Konnichiwa, Mango

Have you been meaning to learn a language, or just learn some key phrases before a trip abroad? BHPL offers residents at-home, online access to Mango Languages. You've probably seen the TV commercials or kiosks at the airport for Rosetta Stone, which is similar to Mango - you can read a comparison by a librarian at King County (Washington) Library here.

Mango has courses for over 20 languages, plus ESL courses for native speakers of 15 languages. "Little Pim" video courses for kids up to age 6 are available for 10 languages.
above: Little Pim videos

Mango's "basic" courses (as opposed to "complete," which there are fewer of) are suitable for travelers who want to study up before their trip, and have a gorgeous visual interface.
above: basic Spanish course

Mango color-codes the words on its flash cards, so even as you listen to the foreign words being spoken, you can match them up with the English translation. (Especially handy if the language isn't a subject-verb-object one like English).
above: flash card from basic Japanese course

If you want to get started, go to the BHPL web site and click on Remote Databases. Login with your library card number and click on the Mango Languages icon. From there, you can either jump right in, or create an account to track your progress.