An Online Jewel at the Library

The Somerset County Library System offers what appears to be a superb set of online language-learning courses. I was browsing the County’s web site about a month ago and came across a plug for Mango Languages. It turns out that Mango is a company with which the Somerset County Library System has contracted to offer online language courses to patrons of the library system.

I tried it myself and may have become hooked on it. I’m already in the very early stages of Spanish and French – let’s see how long I persevere in this endeavor! I don’t expect that French will be very difficult since I grew up bi-lingual. But I’ve gotten very rusty and need a lot of review. There aren’t too many people hereabouts who parles Français! And I’m many miles and years from that long-ago French-Canadian community in which I was raised.

But Spanish! Ah, that’s a different story. There are so many people in this county who speak only Español, and I felt it would be a good idea for me to get on board a bit. I don’t think that residents of Somerset County who speak Spanish only are planning to go anywhere else anytime soon. Certainly, I don’t. So maybe learning a few common words and sentences will help both of us.

If you want to check out this offering of the Somerset County Library System, go to http://www.somerset.lib.nj.us/, click on “Search the SCLS WEBSITE,” and then enter “Mango Languages” in the search box.