Cool Stuff on Campus (and online): LLRC

This edition of "Cool Stuff on Campus" (because apparently I'm making that a thing) is about the Language Learning Resource Center, or LLRC (website pictured above). The LLRC, located at 215 St. Edmund's Hall, is a lab that can be used for projects, training and other academic purposes, and it's managed by the SMC's IT department, so as well as offering technology and resources for language-learning, they also offer in-house technology and cameras, microphones, and things of that nature for circulation.

I've never been to the language lab myself, but I discovered LLRC online this past week. I'd remembered hearing about it at some point during the few months since I've been at school, so I started poking around the SMC website to see what I could find.

Now, I wouldn't say I'm a language freak, but I speak a few and enjoy dabbling. So you can imagine my excitement at discovering the sizable collection of online resources offered to SMC students for free from the LLRC. Here's a snapshot of what I found on the website:

Holy Languages!

Pretty cool, amiright? 

As you can see, that's not all of them. And in some cases, there isn't much (all I could find for Bosnian was an English-Bosnian dictionary), but I'm sure that's only because certain languages don't have an overwhelming demand (Bosnian, for example). By any means, there's no way I can say I was disappointed by what I found. All the "big-name" languages (for lack of a better phrase) are covered; they offer Rosetta Stone in Arabic, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish, as well as an awesome program called Mango, which has a TON of languages. Feast your eyes:

Already counted; there are 37.

Mango has been a treat for me, because like I said, I enjoy dabbling. Ever since I found this I've basically tried out every language they have just for fun, but I've had a great time learning some Dutch, and can now say 'Hallo, Ik heet Ben. Leuk je te ontmoeten!' That's, 'Hello, my name's Ben. Nice to meet you!'

Also, the lay out of Mango as a program is pretty sweet. It's set up like online flashcards, and you run through lessons at your own pace, plus there's audio and you can compare a recording of your pronunciation to the Mango recordings. Another screen shot:

Didn't mean to go image-crazy there; sorry about that. But it's so much cooler if you can see it all! 

Students here should definitely check these resources out if they have any interest in a language! Or if you're a prospective student, I'd be happy to answer or direct any questions on twitter, formspring, or by email at brosbrook@mail.smcvt.edu! I'm also on the facebook!

Thanks for reading!