Our Free Language Resources

Learning a language requires commitment and determination, but it should also be a fun and engaging experience. Spending precious time pouring through dictionaries and completing worksheets over and over is a sure way to lose your enthusiasm for learning. Meanwhile, games, entertainment, and fascinating facts make language learning a thrilling pastime that will keep you coming back for more. So, we have created and amassed a selection of free resources for you to supplement your language learning in your spare time…and so you can have a little fun while doing it!

Expand your comprehension and discover your new favorite movie, song, or book all at once by browsing our reviews of recommended foreign media across a whole range of languages. Or, if you’d rather focus on developing your grammar and verb conjugation, you can complement your personalized classes with one of the recommended language course books that our team has reviewed for you.

Whether you are still considering a program or have already begun your lessons, it’s always interesting and useful to understand your current language proficiency level. Our Language Level tests will test your reading and grammar skills, while our Listening Tests are the perfect way to get a sense for how well you comprehend foreign speakers.

And last, give your brain a break from absorbing your new language now and then, and enjoy our trivia section for some great games and cool facts.

Have fun!

As with any new skill, the measure of how much you are improving must be assessed via a test. Our Language Level tests are available in 18 different languages (we are adding more) and assess your current reading comprehension level.

Click the link and select the language you are learning (or would like to learn) to begin the test. We will present you with a set of 10 questions written in the language you have selected, each with multiple-choice answers. After completing a set of 10 questions, you can either request another set (up to a total of 70 questions) or choose to end the test. The more questions you answer, the more accurate are the results. Our Language Level tests assess a range of grammar rules and reading comprehension, from basic verb conjugation to identifying correct phrasing.

Once you complete your quiz, you will immediately receive a rating from Beginner to Advanced. These proficiency levels correspond to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Guidelines. While your course tutor can give you more accurate assessments of your ability, our Language Level tests are a great way to get a quick, general idea of your current level and where you may still need to improve.

It is one thing to read and write a language, especially where you can take your time looking over a word again and again. It’s something else entirely to listen to a foreign speaker and to understand. Learning a language is about communication, and communication requires listening to and understanding other speakers. Consequently, listening skills are crucial to gaining language proficiency, whether you want to learn simply to more easily converse with foreign family members or because you want to pass an exam. Our Listening Tests are not just great practice but will help you to confirm your current language proficiency level.

The Elementary test comprises 12 exercises based on a selection of audio files, each with a varying number of short, multiple-choice questions to answer. As this test is designed for beginners, the actors speak clearly, slowly, and cover general topics, like family, telling the time, basic directions, etc. However, the more questions you answer, the more challenging they become. If you’re feeling confident, then try our Intermediate test. These consist only of 3 exercises and corresponding audio files, but the actors speak more naturally, topics are more complex, and questions are harder.

As soon as you complete your test, you will receive a rating based on the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. Like our Level tests above, these Listening tests are useful for gauging your current comprehension aptitude. However, for a more accurate assessment or to use your results to improve your learning, we recommend using one of our expert course tutors.

Learning a new language to fluency requires more than being able to speak and comprehend phrases. Conversations are frequently based on culture, slang, and historical context. In many countries, humans create art in the form of songs, movies, or books to express these ideas; art which influences not just the language itself, but how we use it and interact with one another.

For example, in English, we not only owe William Shakespeare for common phrases like “be-all and end-all”, “kill with kindness”, and “set my teeth on edge”. For Macbeth, we consider it culturally unlucky to say the name of the play inside a theater. Also, he basically invented the idea of crossing genres which don’t obviously go together, like comedy and tragedy.

These are things which we take for granted in the English language. Yet, they are things you won’t typically learn from a language course book. Thus, by consuming the media of another country, it may not just help us improve our vocabulary and comprehension, but our understanding of the culture and how the language is used, too.

Therefore, we reached out to our teachers, students, and other native speakers of various languages from around the world to amass a large collection of the best songs, movies, and books that foreign cultures have to offer. We then reviewed each of these cultural greats to help you decide which one to try next. But our reviews are not just limited to how good is the song, movie, or book; We also assess how well it will help with learning your new language. For instance, does a song use lots of colloquial slang? Or does a book feature an important historical moment that is worth knowing?

Perhaps you want to browse the full lists over time to discover some hidden cultural gems. However, if you already have a specific dialect that you’d like to master, you can filter these catalogs by language. We encourage you to take your time and read as many reviews as possible for your chosen language; we feel confident you’ll discover your new favorite foreign movie, song, and book among our incredible selection.

At Language Trainers, we understand that everyone learns in their own way. Some like to write out words and phrases repeatedly until they commit them to memory, while others prefer to use the language on the fly and to be corrected as they go. It is because we are all unique learners that Language Trainers offers individually tailored courses to our customers. And while our professional tutors will design custom worksheets and exercises for you, it’s helpful to keep your own reference book to one side in those moments when you want to refresh on something in particular. For you, we have amassed a collection of over 240 Language Course Book Reviews.

Available for over 20 languages, our coursebook reviews offer honest and detailed assessments to help you find the one which is right for you. This includes an evaluation for what proficiency level we believe the book is appropriate. Some coursebooks are better suited to beginners, while intermediate and expert language learners may want one which offers more in-depth explanations and exercises. Whether you are a student looking to supplement your learning, a librarian trying to find a suitable language coursebook for your stock, or a teacher or businessperson hoping to educate others, we will help you find the perfect companion textbook for your language learning needs.

• 
  Arabic
• 
  French
• 
  Italian
• 
  Japanese
• 
  Korean
• 
  Mandarin Chinese
• 
  Portuguese
• 
  Spanish