Posts Tagged ‘languages’

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Foreign Language Learning Games

March 16th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Saturday, March 16, 2013 and time for Foreign Languages at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Digital Dialects

Age Range: All (with parental supervision)

This website offers a variety of interactive online games that help foreign language learners acquire basic language skills in a relaxed and fun way. Audio files have been incorporated into some of the animations so you can hear the correct pronunciation of the words and sentences.

As explained at the website, you’ll find “The world’s major languages, with a cross-section of languages from diverse regions,” represented including:

  • Arabic
  • Bosnian
  • Cantonese
  • Dutch
  • English
  • Farsi
  • French
  • German
  • Gree
  • Hebrew
  • Hindi
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Maori
  • Norwegian
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Spanish
  • Swahili
  • Turkish
  • Ukrainian
  • Vietnamese
  • And many more!

When you get to the site just click on the language of choice. A new page opens with a selection of games. Some languages have more than others and the menu may include:

  • Animals
  • Clothing
  • Colors
  • Days and Months
  • Food
  • Fruits & Vegetables
  • Numbers
  • Phrases & Greetings
  • Units of Time
  • Verbs
  • Verb Conjugation
  • Vocabulary

Geography games that help familiarize learners with the locations of cities in countries are included for just a few of the major languages.

This is a terrific educational tool to enhance learning foreign languages.

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Free Interactive Chinese Lessons with Games!

February 23rd, 2013

Hi!  It’s Saturday, February 23, 2013 and time for Foreign Languages at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

BBC: Real Chinese

Age Range: All (with parental supervision)

The BBC offers this free, multi-media, ten-part introduction to Mandarin Chinese. Each lesson is centered around a particular topic and includes a slideshow, pronunciation and grammar tips, cultural notes, and videoclips that demonstrate the lesson. Plus, you”ll find mini-guides and games that enhance learning!

When you get to the webiste you’ll see an introduction with a menu of the topics that include:

  1. For Starters – An introduction to Mandarin Chinese with emphasis on understanding how tones of various syllables can change the meaning of a word.
  2. Introducing Yourself
  3. Family Introductions
  4. Saying a Bit about Yourself
  5. Ordering Drinks
  6. Ordering a Meal
  7. Doing Some Shopping
  8. Asking for Directions
  9. Getting Around by Public Transportation
  10. Finding and Booking A Hotel

Each topic offers a videoclip that demonstrates the lesson. (Note: Users outside the UK are limited to shorter videoclips – but the content is still very helpful.)

Use the menu to access the free “Mini-Guides” that explain Chinese tones, Pinyin, Characters, and Useful Links to other sites that have resources for learning Chinese.

Don’t miss the Chinese Games that help you better understand and practice the tones of the language, as well as how to read and write Chinese characters.

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Free Art Assignments!

February 9th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Saturday, February 9, 2013 and time for Art at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

Everyday Art Assignments

Age Range:  All (with parental assistance and supervision)

This ad-free website offers free, simple-to-do artistic assignments (created by real artists) to inspire artistic endeavors in people of all ages. 

When you get to the site, you must wait for the introduction to load (that is slow-moving), and then double-click on the final words in the presentation to get to the menu. Your patience will pay off. From the menu, you can read about the “EAA” – Everyday Art Assignment project (initiated in Pennsylvania in 2004), and review “Successes” – artistic submissions by people worldwide.

THE BEST PART OF ALL is the “Artist Assignments.”  Click on this item and a new page opens featuring the photos of 15 artists who contributed suggestions for art assignments that you can try at home. Click on an artist’s photo, and a new page opens to their art assignment. You’ll find suggestions such as:

*Persephone’s Return – Learn about the Greek goddess of Spring through planting seeds and tracking their growth with a nature journal.

*Everyday Ritual – Create a photo-documentation of an everyday ritual.

*Gained in Translation – Write a 24-line poem and use a recommended website to translate it into multiple languages.

*Fiber Jambalaya – Use old clothes to create the craziest quilt ever!

*Make A Paper Doll of A Friend!

*Six-Breath SkyWatch – Draw simple lines representing how you feel after watching the sky for the duration of 6 breaths.

*Use 17 Objects to Create Peace

Each Art Assignment provides very simple instructions, leaving the rest to your imagination. Pictures of other people’s results are provided to help you better understand the assignment.

Think of this website as an “art-starter.” Even if you don’t do the exact assignment, it will certainly inspire artistic expression in one way or another.  :)

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Free Spanish Lessons, Games, & Apps for All!

January 26th, 2013

Hi!  It’s Saturday, January 26, 2013 and time for Foreign Languages at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

Online Free Spanish

Age Range:  All (with parental supervision)

This ad-supported website offers engaging, FREE, introductory Spanish lessons for children and their parents that includes games, activities, printable coloring pages, and worksheets, and mobile apps!

When you get to the site you’ll see currently featured activities, followed by an icon menu that includes:

*Mobile Apps – Get free apps that teach Spanish numbers and colors.

*Lessons – Enjoy Spanish lessons that teach the alphabet, numbers, colors, parts of the human face, fruits, pets, bugs, geometrical shapes, holidays, and more. Click on any lesson icon and a new page opens where you can watch an animated video lesson. Be sure to turn on your speakers to hear the correct pronunciation of words as they come up on the screen. Each lesson includes a link to “Related Lessons and Activities” that provide printable worksheets to reinforce learning.

*Activities – Click and drag Spanish words to matching pictures, play a variety of word search games, and guide a bee safely through a frog pond by unscrambling letters to spell Spanish words.

*Printables – Choose from an assortment of fun printable materials that reinforce learning the lessons. There’s a picture dictionary, word search puzzle, and coloring pages of farm animals, fruits, bugs, numbers, and more.

You’ll also see an icon menu of select games – just click on any one to get started. New activities are added to the site regularly, so bookmark it to return often.  Or sign up to receive the free newsletter that will keep you updated on additions to the site.

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Foreign Language Hangman, Wordsearch & Crosswords!

January 5th, 2013

Hi! It’s Saturday, January 5, 2013 and time for Foreign Languages at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

Language Games

Age Range: 9 and up (approximately, with parental supervision; ability to read required)

This ad-supported website offers the opportunity to play online interactive Wordsearch, Crosswords, and Hangman games in a variety of foreign languages to help students learn and practice the language of their choice.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a brief introduction followed by the titles of the three games. Select the language you want to use including:

  • English
  • Espanol (Spanish)
  • Francaise (French)
  • Deutch (German)
  • Italiano (Italian)

Click on the language of choice, and a new page opens where you can play the game. Each game page offers a menu of topics to select from such as:

  • Animals
  • Furniture
  • Transportation
  • Clothes
  • Family
  • The Body
  • Colors
  • Weather
  • Flowers
  • Sports
  • And More!

Select a topic, and the program will automatically generate words in that category to use when playing the game.

Depending on your current skill level, these games can be simple or challenging. This is especially true of the crossword puzzles, where you must be able to read and interpret phrases (clues) to come up with the correct word for the puzzle. You can always check the solutions to self-correct.

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Free Spanish Language Practice Podcasts!

December 1st, 2012

Hi! It’s Saturday, December 1, 2012 and time for Foreign Languages at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

Discover Spanish

Age Range: 10 and up (Middle School and up, with parental supervision)

This website offers 36 free podcasts for practicing learning the Spanish language. These free learn-to-speak Spanish audio recordings cover a full year of high school Spanish. You can listen online or download them to your portable mp3 player.

These free podcasts are a companion to a fee-based Spanish language program available for purchase at the website. However, no purchase is necessary to use the podcasts to practice and hone your Spanish language skills.

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