Category: Transparent Language

Get Your Kids Learning Languages

Broaden young learners’ horizons with KidSpeak. They’ll work their way through fun and engaging activities with their cartoon “friend” and his or her playful pet.

  • Available languages:
    Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
  • Easy to access:
    KidSpeak is included with the Transparent Language Online available from your local Library and can be accessed on a computer, laptop, or tablet.
kidspeak-fruit
kidspeak-time
  • Hundreds of words and phrases:
    Children can add to their seemingly endless vocabulary (and energy!) with over 700 words and expressions per language.
  • Age-appropriate content:
    Designed for ages 6 and up, children will learn words and phrases suitable for their age, needs, and interests.

Celebrate Russian Language Day

UN Russian Language Day is observed annually on June 6. The event was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2010. UN Russian Language Day coincides with the birthday of Alexander Pushkin, a Russian poet who is considered the father of modern Russian language.

Run, hide from my sight, Oh weak queen of Cythera! Where are you, where are you, storm of kings, Proud singer of Freedom? —Come, tear the wreath from me, Smash the delicate lyre…I want to sing Freedom to the world, And strike vice upon thrones.Беги, сокройся от очей, Цитеры слабая царица! Где ты, где ты, гроза царей, Свободы гордая певица? —Приди, сорви с меня венок, Разбей изнеженную лиру…Хочу воспеть Свободу миру, На тронах поразить порок.

Let’s be honest… Cyrillic looks intimidating. But with Transparent Language Online? It’s just another beautiful alphabet waiting to be mastered.

Start your journey from “nyet” to “da” today! Free with your library card.

10 Reasons to learn a new language.

There are many reasons to learn a new language. Here’s ten excellent reasons, as reported by Ithaca College, to tempt you to dip your toe in a new language.

  • Personal Growth: Learning a new language is challenging, leading learners to have to re-think their strengths, weaknesses, and how they learn. Language study also helps students to develop new interests.
  • Enhanced Communication Skills: Learning a new language helps you learn how to listen and respond better to others. It helps you learn how to pay attention to social cues, contexts, and body language.
  • Career Opportunities: Recent research suggests that bilingual employees can earn between 5% and 20% more money per hour than those who speak only one language. Additionally, international opportunities open up to bilingual employees.
  • Cultural Enrichment: Learning a new language encourages individuals to learn about associated histories, politics, and cultures. Language study also encourages individuals to become engaged in activities they might otherwise never discover.
  • Educational Opportunities: Bilingual individuals oftentimes are selected over monolingual individuals to participate in special educational opportunities (study abroad, selection for workshops, scholarships, etc.).
  • Cognitive Benefits: Bilingual people often have better attention and task-switching capacities than monolingual counterparts. They may also be more creative, have better metalinguistic awareness, and be better at developing visual-spatial skills.
  • Social Connections: People who speak more than one language automatically gain the capacity to connect with more people. Creating social relationships leads to building closer business and community connections with each other.
  • Travel and Exploration: Learning a new language often spurs interest in travel. Language learners often wish to travel to distant places to get to know them, and those who live there, more personally.

This fantastic language service is available free from your local library, so if you want to enjoy the top ten benefits of learning a new language – pop in and ask about Transparent Languages Online today.

Love has no language, but you should.

Learn what you want, when you want.

No rigid courses at Transparent Languages Online! Focus on what you care about most, whether you’re just starting out with the alphabet and travel basics or you’re advancing into conversational skills.

100+ languages (and growing!):
Whether it’s Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic, or English, if you want it, we’ve (probably) got it. 

Customize your learning path:
Complete recommended lessons based on your placement test or choose your own content.

Focus on a specific skill:
Pick any skills-based learning activity, select your desired vocabulary, and instantly launch a custom lesson.

Learn on the go:
Log in on almost any device, including full-feature mobile apps for tablets and iOS and Android™ phones.

This fantastic service is available free from your local library, so if you want to learn the language of love this Valentines – pop in and ask about Transparent Languages Online today.

A New Year – A New Adventure

January is always such a flat month, after all the build up and excitement of Christmas the come-down is harsh. The best thing to do is to give yourself something new to look forward to – like an adventure!

With the whole world to choose from, 2025 can be an exciting time. Once you have stuck your pin in the globe, why not visit Transparent Languages Online and start learning some basics of the language that you will encounter on your travels.

There are hundreds of languages available, all free of charge, presented in a comprehensive and easy to learn format. You can learn to read, write, speak and understand any language of your choice.

Pop into your local library today to find out how you can access this great offering, totally free. Happy travels.

Learn on The Go!

Continue your language learning whenever or wherever it’s convenient for you.

Transparent Language Online users can take their language learning on the go with an iOS or Android smartphone or tablet.

The Transparent Language Mobile app is a FREE iOS and Android app which can be used in conjunction with Transparent Language Online – free from your local library. Besides offering the best, most integrated and customised language learning experience for an individual, there is a wealth of free resources, from Word of the Day to our language and culture blogs, to help make language learning a part of your life.

Join The Language Competition

Compete with library patrons all over the world this summer!

It’s simple. Log in to Transparent Language Online for Libraries. Pick any (or many) of the 130+ available languages.

Learn as much as you can during from July 26 – August 11. The 3 library patrons with the most learning time in that window are our medalists!

Medalists win Amazon gift cards for themselves (plus a $100 gift card for their library):

🥇1st place: $150

🥈2nd place: $100

🥉3rd place: $50

That’s it! TLO will announce and email the winners in August.

Now some “fine print” stuff:

  1. Only library patrons using Transparent Language Online for Libraries are eligible. Individual subscribers or users sponsored by any other organization are not eligible, sorry!
  2. You must have an email associated with your account (either your username or entered in your user profile) so we can contact you. No email in the account = not eligible to win.
  3. Learning time = time spent doing lessons, refreshing Learned Vocab, or doing Practice activities in Transparent Language Online on web or mobile.
  4. The contest runs from 12:01am EST on July 26, 2024 to 11:59pm EST on August 11, 2024. Only learning time completed during that time will count.
  5. We will select the winners based on learning time completed, but reserve the right not to choose a specific user for any reason. Winners will be announced by August 30, 2024 and contacted by email. Failure to reply to the email within 7 days forfeits the prize and a new winner will be selected.
  6. Prizes are Amazon gift cards amounting to $150, $100, and $50 respectively, and a $100 gift card for the associated library. If the winning patrons and/or libraries are not in the US, we will try to accommodate their local currency. Applicable exchange rates will be applied.

Get ready for the Olympics

Excitement is building for the up coming Paris Olympics, starting on Friday 26th July 2024 and running until 11th August 2024.

If you are lucky enough to be able to attend this fabulous event, a little knowledge of French will be a huge benefit. You can learn all the basics you need to travel around Paris totally free.

Pop into your library and ask them about Transparent Languages Online, a great way to learn languages from the comfort of your own home.

Make your trip to the Paris Olympics easy with a grasp of the french you need to get around the city, order food, arrange accommodation or buy tickets.

Nos Vacances en France

If you have plans to visit France this year, complete the Essentials course before you go to quickly master a set of commonly used words and phrases.

The course, from Transparent Language Online, covers topics such as eating out, basic banking, directions and transportation across 33 lessons, and it contains approximately 500 words and phrases. It can be completed in 20-25 hours.

Transparent Language Online is a free service available from your local library. So wherever you are planning to go for your holidays, you can learn the basics quickly and easily from the comfort of your own home.