietnamese since it’s my first language. Hubby has purchased and tried several Vietnamese language programs but he never stuck to any of them. Plus the dialect for those programs was very northern Vietnamese, not what my family speaks. Even the way the language was spoken was very formal. Not conversational at all. When he practiced what he learned with me, it was hard not to laugh.
I was thrilled to see that Mango Languages did offer a course in Vietnamese! As I tested the first lesson, I noticed how user friendly the interface was. Each lesson outline the objectives, both with the subject matter as well as grammar. The lesson began with a simple conversation, such as greeting someone. As the speakers conversed, the text changed from English to Vietnamese. Then you’re given the chance to practice saying the words.
There’s even a feature where you can record yourself saying the phrase and comparing it to the speaker in the program. The speakers speak Vietnamese very clearly and even hubby could pick out the Vietnamese tons in the phrase.
I think that hubby would actually stick with Mango Languages. Maybe we can even work on it together. I can converse in Vietnamese but my reading skills need some help.
To see if your library offers the program, visit the Library page and click “Library Locator” at the bottom right. If your library system doesn’t offer Mango Languages, you can try out a demo on their website. I haven’t tried out any of the other languages, so let me know how they are once you try them.
No one paid me to write this review. I think it’s freakin’ awesome my library offers a free language learning program.