Keolah Learns Japanese is an Open Source Japanese learning software for the Windows operating system that is most useful for students who already know the basics of the language. New students who do not know any characters won’t be able to use the program efficiently as it requires at least basic knowledge of the three alphabets.

Users who already know at least one of the alphabets can use the program for various tasks. This includes practicing the characters of each alphabet, translating words from Japanese into English and vice versa, and conjugating words.

Depending on the selection, lessons are either displayed as multiple choice tests or direct input tests.

The options can be used to change the screen resolution of the window and, more importantly, the difficulty. The default difficulty is set to first grade which an be changed all the way up to high school and advanced.

Japanese students can use Keolah Learns Japanese to practice Japanese vocabulary and their Japanese skills. Probably the biggest drawback right now is that the learning software does not start at the very beginning. It would be great if if would offer options to learn the alphabets and vocabulary before running the tests.

For now, this is not the case and that’s why users need a solid understanding of Japanese to make use of the program. And since it is possible to translate the other way round, it may be useful for Japanese students who want to learn English.

Students of Japanese can download the latest version of the Open Source software from the Sourceforge web page.

Another excellent program for Japanese students is Kanji Sketch Pad which can be used to learn how Japanese symbols are drawn correctly.

I am currently trying to learn French and German and often find myself using many computer-based resources to ease my learning, some obvious, like dictionaries, and some not-so, like podcasts.

Dictionaries

Different languages generally have different online dictionaries. For German, I often find myself using dict.cc, whilst for French, I use Reverso. The best way to find dictionaries is to Google, but one option to definitely consider is the ever-growing Wiktionary. Effectively every language has a Wiktionary and whilst it can be difficult to navigate, it is quite large and the range of languages makes it amazing.

Verb conjugators

Verbix is another web-based tool. It allows you to conjugate verbs, and even supports irregular ones.

The free web-based tool supports verb conjugation in 97 languages, ranging from Afrikaans, to Milanese, to Old English to Welsh! They offer Windows shareware which supports over 300 languages.

Verbix also offers a tool too which analyses text and guesses its language.

Podcasts

Podcasts are a very useful way to perfect your listening.

It is very useful for me to hear a native German or a Francophone to speak.

Browsing iTunes will obviously bring up many possibilities.

My suggestions? For German, use Slow German. For French, try One thing in a French day. Naturally, I can’t make suggestions for other languages!

Vocabulary trainers

One of the best ways to learn is purely to repeat.

Many vocabulary trainers are available. These allow you to input words, or use preprepared word lists, and then be tested on them. The trainers compile statistics so you can identify weak points etc.

For OS X, try the freeware Vocab. A wide-range of options exist for Windows users; ProvaLingua seems popular. Another option, which also works under Linux, is this program.

Wikipedia

I already mentioned that Wiktionary exists in many languages, but so does Wikipedia.

To improve your knowledge of a foreign language, try reading an article on your native language Wikipedia and then on a foreign one. It won’t be the same word for word, but many ideas will be similar so you should be able to pick out some key words.

Wikipedia is also a good way to find technical vocabulary in a foreign tongue.