For All Aspiring Polyglots

I was looking for a free Spanish language course online, and I stumbled across this gem of a site:

FSI Language Courses

This site contains recordings and .PDF copies of various Foreign Service Institute language courses which are in the public domain. These courses were used by the U.S. government to train diplomats. Sure, they're all about 40 years old and look and sound like they were put together by soulless bureaucrats (because they were) — but these are still regarded by many to be some of the finest language courses ever assembled and are often sold for hundreds of dollars even today. Courses like Barron's Mastering Spanish, Mastering French, or Mastering German are (I believe) verbatim copies of these courses.

Unfortunately, not all of the courses on this site are complete, but there are quite a few which are, including:

• French Basic, Volumes 1 & 2


• Spanish Basic, Volume 1


• Spanish Programmatic, Volumes 1 & 2


• Standard Chinese: A Modular Approach


• Cantonese Basic, Volumes 1 & 2


• Cambodian Basic, Volume 1


• German Basic, Volumes 1 & 2


• Hebrew Basic


• Hungarian Basic


• Greek Basic, Volumes 1 & 3
  (Volume 2 is only missing audio for two lessons)


• Portuguese Programmatic, Volumes 1 & 2


• Swedish Basic


• Thai Basic, Volume 1


• Turkish Basic, Volumes 1 & 2


• Vietnamese Basic, Volumes 1 & 2
  

Also available through this site is Korean Basic, Volume 2. Volume 1 is available for free download here:

Free Korean Language Course

Swahili basic is not yet complete, but there are 95 units of the course available. There are also 11 units completed for the Amharic Basic course.

So, if you are looking to broaden your linguistic horizons, you may want to take a look at this site!

Kungfupower's Half-Assed Resolution List

So the new year is here. People are asking me if I have any resolutions. My answer is a resounding "yes...sort of."

1) I WILL QUIT SMOKING...for the most part. I have to finish this last pack that I bought, but after that there will be no more cigarettes for me, except for those I can bum off of others.

2) NO SECOND HELPINGS AT MEALS...except for pizza, buffets, barbecues, holidays and special events.

3) NO MORE DRINKING...of canned beer and bottom shelf hooch, unless it's offered to me.

4) I WON'T EAT IF I'M NOT HUNGRY. When I feel the urge to eat something, I will ask myself: "am I actually hungry, or not?" If the answer is "not," then I will refrain from eating, but if I am hungy, then I will immediately tend to it with an 18 oz. steak and a hardy tankard of ale.

5) READ ONE NEW BOOK PER WEEK...until the WGA writers' strike ends and the networks start showing new episodes of my favorite TV shows.

6) WALK AT LEAST 20 MINUTES PER DAY...unless my feet are aching, or if I'm tired, or if it's cold outside, or if it's hot outside, or if there's the remote possibility that I might be attacked by a pride of feral cats.

7) GET ORGANIZED. Everything in my living space is in one big pile. Separating that pile into smaller piles will make things easier to find.

8) WIN THE LOTTERY...'nuff said.

9) GIVE MORE MONEY TO CHARITY...just as soon as I complete resolution #8.

10) MORE FREQUENT BLOG POSTS...unless I just don't feel like it.