WISER: learning a language Lucile Deslignères Librarian, Language Centre Johanneke Sytsema Linguistics Subject Consultant

?!?!?! “Longtemps, je me suis couché de bonne heure » (for a long time I used to go to bed early) A long time, I lay down early Oud, vroeg bepaal ik Vieux, je détermine tôt (Old man, I determine early)

Aims At the end of the session you should be able to: find relevant language learning material in the Oxford University domain (SOLO/OXLIP+) and on the internet

Finding Searching: know what you are looking for. Thinking about relevant keywords, especially with search engines Browsing: discover what’s on the shelves. Browsing through relevant subject headings in catalogues/gateways

SOLO Searching: Simple and Advanced search Browsing: put language in subject box + Language Centre Library/library of choice Please note: only 30% of the LC library is catalogued on OLIS so far so use the card index or browse our shelves Video guide to searching at

OXLIP+ For advanced levels: which database? Browse by subject, name, cross-search (as a starter), use the "i" button for info about coverage of the database Search if you know the name For Dictionaries Oxford Reference Online or CREDO

Online Dictionaries (1) Use trusted dictionaries from OxLip+ rather than free online dictionaries Oxford Reference Online –English Thesaurus for definitions –Oxford Bilingual Dictionaries (French, German, Italian, Irish, Spanish, Welsh) for translations –Select Bilingual Dictionaries, advanced search, select required dictionary –The Encyclopedia may also help to find definitions

Online Dictionaries (2) CREDO Reference Collins Dictionaries French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish Use Advanced Search, select Subject > bilingual dictionaries > one of the dictionaries Finds search terms in headings and descriptions unless box ‘search headings only’ is ticked OED Oxford English Dictionary the authority on English language Meaning + etymology

Online Dictionaries (3) Free online dictionaries Over 4000 dictionaries, quality may vary!

OXLIP+ News NexisUK for Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish. Search by keyword in the language Factiva browse the news from Bulgarian to Turkish (in 23 languages) News just in Chinese? Japanese? Russian? Browse by subject in OxLIP+ and get help from Subject Consultants

e-books Project Gutenberg: has audio books in Chinese, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Spanish Google books: do choose the corresponding Google site for languages other than English The online Books Page English mostly but foreign material too

Searching the web Blind Search compares between Google, Yahoo and Bing Google but which one? Be cautious with the Language Search facilities Advanced searches: site search.ac.uk and.edu for EFL, exact title search etc…

Browsing the web GATEWAYS: BUBL SITES: As a starter: Omniglot and Wikipedia For learning: BBC for English: STELLA for less commonly taught languages UCLA

Language Centres AULC: Cambridge Language Centre, King’s College London… and many others… Oxford University Language Centre Language links: individual, multilingual Language Exchange Programmes WebLearn: Chinese, French, German pages

Start-up page Google i-reader Netvibes

Other ways… MIT open course: Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish Mobile phone “aps” Facebook groups Twitter Blogs E-books

Where to go from here WISER sessions of interest: SOLO and OxLIP+ Finding quality information on the internet Session organised by your Language Subject Consultant: Arabic, French, Russian etc… Key News Resources Getting information to come to you

Reference Bradley, Phil, Internet Q&A in Library & Information Update, p.22, Sept 09 for for help on RSS feeds Andrews, Jonathan, e-books and more! for more information on e-books readers WISER presentation archives ©Oxford University Language Centre and Oxford University Library Services