37 foreign languages you can learn for free today

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In this article, you'll find a selection of online courses, podcasts, and YouTube playlists for learning 37 languages.

Most of the resources are in English, so the selection is useful for those who already know English and decided to move on.

How many languages you know, so many times you are human.

Arab

Arabic for Global Exchange

Mini-course for beginners with very limited knowledge of the Arabic language and culture who are going to work or study in an Arabic-speaking environment.

Arabic for Global Exchange →

FSI Modern Written Arabic

32 Arabic lessons, pdf textbook and 725 minutes of audio lessons. You can study the language online or download all the materials. There are three free Modern Written Arabic courses prepared by the Foreign Service Institute, and you can get them all for free.

FSI Modern Written Arabic →

FSI Levantine Arabic

An introduction to pronunciation. Pdf tutorial and 18 audio lessons.

FSI Levantine Arabic →

Mandinah Arabic

This site has online courses for beginners, both for those who already know how to write in Arabic and for those who are just starting to learn the language. All courses are supplemented with pictures for better memorization. The site also has video tutorials with examples, vocabulary and tests to test your knowledge.

Mandinah Arabic →

ArabicPod

30 podcasts with transcripts from ArabicPod.

ArabicPod →

Survival Phrases Arabic

18 podcasts with Arabic phrases to help you in your everyday life.

Survival Phrases Arabic →

Arabic for Beginners 1

15 video Arabic lessons for beginners from Dalarna Institute in Sweden.

Amharic

FSI Amharic Basic Course

Two textbooks and 61 audio lessons. Dialogues, exercises, stories, speech samples, explanations of the basics of the structure of the language and various practical exercises in Amharic. You can learn the language online or download the audio and textbook.

FSI Amharic Basic Course - Volume 1 →

FSI Amharic Basic Course - Volume 2 →

Bulgarian

FSI Bulgarian Basic Course

Basic Bulgarian course from the Institute of Foreign Service. Two textbooks in pdf format and 56 audio files can be downloaded to your computer or studied online.

FSI Bulgarian Basic Course →

Bulgarian Survival Phrases

16 podcasts on iTunes for learning essential phrases for the traveler.

Bulgarian Survival Phrases →

Cambodian

FSI Basic Cambodian

Two textbooks and 45 audio lessons of the basic course for Cambodian visitors.

FSI Cambodian Basic Course - Volume 1 →

FSI Cambodian Basic Course - Volume 2 →

FSI Contemporary Cambodian

Another modern Cambodian course in the form of a textbook and 60 audio lessons.

FSI Contemporary Cambodian →

Catalan

Surface Language

On this site you can learn colloquial phrases, grammar, basic concepts: colors, months, days of the week, fruits and vegetables, numbers. Each phrase is voiced by an audio file, below there are useful links to the English-Catalan dictionary and news in Catalan.

Surface Language →

One minute catalan

In 10 audio lessons, you will learn how to pronounce useful phrases in Catalan correctly, say hello, introduce yourself, and count. Each lesson lasts no more than a minute, so learning will not take much time.

A good way to practice and start speaking a language still used by about 12 million people in northern Spain.

One Minute Catalan →

Chinese

Real Chinese

BBC resource on learning Chinese from scratch. A lively introduction to Mandarin Chinese in 10 short parts with video clips from the Chinese TV series.

Real Chinese →

Chinese Basic

A web application developed by the University of Cambridge Linguistics Center for beginner Chinese learners. With a focus on listening and reading, the app includes a variety of activities to help you practice speaking and writing Chinese.

Chinese Basic →

Beginner's Chinese

Introductory Audio Chinese Lessons from Open University.

Beginner's Chinese →

Chinese Course - Seton Hall

Chinese courses at various levels from Seton Hall University.

Beginning Chinese →

Intermediate Chinese →

Advanced Chinese →

Learn Chinese - Mandarin Chinese Lessons

Weekly Mandarin lessons with very good reviews on iTunes.

Chinese Lessons with Serge Melnyk →

Survival Chinese

Audio lessons for learning phrases essential for a traveler in China.

Chinese - Survival Phrases →

If you speak to a person in a language that he understands, you speak to his head. If you speak to a person in his native language, you speak to his heart.

Nelson Mandela

Czech

FSI Czech Basic Course

Large textbook in pdf format and 26 hours of audio for learning Czech.

FSI Czech Basic Course →

FSI Czech FAST Сourse

A short course for quickly learning the basics of the Czech language.

FSI Czech FAST Сourse →

Danish

One minute danish

14 Danish audio lessons for beginners. You will learn how to say hello, introduce yourself, count, ask simple questions, gain basic knowledge for communicating with Danes.

One Minute Danish →

Dutch

Laura speaks dutch

Useful lessons for travelers. 57 audio clips with everything a guest needs in the country.

Laura speaks Dutch →

Learn Dutch

Easy and useful Dutch lessons on a variety of topics.

Learn Dutch →

Finnish

FSI Conversational Finnish

In this course, you will find all the necessary knowledge for beginners, from the alphabet and pronunciation to grammar rules and dialogues. In the Textbook, the theoretical part, in the Workbook - exercises. Both tutorials are accompanied by audio files.

FSI Conversational Finnish Textbook →

FSI Conversational Finnish WorkBook →

Special Finnish

5-minute podcasts on a variety of topics for beginners in Finnish.

Special Finnish →

French

Elementary french

French Language and Culture for Beginners, two-part course. One course includes 15 thematic lessons, audio and video materials.

Elementary French I →

Elementary French II →

FSI Basic Course

The course consists of two parts and is designed to develop speaking skills. There are many dialogues on the most common and useful topics, vocabulary and grammar exercises, texts to expand vocabulary. The text is accompanied by audio files, a total of 39 hours of audio in the course.

FSI Basic Course: Volume 1 →

FSI Basic Course: Volume 2 →

FSI Basic Course: Phonology

Introductory course in French phonetics. Useful for all levels of language learning.

FSI Basic Course: Phonology →

FSI French Fast

A short course in French skills on the most common situations you may encounter abroad.

FSI Metropolitan French FAST Course →

Learn French with Coffee Break French

The creators of the popular Coffee Break Spanish course now offer French learning. On the site you will find four seasons of free audio lessons for all language proficiency levels.

Learn French with Coffee Break French →

Learn French With Alexa

Funny and effective French lessons from French Ecole.

Learn French With Alexa →

Le Journal en français facile

Nightly news from RFI in slow motion French that helps to comprehend speech by ear.

Le Journal en français facile →

Learn French by Podcast

190 audio French lessons for beginners. A pdf guide with explanations can be downloaded from the website.

Learn French →

French in action

Video lessons from Yale University, based on the story of an American student and a young French woman studying French in Paris.

Ma France

24 video French lessons from the BBC.

Talk in french

YouTube channel with short video tutorials on various topics. It has a playlist with words for beginners, whole phrases for those looking to work on pronunciation, and some travel and culture information.

Talk in French →

Scottish (Gaelic, Gaelic)

Learn gaelic

On this site you will find a lot of useful information: new words sorted by subject and supplemented with pictures, expressions, grammar, reading texts in two languages - English and Scottish, videos in Scottish.

Learn Gaelic →

One minute gaelic

10 Scottish audio lessons.

One Minute Gaelic →

German

Mission berlin

Learning German in an adventure way.

Mission Berlin →

Basic German

A web application developed by the Linguistic Center of the University of Cambridge for beginner German learners. Focused on listening and reading, the app also includes a variety of activities to help you practice speaking and writing German.

Basic German →

Deutsch Interaktiv

A 30-part German course. Includes authentic videos, slideshows and audio podcasts that capture life in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Deutsch Interaktiv →

FSI German Basic Course

German course of two textbooks in pdf format and many audio files. The first part consists of 12 lessons, includes many dialogues, playing out life situations, and various exercises. The second part includes 24 lessons, it contains a lot of dialogues, exercises, grammar, reading texts.

FSI German Basic Course Volume 1 →

FSI German Basic Course Volume 2 →

FSI German Fast

Textbook and 10 audio lessons in German.

FSI German Fast →

One minute german

13 podcasts from Radio Lingua Network on learning German.

One Minute German →

Learn German GermanPod101.com

60 podcasts for beginners, intermediate and advanced learners.

GermanPod 101 →

My Daily Phrase German

100 German lessons from Radio Lingua Network.

MyDailyPhrase.com →

Greek

FSI Greek Basic

Three textbooks and 75 audio lessons for beginners to learn Greek.

FSI Greek Basic Course Volume 1 →

FSI Greek Basic Course Volume 2 →

FSI Greek Basic Course Volume 3 →

Classical Greek Online

10 Greek lessons from UT-Austin Linguistic Research Center. Text only.

Classical Greek Online →

Learning Greek

81 podcasts in Greek from Hellenic American Union. Each lesson has a pdf file with text and pictures. These lessons are suitable for those who already know how to read Greek and want to improve their vocabulary and pronunciation.

Learning Greek →

Hebrew

HebrewPod 101

Basics of Hebrew for Beginners. Here you can learn new words, listen to how they sound in normal and slow motion, add to the dictionary.

HebrewPod 101 →

FSI Hebrew Basic

One textbook and 40 audio Hebrew lessons in one course.

FSI Hebrew Basic →

Elementary hebrew

Audio and video tutorials for beginners in iTunes.

Elementary Hebrew →

Hindi

HindiPod 101

Learn a language with fun, interesting and culturally relevant audio lessons.

Namaste Dosti - The Learn Hindi Podcast

11 podcasts for beginners.

Namaste Dosti - Learn Hindi →

Hindi learning videos

A playlist with new Hindi words on a variety of topics: family, colors, shapes, animals and more.

Hindi in three minutes

Three-minute Hindi video lessons for beginners.

Hungarian

FSI Hungarian Basic Course

Two books in PDF format and 24 audio lessons of the Hungarian language.

FSI Hungarian Basic Course Volume 1 →

FSI Hungarian Basic Course Volume 2 →

Let’s Learn Hungarian

On this site you will find a lot of useful information for language learning: audio lessons, a blog with interesting short tests, links to useful resources.

Let’s Learn Hungarian →

Icelandic

Icelandic Online

Course from the University of Iceland. Lessons include various formats of materials - text, video, flashcards, and so on. The resource allows you to track the progress of training. All lessons are available for free after registration.

Icelandic Online →

Viltu læra íslensku?

21 TV episodes of Icelandic lessons about everyday life and general situations in Iceland. The episodes are subtitled in Icelandic.

Indonesian

Learning Indonesian

48 audio lessons of the Indonesian language.

Learning Indonesian →

Indonesian in Three Minutes

Three minute videos for those traveling to Indonesia. From the videos, you will learn how to introduce yourself, apologize, count to ten, and other useful knowledge.

Irish

One minute irish

14 podcasts with Irish lessons for beginners.

One Minute Irish →

Bitesize Irish Gaelic Podcast

There are no lessons in this podcast, but you can find a lot of useful information about the Irish language, culture and travel here.

Bitesize Irish Gaelic Podcast →

Italian

FSI Italian Courses

Course of 30 lessons divided into two parts for a quick learning of the Italian language. Two textbooks in pdf format and audio recordings.

FSI Italian FAST Course. Volume 1 →

FSI Italian FAST Course. Volume 2 →

LearnItalianPod.com

175 podcasts for learning Italian. Simple short dialogues with which you can learn new words and practice pronunciation.

LearnItalianPod.com →

Let’s Speak Italian

A collection of short audio lessons of 5 minutes each.

Let’s Speak Italian →

My Daily Phrase Italian

20 week Italian audio lessons to gradually improve your skills.

MyDailyPhrase.com →

Speak Italian with Your Mouth Full

This is a course by MIT instructor Dr. Paola Rebusco, who teaches her students not only the language, but also Italian culture and cuisine. In each lesson, you will find language instructions and an Italian recipe in text and video formats.

Speak Italian with Your Mouth Full →

Japanese

FSI Japanese Headstart Course

This tutorial focuses on language skills that will be useful to you in everyday life. In nine modules, supplemented with audio recordings, there is information on how to introduce yourself, basic phrases about food, shopping, public transport, taxi. A very practical tutorial for those traveling to Japan.

FSI Japanese Headstart Course →

Learn Japanese Symbols

A course that helps you work with Japanese characters such as kanji, hiragana, and katakana.

Learn Japanese Symbols →

JapanesePod101.com

Over 100 Japanese lessons for beginners in iTunes.

JapanesePod101.com →

Survival phrases

Basic Japanese phrases for travelers.

Survival Phrases →

Let’s Speak Japanese Basic

26 YouTube Japanese Video Tutorials for Beginners from Japan Foundation.

Let’s Learn Japanese Basic II

The second part of a 25-video course from the Japan Foundation.

Korean

FSI Korean Basic Course

Two Korean courses with textbooks and audio lessons for beginners.

FSI Korean Basic Course. Volume 1 →

FSI Korean Basic Course. Volume 2 →

FSI Korean Headstart Course

In this tutorial, you will find basic knowledge of the Korean language and cultural notes. In nine lessons, you will learn how to say hello and introduce yourself, count and talk about money, order food, transport, and talk about basic everyday things. The textbook in pdf format is supplemented with audio recordings.

FSI Korean Headstart Course →

Korean Langauge Adventure

Adventure and travel-themed lessons that guide you on a virtual tour of Seoul and nearby tourist destinations.

Korean Langauge Adventure →

Korean Learning for Correction Pronunciation

The course is aimed at improving pronunciation skills.

Korean Learning for Correction Pronunciation →

Online Intermediate College Korean

Online Korean course from UCLA.

Online Intermediate College Korean →

Laotian

FSI Lao Basic Course

Tutorials and two parts of audio lessons in Lao for beginners.

FSI Lao Basic Course. Volume 1 →

FSI Lao Basic Course. Volume 2 →

Lithuanian

Lithuanian Out Loud

Here you will find many useful Lithuanian words and phrases with English translation. Each lesson comes with an audio recording with pronunciation.

Lithuanian Out Loud →

Luxembourgish

One Minute Luxembourgish

Audio lessons of the Luxembourgish language.

One Minute Luxembourgish →

Maori

Toku reo

The language of the indigenous population of New Zealand. The course includes video lessons - excerpts from a TV program.

Toku Reo →

Norwegian

FSI Norwegian Headstart Course

The course consists of eight sections, from which you will receive all the knowledge you need to travel to Norway. Sections are accompanied by audio recordings, include new words, exercises, dialogues. At the end there is a dictionary and notes on culture.

FSI Norwegian Headstart Course →

Norwegian on the Web

Introductory lessons from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Consist of audio, video and text assignments.

Norwegian on the Web →

One Minute Norwegian

Short audio lessons in Norwegian.

One Minute Norwegian →

Polish

FSI Polish FAST course

Textbook and audio lessons for quickly mastering the Polish language. The 14 chapters cover all the areas necessary for travel: greeting, walking or driving, food, shopping, and so on.

FSI Polish FAST course →

One minute polish

Short Polish lessons from Radio Lingua Network.

Portuguese

Talk Portuguese

The introductory video course consists of 11 short parts with audio podcasts.

Talk Portuguese →

Ta Falado: Brazilian Portuguese Pronunciation for Spanish Speakers

A beginner's course from the University of Texas at Austin. On the site you will find pronunciation and grammar lessons explaining the difference between Spanish and Portuguese.

Ta Falado: Brazilian Portuguese Pronunciation for Spanish Speakers →

FSI Brazilian Portuguese Fast

The course includes Portuguese textbooks and audio lessons.

FSI Brazilian Portuguese Fast. Volume 1 →

FSI Brazilian Portuguese Fast. Volume 2 →

Romanian

FSI Romanian Grammar Course

Romanian grammar course.

FSI Romanian Grammar Course →

One minute romanian

Short audio lessons in Romanian.

One Minute Romanian →

Spanish

5 Minute Spanish

Introductory Spanish course from the University of Arkansas for beginners. The basis of the course is the study of grammar.

5 Minute Spanish →

Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish

TV novellas or Spanish soap operas immerse students in everyday situations. The course develops listening and pronunciation skills.

Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish →

Mi vida loca

Video tutorials for beginners from the BBC.

Mi Vida Loca →

Show Time Spanish

Podcasts for intermediate and advanced levels.

Show Time Spanish →

Language Treks

Podcasts on a variety of topics: greetings, family, relaxation, numbers and money, travel. The site also has flashcards and lessons, but these are only available by subscription.

Learn to Speak Spanish →

Swahili

FSI Swahili Basic Course

One of the most important languages of the African continent. The introductory course consists of a textbook and 150 audio lessons.

FSI Swahili Basic Course →

Swedish

FSI Swedish Basic

Tutorial and 16 audio lessons of Swedish for beginners.

Swedish Basic Course →

Learn Swedish with SwedishLing

Swedish audio lessons with transcripts.

Learn Swedish with SwedishLingQ →

Swedish Survival Phrases

A collection of phrases that will be useful to travelers.

Swedish Survival Phrases →

Thai

FSI Thai Basic Course

Two Thai textbooks and audio lessons.

FSI Thai Basic Course. Volume 1 →

FSI Thai Basic Course. Volume 2 →

Learn Thai

Over 800 Thai audio, video and text lessons.

Turkish

FSI Turkish

Two textbooks and audio lessons in Turkish.

FSI Turkish Basic Course. Volume 1 →

FSI Turkish Basic Course. Volume 2 →

Vietnamese

FSI Vietnamese

Introductory Vietnamese language course consists of textbooks and audio lessons.

FSI Vietnamese Basic Course. Volume 1 →

FSI Vietnamese Basic Course. Volume 2 →

Survival phrases

A collection of basic phrases necessary for a traveler in Vietnam.

Survival Phrases →

Welsh

Say Something in Welsh

25 half hour Welsh lessons.

This concludes our list of free resources.