Universal Access
Whether you're preparing for a semester abroad or deployment overseas, brushing up your skills as an ESL practitioner, or just want to be able to say "I speak Swahili," there are many reasons and methods to learn a new language or two. Taking classes through VT's Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures or at the Language and Culture Institute are two available options. If you're looking for something less formal, consider working with one of the resources listed below.
If you want to learn on the go or don't want to depend on internet access, the Virginia Tech Libraries have a large collection of language learning CDs. You can find the list of our collection of Pimsleur CDs here. Or, if you prefer, you can see the listing of our available CDs by language:
Chinese (Mandarin), French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish
The Blacksburg Public Library, part of the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library (MFRL) system, offers access to Mango Languages and DuoLingo software to anyone with an MFRL library card and log in. To get this library card, take a proof of residence (lease, bill with address on it, etc) to the closest library branch. Once you're a member, you can go to MFRL.org 24/7 to use Mango or DuoLingo. On the MFRL home page, mouse over the heading "eLibrary," then click on the link for "Learning" in the dropdown menu.
Then click on the link for Mango Languages or DuoLingo, log in with your MFRL username and password, and start learning!
