Language Island
www.languageisland.com

On Language Island, young students can play games in the language arcade, create their own avatars, talk with animal characters, chat with real kids from around the world, and practice their language skills in Word Whiz. The site also has a feature that allows teachers and parents to track students’ progress. Languages include Spanish, Chinese, and Korean.

Travel Abroad Opportunities for Educators
www.geeo.org

The non-profit Global Exploration for Educators Organization (GEEO) helps educators to travel abroad with the goal being that they will take their experiences back to the classroom and share them with their students. This year the organization has scheduled trips to Tunisia, Peru, Ecuador, Thailand, and India. The trips are two to three weeks in length and include activities such as school visits. GEEO also hopes to serve as a clearinghouse for other travel opportunities for educators, so it includes links to other sites for educators to explore.

Plant Life Lesson in Spanish and English
www.urbanext.illinois.edu/gpe/index.html

At the University of Illinois Extension site, “The Great Plant Escape,” fourth and fifth grade students can help Detective Leplant and his partners, Bud and Sprout, “unlock the amazing mysteries of plant life.” The site includes six cases to solve, with “facts of the case” provided for each mystery. There is also a teacher’s guide available at the site. The mysteries of “The Great Plant Escape” can be solved in either Spanish or English.

Ting Chinese English Center
http://hua.umf.maine.edu/ChineseFrame/chineseframeset.html

Ting means “listen” in Chinese, notes this site, which is based at the University of Maine in Farmington and describes itself as a place to study Chinese and English. It includes an introduction to using Ting as a learning tool, as well as games and stories to assist in learning about numbers, money, and vocabulary. Special pages help students learn pinyin and practice with the four tones.

Flashcard Exchange
www.flashcardexchange.com

The Flashcard Exchange is self-proclaimed as “the world’s largest flashcard library.” This online collection holds more than 16 million flashcards on subjects ranging from science to foreign languages, all uploaded by its users. Sets of flashcards are organized by tags, and there is a search bar for finding card sets by tag or title. There is also an online study tool that can be helpful to language learners studying vocabulary or other language-related subject matter. This study tool has various options for presenting flashcards to the user, and it can track one’s accuracy in giving correct answers or translations. Also, in preparation for an exam or as an added learning tool, users can create and store their own flashcards on the website. The cards are also printable and downloadable to Word, Excel, and Acrobat. The site even has a special program for flashcards on an iPhone.

French Linguistics
www.french-linguistics.co.uk/

This site contains a number of resources for learning French, including a French dictionary, crosswords, word search games, vocabulary flash cards, and interactive grammar guides.

Genki English
www.GenkiEnglish.com

Much of the collection of games, songs, and ideas on this site must be purchased, but for teachers of Japanese who may be looking for a resource to teach a specific topic, some of the material here might be of help. There are also things to be sampled for free, and the free newsletter has hints, tips, and news.

Relaunch of Germany.info
www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/09_Videos_Fun/02/_Interactive.html

When the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., relaunched its Germany.info site, it included the feature, Germany.info Interactive, which provides entertaining and educational games and quizzes. Among these are “The Great German Quiz Competition,” “Mozart in Germany,” “EuropaGO!,” and a game about the young polar bear, Knut. There are also action games on the theme “Destination: Germany.”

Audio Material for Advanced Spanish Students
www.rne.es/page?HOME_RNE

Radio Nacional de España has Spanish language programs that could be used in advanced Spanish classrooms.

Celebrating Asian-Pacific Heritage Month
www.loc.gov/topics/asianpacific/
www.nps.gov/history/nr/feature/asia/
www.apaha.org

According to the Asian-Pacific American Heritage Association, in June 1977, Representatives Frank Horton (NY) and Norman Mineta (CA) introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first 10 days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. In May 1990, the holiday was expanded further when President George H. W. Bush designated May to be Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States in 1843. The Library of Congress and the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places are among the places to turn for information about celebrating Asian-Pacific Heritage Month.

Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy
http://cercll.arizona.edu

The mission of the Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL) is to support the educational community and the nation by providing resources and research focused on culture, language, and literacy in less commonly taught languages (LCTLs). CERCLL, one of the language resource  centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education, is located in the Learning Technologies Center at the University of Arizona. Its projects include teacher development, innovative pedagogies, and materials and assessments. The majority of CERCLL’s projects focus on the teaching and learning needs of the LCTLs. Many are aimed at increasing the nation’s capacity to produce Americans with advanced proficiency in the LCTLs through the development, assessment, publication, and dissemination of instructional materials in the LCTLs.

French Verb Conjugator
www.leconjugueur.com

This is a French language website that offers grammar tips along with an online French verb conjugator.