If you are interested in studying languages at Carleton, the Language Center is here to help! Whether you are currently enrolled in language classes, preparing for/returning from an Off-Campus Studies program, or simply want to develop new language skills, we offer a number of resources and tools to supplement your language learning journey. From conversation practice with one of our assistants to Rosetta Stone, we are here to help!
Below you’ll find a list of our main resources. If you’d like to know more about collected resources for learning Indigenous languages of Minnesota, resources for upcoming OCS programs, or Korean Language Circle please follow their respective hyperlinks.
Comfortable Study Spaces
The Language Center features comfortable, recently-remodeled areas to work individually or in small groups near your language classes. While studying, enjoy a free cup of coffee or tea, and make sure to ask us how to easily reserve our private Huddle Space for future study sessions!
Language Help
Language Tutoring
The Language Center regularly hosts Language Tutoring organized by the language departments. The language departments can provide specific assistance for your class and should be your first stop for support. Each department typically has their own structures for help and their assistants are aware of specific topics being covered in class, as well as departmental-specific methods for feedback for assignments. Find your language-specific assistance:
- Arabic, please contact your instructor
- Chinese, please contact your instructor
- French (French Study Center)
- German, please contact your instructor
- Greek
- Hebrew, please contact your instructor
- Japanese, please contact your instructor
- Latin
- Russian, please contact your instructor
- Spanish (Spanish Help Desk or Language Associate)
Language Assistants (LC Student Workers)
Our student workers all speak languages taught at Carleton and can provide additional, broader language assistance with drop-in help (some homework, speaking practice, etc). To learn more about the languages spoken by our current Language Assistants and when they are available please visit our staff page.
Language Learning Software
Mango Languages
We are pleased to offer have licenses to Mango Languages for Carleton students, staff, and faculty. If you’d like access to one of Mango Languages’ 70+ available languages, please complete this short questionnaire.
Rosetta Stone
We currently have a limited licenses to Rosetta Stone available for Carleton students, staff, and faculty. The following languages are available:
- Arabic
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- Dutch
- English (American, British)
- French
- German
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Irish
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Persian (Farsi)
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Russian
- Spanish (Spain)
- Spanish (Latin American)
- Swedish
- Tagalog
- Turkish
- Vietnamese
If you’re interested in a license to Rosetta Stone, please complete this short questionnaire.
Outside Source – Transparent Languages via the Northfield Public Library
Students can apply for a library card at the Northfield Public Library (see College Student application). With your card, you can log into Transparent Languages Online from campus. Currently, the self-learning program supports the following languages:
- Afrikaans
- Albanian
- Altai
- Amharic
- Arabic
- Armenian
- Azerbijani
- Balinese
- Baluchi
- Bashkir
- Belarusian
- Bengali
- Bosnian
- Breton
- Bulgarian
- Buriat
- Cambodian (Khmer)
- Chechen
- Chinese
- Cree
- Croatian
- Czech
- Dakota
- Danish
- Dari
- Denaakk’e (Koyukon)
- Denesuline
- Dutch
- English
- Esperanto
- Estonian
- Farsi
- Finnish
- French
- Georgian
- German
- Greek
- Haitian Creole
- Hausa
- Hawaiian
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Hmong
- Hungarian
- Icelandic
- Indonesian
- Irish
- Italian
- Japanese
- Kalmyk
- Kazakh
- Koasati
- Korean
- Kwakwala
- Latin
- Lativian
- Lithuanian
- Luxembourgish
- Macedonian
- Malagasy
- Malay
- Maori
- Mirandese
- Mongolian
- Nahuatl
- Naskapi
- Nepali
- Nogai
- Norwegian
- Oji-Cree
- Ojibwe
- Pashto
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Quechua
- Romanian
- RussianScottish Gaelic
- Serbian
- Slovak
- Somali
- Spanish
- Swahili
- Swedish
- Tagalog
- Tajiki
- Tamil
- Thai
- Turkish
- Turkmen
- Tuvan
- Ukrainian
- Urdu
- Uzbek
- Vietnamese
- Welsh
- Wolof
- Yoruba
- Zulu
Other Digital Materials
Currently, the Language Center supports:
Antidote
Antidote is a software designed specifically to help French students with their writing. If you are a current student in a French class, you will receive an email near the beginning of the term to access a web version of the Antidote software. We do not currently offer desktop copies in the Language Center.
If you are looking for help on how to use the web version of Antidote, read more about this version, or watch this video.
We also have some instructional videos on the web version:
- An Introduction to using the web version of Antidote
- Installing Antidote Connectors
- Using Antidote Connectors
Audacity
Audacity is a software for recording and editing audio, particularly useful for speaking samples or recording conversation homework.
Audacity can be found on the computers in LDC 221, 241, and 242.
Wenlin
Wenlin is program for reading, writing, and editing Chinese texts.
Wenlin can be found on the computers LDC 221, 241, and 242.
Text/Audio Materials
We have self-study books/CDs in the following languages ready for checkout at our help desk:
- Arabic
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- Czech
- Finnish
- French
- German
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Hungarian
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Portuguese
- Romanian
- Russian
- Spanish
- Spanish (Latin American)
- Swahili
- Swedish
- Vietnamese
Magazines/Newspapers
Currently, the Language Center has physical copies of the following newspapers or magazines. All physical materials will remain in the Language Center.
- French
- Bien Dire and Bien Dire Initial
- German
- Deutsch Perfekt
- Presse und Sprache
- Hebrew
- Hebrew Today
- Japanese
- Hiragana Times
- Spanish
- Punto y coma
Board Games
The Language Center has over 30 board games for students, staff, and faculty to play in the Language Center lounge. Faculty may checkout games for use in their classes (please reach out to the Language Center for assistance). If you’d like to play one of our board games, we ask that you try to use the language you are learning as much as possible. For some board games, we have vocabulary cheat sheets available that we are happy to lend you. The Language Center currently has the following games:
Arabic
- Codenames
- Guess Who?
- Hues and Clues
- Pictionary Air
Chinese
- A Little Wordy
- Guess Who?
- Hues and Clues
- Pictionary Air
French
- Bananagrams (Latin alphabet)
- Codenames
- Catch Phrase
- DiXit (Base game, Journey, and Origins)
- Guess Who?
- Hues and Clues
- Le Tchip, le jeu
- Pictionary Air
- Scrabble (Latin alphabet)
German
- A Little Wordy
- Auf Deutsch
- Bananagrams (Latin alphabet)
- Codenames
- DiXit (Base game, Journey, and Origins)
- Der Phrasen Fuchs
- Game of Quotes (Verrückte Zitate and Neue Verrückte Zitate)
- Guess Who?
- Hues and Clues
- Pictionary Air
- Scrabble (Latin alphabet)
- Scrabble Trickster
- Taboo
- Wer war’s?
- Wizard
Greek
- Guess Who?
- Hues and Clues
- Pictionary Air
Hebrew
- Bananagrams
- Codenames
- Guess Who?
- Hues and Clues
- Pictionary Air
Japanese
- A Little Wordy
- Codenames (x2)
- Guess Who?
- Hues and Clues
- Pictionary Air
Russian
- A Little Wordy
- Codenames
- DiXit (Base game, Journey, and Origins)
- Guess Who?
- Hues and Clues
- Pictionary Air
Spanish
- A Little Wordy
- Bananagrams (Latin alphabet)
- Cluedo
- Codenames
- DiXit (Base game, Journey, and Origins)
- Guess Who?
- Hues and Clues
- Pasapalabra Junior
- Pictionary Air
- Scrabble (Latin alphabet)
- Skrit-0
- Sussed
- Taboo
Note: Guess Who?, Hues and Clues, and Pictionary Air are only available in English, but can be easily adapted to be played in any language; A Little Wordy is only available in English but the Language Center Assistants have access to cards and instructions in the languages above.
Nintendo Switch
The Language Center has a Nintendo Switch that can be reserved and played in the Lounge. If you’d like to play in a group (we have many controllers), a Language Assistant can hook the Switch up to the Lounge TV. If you’d like to play our Switch, we ask that you try to use the language you are learning as much as possible. For some Switch games, we have vocabulary cheat sheets available that we are happy to lend you. The Language Center currently has the following Switch games:
- Mario Kart
- Death Squared
- SnipperClips
- Overcooked 2
- Unravel 2
International News
Twice per weekday (Monday-Friday), the Language Center plays news and media in Arabic, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. Russian media is played twice on Tuesdays only. Currently the news shown in Arabic, French, and Spanish are streamed via France24 (European-centric), German is streamed via Tagesschau, and Japanese is streamed via Nippon TV.
The schedule for Fall 2023 news and media is as follows:
- Japanese: 9:00 a.m. & 4:00 p.m.
- Arabic: 10:00 a.m. & 5:00 p.m.
- Spanish: 10:30 a.m. & 6:00 p.m.
- Russian: 11:00 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. (Tuesday only)
- French: 1:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
- German: 3:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.
News is shown 2x most days and runs about 20 minutes.
Arabic, French, and Spanish via France24 (European-centric)
International Music
We play music in the Language Center Lounge each day over the lunch hour (11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.). To see what is playing when this term, see the schedule:
- Monday: French and Greek
- Tuesday: Spanish (starting at noon)
- Wednesday: German and Hebrew
- Thursday: Chinese and Russian
- Friday: Arabic and Japanese
The Language Center has collaborated with TAs and tutors in the Spanish and French departments at Carleton to create the following Spotify playlists. We play these playlists during Spanish/French music hour and on request. Listen at home or wherever you want!:
Take What You Need Box
Language learning can get expensive! In the Language Center lounge we have a “Take what you need” box where students can take items like notecards, post-its, colored pencils, and more. If you have requests for items you’d like to appear in the box, please let us know!