Social distancing guidelines mean that our Conversation Partners program has had to be suspended for the time being. We're as disappointed by this as you are, but that doesn't mean you have to stop learning! As many of you already know, apps like Mango and Rocket Languages can help you practice virtually from home and some of our language learning books and audiobooks are available through Libby and the Blue Ridge Download Consortium.
What you may not already know is that with the addition of Hoopla to our virtual lineup, you've gained a ton of new resources for your foreign language study!
Under the eBooks category you can find a wide range of different languages with over 500 titles available. This is easily reached by choosing eBooks from the Browse dropdown menu at the top, then selecting Categories. Under All Categories, choose Foreign Language Study. From there you can filter by the language of your choice at the top. You can reach the same page by following this link.
Audiobooks can be found through a similar process, beginning with Audiobooks instead of eBooks. The category in that list is titled Language Learning. There are only a few audio courses available but popular languages like Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Arabic do have at least one entry. There is also a course for English as a second language. That list can be found here.
Of course Hoopla also adds streaming video to our digital collection. This gives you a few extra options from home. Under the All Categories filter for Movies there are a few different selections you may find useful. There is an American Sign Language category which has teaching videos for all ages. There are also a number of languages under the heading Language Learning for Kids, although those are naturally geared toward a younger audience. An English as a Second Language course is available by filtering for Educational and then Language Learning.
Aside from educational courses, Hoopla offers a wide range of foreign language titles that can help you build familiarity with a target language. There are categories for French Language and Spanish Language specifically, as well as Anime which is frequently offered in the original language. Many others can be found under the Art House: Global Cinema heading and further filtered by language on the left side of the search.
If you'd like to learn more about Hoopla, you can tune in to our Hoopla Virtual Workshop next Wednesday at 6 PM on our Facebook page!