Traveling abroad for work or vacation? Want to brush up on that language you studied for four years in school, but somehow can’t seem to remember at all? We’ve got you covered.
The Crawfordsville District Public Library is excited to announce that we now offer Transparent Language Online for free to all of our library card holders. Whether you want to start learning a new language you’ve never studied before, or you’re an intermediate learner wanting to further improve your vocabulary and grammar, our new language learning program has lessons and courses to help you. Available for 110-plus languages, plus English (ESL) materials for native speakers of 30-plus languages, the program has something for everyone:
• Alphabet Courses: Full-length alphabet courses are available for 18+ languages to familiarize you with a new writing system.
• Essentials Courses: These courses guide you through 30+ lessons of pure language fundamentals, including meeting and greeting, expressing wants and needs, planning for a trip, dealing with money, asking for help, and beyond.
• General Vocabulary: Hundreds of organized vocabulary lists will teach you thousands of new words and phrases through fun, interactive activities that build all four core language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
• Grammar Reference: An extensive list of grammar materials to round out the learning experience, providing both written and multimedia explanations of grammar rules and patterns.
Transparent Language Online comes with a Learning Path that lets you customize and choose what you want to learn. The system also keeps track of your progress so that you keep moving toward reaching your language goals.
There is also a language learning option for children. KidSpeak is a fun, age-appropriate online language course designed for children ages 6 and older. Available in Transparent Language Online, KidSpeak introduces your child to English, Spanish, French, Italian and Mandarin Chinese. It has more than 40 activities, puzzles and songs that guide kids through the basics, along with a cartoon “friend” who speaks the language.
Visit https://library.transparent.com/cdpl to sign up for your free Transparent Language account and get started. Once you have an account set up, you can download the free Transparent Language app so that you can learn on your phone or tablet. There is also a Spanish interface directly available on our library’s website at www.cdpl.lib.in.us/databases/ for Spanish speakers. Want more information? Stop by the library’s second-floor reference desk anytime during our hours with questions about our new language resource. The library is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday-Saturday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday.
Megan Taylor is assistant manager in the Reference and Local History Department at the Crawfordsville District Public Library.
