What a great time to be learning English! There are so many apps, podcasts and other resources out there to help you. The most important things when learning a language are: speak as much as possible to native speakers, read as much as possible but make sure the books are appropriate for your level or you’ll get bored or frustrated and listen to as much material as you can in your target language.

For speaking, you should join your local meet up group at meetup.com. Just create a personal profile and then join all the English learning groups in your city. The more you get out there and mingle the better. Even if the other people are not native speakers it is still forcing you to speak your target language!

For reading, try reading short biographies, adolescent literature and shortened versions of famous American and British books. It is important to read frequently on a variety of topics to increase your vocabulary. The biggest challenge in learning English is the huge number of idioms and large vocabulary (over 1 million words ~ the largest vocabulary in the world!)

To help with your listening skills, you should be listening to podcasts at every opportunity such as while doing chores, walking or taking transit. Here are some suggestions for free podcasts all of which are available on iTunes:

Listen to English

English Class 101

Splendid Speaking

Voice of America Learning English

Business English Pod

Culips ESL Podcast

ESL Pod

All Ears English

Good luck!

Learning a language has never been easier for those who are unable to go and live in a foreign country to study their target language. There are numerous online resources available to help with listening and comprehension skills as well as to practice verb conjugations and build vocabulary. The challenge can be filtering through these resources to find the best ones. Below are my recommendations of podcasts, websites and apps that can serve as excellent supplemental materials. All sources are free unless otherwise indicated.

In Spanish:

Podcasts: (all available for free on iTunes)

Notes in Spanish: Inspired Beginners/Intermediate/Advanced/Gold

Spanish Obsessed

Coffee Break Spanish

Real Deal Spanish

News in Slow Spanish

Lightspeed Spanish

Learn Spanish on Spanishdict.com (video series)

Spanish GED (from Spain)

VOA: Buenos Dias America

Radio Ambulante (for advanced speakers)

Websites:       

www.quizlet.com (great flash card practice)

www.tunein.com (international radio)

app.fluencia.com (all around learning *fee based)

www.spaleon.com  (verb conjugation practice)

www.conjuguemos.com (verb conjugation practice)

www.duolingo.com/course/es/en/Learn-Spanish-Online (all around learning)

www.babbel.com/learn-spanish-online (all around learning)

www.spanishpod101.com (*various fees great for audio!)

www.spanish.yabla.com  (*pay site with audio, videos)

www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/  (newspaper from Spain)

www.elcomercio.pe (business newspaper)

www.elpais.com/global (general interest newspaper)

www.hola.com  (society/gossip newspaper)

Youtube Videos

www.youtube.com

Apps:

Duolingo (very popular!)

Word Ref (great dictionary)

Spanish Dict! (great dictionary+ online practice)

Language Lab by McGrall Hill (free flashcards)

Gengo Word Power Spanish (*small fee)

Babbel Spanish

24/7 Tutor Spanish

Busuu Spanish

In German:

Podcasts: (all available for free on iTunes)

Yabla German (videos)

DW: Deutsche im Alltag

DW: Typisch Deutsche

Coffee Break German

Learn German: Pod 101 (audio/video)

Audio Tutor Learning German

Slow German with Annik Rubbens

Websites:   

www.quizlet.com (great flashcards!)

www.nthuleen.com/teach/grammar.html  (grammar helper)

www.germanpod101.com (*various fees great for audio!)

www.german.about.com/library/blregverb_qz01.htm (verb conjugation practice)

www.duolingo.com/course/de/en/Learn-German-Online (all around practice)

http://www.babbel.com/learn-german-online (all around practice)

www.tunein.com (international radio)

http://german.net/verbs/conjugation/present/ (verb conjugation practice)

www.deutsch-perfekt.com (Multimedia website for learners)

www.spiegel.de (general interest newspaper)

www.stern.de (society/gossip newspaper)

Apps:

Duolingo (very popular!)

Leo (great dictionary)

Language Lab by McGrall Hill (free flashcards)

Gengo Word Power German (*small fee)

Babbel German

24/7 Tutor German

Busuu German

I am always looking for new ideas to recommend to my students. If you have had success with an online resource you would like to share please post your suggestions!