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"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart." - Nelson Mandela

You’ve most likely heard all the reasons.

By learning another language you will:

• Improve your job prospects in a global market
• Learn about another culture
• Sharpen your mind
• Have more fun on a trip
• Make new friends
• Impress your old friends – maybe even your kids

Whatever your reason, we have resources that can help and even make it fun!

Some may surprise you:

Hoopla has audiobooks and DVDs for learning several languages – for both children and adults. It also has movies in other languages.

Freegal is a great source for songs in other languages – listening to songs is a painless way to pick up vocabulary, current expressions and slang. Thanks to Lady Marmalade, who of a certain age can't say “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi çe soir?” while “Que será, será” by Doris Day is a memorable example of the future tense in Spanish. Think of how much you will learn from a whole song in French or Spanish.

Library Press Display has hundreds of newspapers in other languages and many of the articles can be read to you – an excellent way to improve your reading and listening skills.

In addition, the library subscribes to Rosetta Stone and Mango Languages. Both offer fun exercises that improve your ability to read and have a conversation in another language. Mango even has movies that allow you to change the subtitles. For example, you can watch a movie in Italian with Italian subtitles or Italian and English subtitles, or no subtitles. For most people this is a big help because reading in another language is often easier than understanding it. The library also has an extensive collection of print materials, CDs and DVDs for several languages at the beginning, intermediate and advanced level. And once you feel confident – try reading a book from our World Languages collection.

In short, beyond our books, DVDs and CDs, you can improve your language skills through structured online courses, watching movies, listening to music and reading the paper. What could be better than that?