Resources and Lesson Plans for World Languages

Site Index: Sites with Resources and Lessons for Multiple Languages, Arabic, American Sign Language, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hmong, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Native Languages, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish  

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iLoveLanguages!
Language lessons, dictionaries, translation services, schools, organizations, jobs, etc. for a huge list of languages.

The Language Box
An excellent site with world weather, maps, currency conversions, newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV as well as the art and general culture of selected countries.

The Language Classroom
Lesson plans and resources for a variety of languages plus information explaining why studying languages is important.

1st SPOT Languages
Links to resources for many languages.

Search Engine Colossus
Similar to searchengines.com, Search Engine Collosus allows you to enter the internet of individual countries through its international directory of search engines.

Foreign Language
Lesson plans from The Educator's Reference Desk (formerly AskERIC).

Awesome Library: Languages
Lesson plans and resources for a variety of languages.

Internet Activities for Foreign Language Classes
Great source for a large selection of Internet-based lessons for a variety of languages.


World language Lesson Plans
From Teachnology.


Education World: Foreign Language Center
Lesson plans and other resources.

Foreign Language Lesson Plans and Resources
Links to sites for a variety of languages.

World Language and ESL Lesson Plans
From Mr. Donn.

Foreign Language and Culture
A secondary lesson plan suitable for any language.

American Sign Language
Signs of Development
Information and products for teaching and learning ASL.

American Sign Language and Signed English
A vocabulary index with pictures of signs for hundreds of word from Lesson Tutor. See their ASL site for many lesson plans.

Cultural Lesson in Introducing Oneself
One lesson plan from the above site.

Learning American Sign Language Using Alphabet Flash Cards
Suggested activities for learning/teaching ASL with flash cards. Also from Lesson Tutor.

Colors and American Sign Language
A lesson plan for preschool or kindergarten.

A Basic Dictionary of ASL Terms
A dictionary with both animated and text definitions.

American Sign Language Browser
A dictionary complete with pictures.

Sign Writing Site
Lesson plans and information for reading, writing, and typing sign languages.

SoundKeepers ASL Alphabet
A pictoral guide to the basic American Sign Language alphabet.

Sign the Alphabet
An on-line activity from Funbrain.com.

ASL Activities, Books, and Teaching Materials

American Sign Language Teachers Association

History of Sign Language
A concise summary. See also About ASL.

The Deaf Resource Library
An online collection of reference material and links intended to educate and inform people about Deaf cultures in Japan and the United States as well as deaf and hard of hearing related topics.

Arabic
BABEL: Arabic
An online course.

Food Sources: Learning Arabic through Science
A lesson plan for the elementary grades from NCLRC.

Arabic Poetry: Guzzle a Ghazal
A lesson plan that engages students in reading and writing about an  Arabic poetic form. 

Egyptiasn Arabic
Resources related to Egyptian Arabic.

Arabic Language and Culture
Links to resources from the NCELA including the American Association of Teachers of Arabic.   

Arabic Alphabet Applets
Learn the letters of the Arabic alphabet.

What's in an Arabic Name?
English translations of Arabic names.

The Arabic World: Arabic Languages
Useful phrases, expressions, and words.

Middle East & Islamic Studies Collection: Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
Links to several interesting resources. Click here for the Middle East and Islamic Studies Collection home page.

Ectaco English-Arabic Online Dictionary
Translates from English to Arabic and visa versa. Click here for another online English-Arabic dictionary.

Arab Culture and Society
A lesson plan from the American Arab Anti Discrimination Committee (ADC.org) that provides suggestions for Arab-Americans who are speaking to K-12 students/classrooms.   Many of the ideas and much of the information could be adapted to an introductory lesson plan on Arab culture.

The Arab Culture in Review: A Global Perspective
An Internet-based project in which students assume various roles within and related to the Arab culture. It consists of five activities and an assessment.

The Growth of Islam
A SCORE Cyberguide providing a 7th-grade Internet-based activity. See also Islamic Scientific Contributions to Civilization for another 7th-grade activity.

Religious Beliefs Made Visual: Geometry and Islam
Classroom activities designed to show how Islamic art can provide important insights into the technology, scientific
knowledge, and religious beliefs of Moslems. For further information about Islam, see Chronology: Early Islam and Infoplease: Islam.

Arab American Chamber of Commerce

Arab-American Mirror

Chinese
Learning Chinese Online
Links to a huge list of sites for learning Chinese online.

Mandarin Chinese Online
Another huge list of links, not only for learning Chinese, but also about China.

Audio Tutorial of Survival Chinese
From Purdue University.

Basic Chinese Grammar
A slide show that reviews the basics of spoken standard Chinese grammar.

Zhongwen.com
Search dictionary, online readings, Chinese chat room, etc.

Chinese-English Dictionary
A user-friendly, searchable dictionary.

Pinyin - Learning the Chinese Language through Phonetics
A lesson plan for high school, college, or adult education.

Moran's Chinese Teaching Materials
Seven lessons for learning to read Chinese.

Counting in Chinese
Teach your students to count to 10 in Chinese.

On-Line Lessons: Letter from Parents and Listening Comprehension
These on-line lessons are from the unpublished manuscript, Authentic Chinese Texts.

Chinese Cultural Studies: The Chinese Language and Writing
An article describing the various languages and dialects spoken in China.

China Related Resources
An extensive list of links.

Online Map of China

Asian Geography
K-12 lesson plans for teaching about China and other Asian countries.

About Taiwan
A list of links for finding information on the "other" China. See also Welcome to Taiwan.

French
French to English and English to French Online Dictionary

Internet Resources for French Teachers
Great resources for teachers of French

Quia French
Over 100 lesson plans/activities.

French Lessons from Everywhere
French courses on the Web!

A Stroll through the Musee d'Orsay
A lesson plan for French 3 from NCLRC. Go to their site to find six other French lesson plans.

Learning Scenarios for a Simulated Field Trip to France
A web-based lesson for French II.

Internet Activities for Foreign Language Classes
Great source for a large selection of Internet-based lessons for a variety of languages.

Une Journee Typique?
One lesson plan from the above site.

Quel temps fait-il?
A lesson plan for French one on dates and weather expressions. See also A French Weather Report.

Creating a Rhyming Book - Bonsoir Lune
A primary-grade lesson plan.

Le Monde Francophone
A lesson plan for grade 7 integrating the French language with geography.

The Unique Nature of Various African Countries
A lesson plan for grades 9-12 French and social studies in which students give a presentation about people in an African country in which French is spoken and which is served by the Peace Corps.


Our Vacation to France
A WebQuest for French students. See also My Trip to France and Four Days in Paris

Number Bingo
A lesson plan for grades 7-10.

Story Starter
A lesson plan for grades 6-12.

Boulangerie (Bakery)
A multi-age lesson plan using the concept attainment model.

French Connections
A lesson plan from EDSITEment that utilizes the Internet designed to
strengthen student perceptions of the real-world importance of mastering a foreign language
. See also French and Family for another lesson plan from EDSITEment.

French 5H - - Webquest
A webquest for AP French. See also Beyond French Borders WebQuest and French Webquest. 

France
A clickable worksheet.

Embassy of France
The ultimate source for information about France.

France: Primary Documents
Great source for transcriptions and translations of documents on French history.

Medieval Europe: France

Click here for lesson plans on French and European history.
 
German Lesson Plans and Resources

German-English On-line Dictionary

German for Travelers
Award-winning on-line German course.

Deutsche Internet Ubungen
Good source for German lessons and activities. See also Awesome Library German Lesson Plans and Resources.

German-American Teaching Resources and Units
Links to units, lesson plans, and resources.

Das Wetter in 
A lesson plan in which students access Web sites for weather forecasts in German.   

Kino in Stuttgart
Another Internet-based lesson plan.

Advertisements in German-American Cookbooks
A lesson plan for German I or II in which students recognize and use German vocabulary related to food.   

German-Americans and Their Contributions
Two lesson plans on German Americans. See also A German-American Chronology.

History's Influence on German-American Culture
A high school unit designed to meet the Minnesota State Standard for history and culture. See also The Germans in America, a page developed by the Library of Congress.

Emigration and Immigration
A German-American lesson plan for grades 7-12. See also German Americans - 1990 Census Data and  German-American Chronology.

German Immigrants: Their Contributions to the Upper Midwest
A lesson plan in which students answer questions and practice their German while using photographs and documents from the American Memory Collection of the Library of Congress.

German Studies Webquests
See also
Frau Bryant's German WebQuest.

The Berlin Wall: Information Scavenger Hunt
Developed for use in a German I class.

German-American Internet Scavenger Hunt
A site I developed for Rocori Middle School German Day. See also German Americans: An Ethnic Experience.

Germany and America in the 20th Century: An Annotated Timeline
A companion site to the one above. It includes a timeline and links to sites providing information on individuals and events of significance to Germany and America during the 20th Century. See also  German History Sources.

The German Way and More
Impressive site with a lot of information. 

German Embassy and Information Center
Get information about Germany from the German government.

Web Resources for German Teachers
A set of links from the University of Leeds in the UK.

Robert Shea's German Resources
Learn about German culture, news, tourism, and education.

Greek
Greek-English Dictionary On Line

Translate words form Greek to English or English to Greek. Choose either ancient or modern Greek.

English-Greek/Greek-English Informatics Terminology Dictionary
From the University of Athens.

Search for English Words in Greek
From the Perseus Project at Tufts University.

The Greek Language
A brief history of the Greek language.

Learn to Speak Greek
Learn Greek online by practicing with a native speaker who is learning your language.

Ancient Greek Language

A list of links.

Embassy of Greece.

Mr. Donn's Ancient Greece
Many lesson plans.

Daily Life in Ancient Greece
An excellent lesson plan adaptable to multiple grade levels.


Hmong
Saturn Hmong Home Page
Interesting site for Hmong language with a Hmong-English/English-Hmong dictionary, pronunciation guide, lesson plans, and links.

Hmong Lessons
Thirty lessons plus a pronunciation guide.

An Integrated Unit on Hmong Story Cloth
A middle-school unit. For additional lesson plans on the Hmong story cloth, see also Hmong Tapestry Lesson Plan.  

WWW Hmong Homepage
A collection of resources relating to Hmong history, culture, language, and current events.

The Hmong People in the U.S.
Historical information and a long list of links. See also Hmong History.

Italian
Mrs. O. D'Aponte's Page
A resource for students and teachers of Italian, this page offers lesson plans, information on Italian cities, Italian language resources, and links to Italian cultural sites.

You Too Can Learn Italian!
Three introductory lessons.

Oggie Domini
Twenty free Italian lessons on line.

Italian Language: Dictionaries
Links to several Italian-English Dictionaries from About.com.

Embassy of Italy in the United States
First-hand source of information on Italy.

L'Unione Sarda On Line
Italian newspaper on line.

Italia Mia
A large list of links to Italian web sites.

Japanese
Jôyô 96
A comprehensive site for learning about the Japanese language, Jôyô 96 includes written Japanese online Tutorials, a 144-page katakana tutorial, Japanese Ministry of Education's Joyo Kanji (complete with etymology, stroke order, movies, and mood music) as well as links to books, software, and free stuff.  Also see the Japanese Paper Maker online program to make your own calligraphy practice paper or posters.

Japanese Language Education for elementary and Secondary Students
Lesson plans for teaching culture in Japanese language classes as well as well as information about Japanese language education.

Eldridge Online Japanese Lessons
Four lessons.

Japanese Writing Tutor
A site designed to help students of Japanese practice their writing skills.

Reading Japanese Signs
A guide to understanding Japanese signs, billboards, plaques, banners, etc.

Number Book with Japanese Characters
One lesson plan from Geographic and Technology Program - Japan.

Teaching and Learning About Japan
Find information about most any topic.

Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C.

Click here to find K-12 lesson plans for teaching about Japan and other Asian countries.

Korean  
Korean Studies
Materials to support students learning Korean. See also Korean Language Education Clearinghouse.

An Introduction to Korean
A tutorial with 8 lessons focusing on the alphabet, conversational phrases, parts of the body, family members, numbers, asking directions, and grammar.

Korean Alphabet
A lesson plan in which students learn to identify Korean alphabet characters.

Korean Restaurant Etiquette
A lesson plan designed to teach students etiquette for eating at a Korean restaurant.

Korean Children's Day
A mini-unit for grades 4-5. Click appendix to learn Yut (A Traditional Korean Game).

Korea
A multidisciplinary unit on Korean geography and culture.

Latin
The Latin Page
A page designed for 7-12 Latin teachers, complete with lesson plans and resources.

Latin Teach
Another page for Latin teachers.

Artistic Endeavors in Latin Class
A lesson plan for third and/or fourth year Latin students.

Roman Living
A comprehensive five-day lesson plan for beginning Latin students that introduces them to various aspects of ancient Roman culture.

Brush Up On Your Latin
Nine mini-lessons.

The Romulus Project
An electronic library of Latin literature.

Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aid
From the Notre Dame Archives. See also English-Latin On-Line Dictionary.

Daily Life in Ancient Rome
Activities from Mr. Donn's pages.

Rome in Virtual Reality
Have your students take a tour. 

The Beginning of a Roman Perseus
A site under construction that will focus on Roman civilization.

Native Languages and Resources
For lesson plans and units on Native Americans, click here.
Traditions and Languages of Three Native Cultures: Tlingit, Lakota, and Cherokee
A high-quality lesson plan in which students understand the importance of maintaining the traditions and languages of native languages; they also learn to say a few words in each of the above languages.

Fun with Numbers
An elementary-grade lesson plan from Education World's Activities to Celebrate Native American Heritage in which students learn Lakota Sioux words for numbers.

What's in a Name?
Another lesson plan from Education World in which students learn the origin of the names of U.S. states that were derived from Native American words.

Language and Names

A lesson plan from Wisconsin Celebrates Native American Cultures designed to expose students to Native American languages by teaching them words for animals in a variety of     Native American languages.   

Cheyenne Language Web Site
Pronunciation guide, an on-line dictionary, word lists, etc.

Lakota Information Home Page
Resources, tribal sites, maps, history, treaties, language, etc.

Lakota Sioux Heritage
Lakota-English dictionary; audio words and phrases; the audio program, Intro to Lakota; plus a link to the Sioux Heritage Association.

Less Commonly Taught Languages
Resources for teaching a number of different languages from ERIC.

Native American Languages
A long list of links to sites for specific languages.

Ojibwe Language and Culture
Language, essays, cross-cultural materials, and references, and a list Ojibwe authors on-line.

Anishinaabe
The Web's first Ojibwe translation site.

Teaching Indigenous Languages
Links to resources including full-text publications.

Native American Data Base
A huge collection of links to sites for Native American culture and wisdom.

Native American Tribal Directory

Native American Nation's Home Pages
See also Native American Nations.

Tribal Names and Their Meanings

WWW Virtual Library - American Indians
An extensive index of Native American language resources on the Internet.

Norwegian
Norwegian in Five Minutes a Month
Thirty on-line lessons from the Sons of Norway.

Resources for the Study of Norwegian
Links to dictionaries, culture, news, Internet audio and video, etc.

English-Norwegian/Norwegian-English Online Dictionary

Dagbladet
Norwegian Daily Newspaper online.

Explorers from Norway
A 5th-grade lesson plan.

NORWAY: Exploring New Horizons
Information and suggested activities for a secondary unit on Norway.

Norway
Information about and a map of Norway. 

BIBYS
A shared library system for all Norwegian Universities. It appears to be free for all to search, and apparently no password is required.

For lesson plans on Vikings, click here , then scroll down the page.

Polish
Polish
Basic phrases and pronunciation guide. See also Polish Pronunciation Guide.

English-Polish Dictionary

Polish News Online
Polish-language newspaper published in Bensenville, Illinois.

Embassy of Poland
A great source for information about Poland.

Polish National Alliance
Information for Polish-Ameriucans, including immigration records.

Polish World
Information and links for art, culture, education, entertainment, government, etc. See also Polish Web Portal from Boston for more links.

Polonia Today Online
The history of Poland through World War II. See also Polish History and Culture for Polish history up to the 1990s.

Poland
A 3rd-grade thematic unit.

Russian
Course of Russian Language in Picture

Pictures for basic Russian words.

Cyrillic Alphabet
Russian alphabet with sounds.

Online Russian Test
The site also includes Russian travel information for visitors, free Russian teachers’ resources, St. Petersburg city map, and photo gallery.

English -Russian Dictionary
See also English-Russian Russian-English Dictionary and Russian: An Interactive, On-Line Reference Grammar.

Roy's Russian Language Resources
A list of Internet resources.

Window to Moscow
Information on the weather, business, or metropolitan transportation

Face of Russia: Living Under Communism
A high school lesson plan. Scroll to the bottom of the page to access 4 other lessons from the Face of Russia unit.

Geography Lesson Plan: Russia
A 5th-grade lesson plan.

Mr. Donn's Former Soviet Union/Russia Page
Many lesson plans and resources.

Introducing Children to Russian and Eastern European Culture
Links to resources and lesson plans.

Spanish (Scroll down the page for Latin American/Hispanic literature lesson plans)
English to Spanish Translation
See also Spanish to English.

Learn Spanish
Learn Spanish with these free online lessons.

Spanish Lesson Plans from The Educator's Reference Desk
Many Spanish lesson plans. See also Spanish Lesson Plans and Resources.

Internet Activities for Foreign Language Classes
Many lesson plans for Spanish and French as well as a few for other languages.
   
Quia Spanish

The top 20 lesson ideas.

Teach Spanish
Elementary, middle, and high school lesson plans.

Cultural Aspects of Spanish in America
A unit for secondary Spanish language teachers.

Speak Spanish in 60 Days
Sixty mini-lessons.

Spanish Made Easy
Lessons, vocabulary, phrases.

Web Spanish Lessons
Three online lessons.

Business Spanish.com
Free online lessons (with audio) for business and conversational Spanish.

Tasty Tidbits from Spain
A lesson on Spanish vocabulary dealing with food. See also Mexican Food.

Teaching the Celebration of The Day of the Dead - el Dia de los Muertos
An award-winning  lesson plan for grades 9-12.

Teaching the Preterite and the Imperfect Verb Tenses and Their Uses
Another award-winning lesson plan for Spanish II or III.

Deportes en Espana
A lesson plan for 9th-grade Spanish.

Retanet: Resources for Teaching About the Americas
Over 65 lesson plans dealing with Latin America, the Caribbean, and culture studies. The lessons cover many subjects and may not all be appropriate for a Spanish language class.

Hispanic Immigration: America in the Year 2000
A high school unit.

Culture Quest
Webquests on Hispanic culture, hispanic games, photos of Hispanic America, and tips for teachers.

Spanish Speaking Countries Webquest
See also WebQuest to Spanish Speaking Countries.

Cinco de Mayo
An webquest for 8th-grade Spanish. See also Cinco de Mayo for Teachers.

Twentieth Century Latin American Writing
Ten units from the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. See also Family Ties in Latin American Fiction. The Modern Short Story in Latin America, and CyberGuides: Spanish for additional units and lesson plans on Latin American/Hispanic literature.

Gabriel Gárcia Márquez/Columbia
A high school lesson plan using the short story, "La Santa" by Nobel Prize winner for literature, Gabriel Gárcia Márquez.

Contemporary Latina Writers: Julia Alverez
Another high school lesson plan from the same source as the one above.

Hispanic World Unit
An electronic field trip.

Ole! Bullfighting
Another webquest for high school Spanish. See also Cinco de Mayo for one more webquest by this same teacher.

Si Spain
Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs site with information about and links to Spain.

Information on Spanish Speaking Countries
Information on specific Latin American countries in either English or Spanish. 

Adanzas al Web Latino
Excellent site for Latin American studies from the University of New Mexico. See also  Latino Web.

Mexico OnLine
Directory of information about Mexico. See also Mexico Connect.

Colonial Mexico
Great site for information on 19th century Mexico.

Mexico
Links to many lesson plans on Mexico and Mexican history.

History of Mexico
A wealth of information.


Swahili
For other African languages, see Appreciating African Languages (an elementary lesson plan), African Language Resources on the Internet and English Afrikaans On-line Dictionary.

Jumbo Means Hello: An Introduction to Swahili
A lesson plan for the early elementary grades from Africa: It's Not a Country.

Let’s Speak Swahili
A Kwanzaa-related vocabulary lesson.

An Introduction to Counting in Swahili
An elementary-grade lesson plan teaching how to count in the Swahili language.  

Speaking Different Languages
An elementary-grade lesson plan in which students learn to write a letter to their parents in Swahili.

Let's Speak Swahili
A collection of materials associated with a televised course. The Summary of Lessons may be particularly helpful.

Swahili 231
A syllabus, three online lessons, and a vocabulary-building page.

ALI Swahili Karibu!
Listen to Swahili, read about the Swahili language and culture, or take a short "test."

Swahili Exercises for Listening and Reading
Fifteen exercises developed to be used in an introductory Swahili class.

Internet Living Swahili Dictionary
Translates English to Swahili and visa versa. 

Swahili Pronunciation Guide
Click the highlighted words to hear proper pronunciation.

A Brief History of the Swahili Language
A concise, well-written page.

Language Links: Swahili
A long list of annotated links

Swedish
Introduction to Swedish
From the Stockholm School of Economics.

Bjorn Engdahl's Swedish Course
A pronunciation guide, 7 lessons, and a final exam.

Swedish Grammar
Alphabet, pronunciation, and parts of speech.

Swedish-English Dictionary
Translate from Swedish to English and visa versa.

Sweden and the Swedish Language
Information and links.

Sweden
Information about the Swedish people and their government.

 
 

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