Are you dreaming of getting out of the house and taking a trip around town? Maybe you’re dreaming a little bigger and can’t wait to trek across the country—or even another country! Perhaps you’re in contact with people or companies in other countries. Whatever your situation, Mango Languages can enhance it by helping you learn a new language!
Mango Languages is one of the many digital resources Fountaindale Public Library offers to enhance our patrons’ learning at home and on the go. That’s right—there’s a website AND an app for smartphones!
A plethora of languages awaits once you log in with your library card number. The site offers you the choice of creating a profile to save your progress or use it as a guest if you want to try it out before creating a full profile. Get started right away by selecting one of its 73 languages (as of this writing). Included are the popular Spanish, German, French, English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian. Additionally, the selection expands into four dialects of Arabic, Indigenous languages, classical and modern dialects of several languages, as well as some whimsical ones like Pirate and Shakespearean English.
This program’s language courses often contain various combinations of larger units and smaller chapters within those units. Chapters can cover introductions, connections, community, lifestyle, ambitions and even unique lessons specific to that language.
Mango’s teaching method is what makes it special. A recorded voice explains the current lesson using interactive text on the screen. The interface often shows words and sentences from the new language as well as English and includes a slider to show you which words translate literally. Mango also color-codes the nouns, verbs, adjectives and other parts of speech so you can see how the sentences form as well as learn the new words. As a language-learning hobbyist, I love this feature. It’s an alternative teaching method to just learning a phrase in English and its counterpart in the new language. Mango’s approach explains what is going on in the sentence structure. This platform also includes a feature to record your voice and have the program replay it to you. This feature allows you to compare how close you got to the pronunciation.
This resource really shines in its utilization of sound, text, color, speech and interactivity, making it a valuable tool to add to your language learning toolbox. Lessons can go as quickly or as slowly as you feel comfortable with, and concepts are repeated to drive home the important ones. The most essential conversational and informational concepts of each language are introduced, so Mango’s uses can range from travel for leisure and business, to reading news and other content. If you’re looking to brush up on some Spanish, finally planning that European or Asian vacation or just looking for something different to keep your brain active while stuck at home, try out Mango Languages and discover how much you can learn!
Mango Languages can be found under the Education & Homework Help, Lifelong Learning, and Servicios en Español tabs on our eResources page. To get started, just click the link, input your library card number and then you’re one step closer to connecting to the rest of the world via a new language.
*written by and posted on behalf of Fountaindale staff member Chris Castle, Cataloger