If you want to learn an endangered language online, where do you begin? We are pleased to address this topic in our latest resource, “Learn Languages Online: A Guide To Studying Indigenous, Under-Resourced and Minority Languages.”

Living Tongues Program Director Anna Luisa Daigneault wrote this report with the goal of surveying a range of apps and platforms and providing the public with a bird’s eye view of what is currently available.

Here are some quotes from the report:

The availability of online educational platforms and apps has revolutionized the way people approach language learning today. They can now learn languages online on any device, at their own pace and on their own schedule. People can now study in short, digestible sprints, track their progress easily, and even chat with or hire language tutors in safe, online community spaces. […]

Many of the world’s indigenous, small, under-resourced and/or endangered languages do not yet have a significant presence online or sufficient language content available to create online courses, flashcards or games. There are, however, a number of medium-sized indigenous languages such as Maori, Scots Gaelic, Hawaiian, Quechua, Navajo and Lakota that are making their way into well-known educational platforms, presumably because there is a ready and willing audience that inspired the platform to invest energy into developing content in those languages. There are many existing opportunities that could be harnessed for teaching and learning indigenous languages.

– Anna Luisa Daigneault, “Learn Languages Online: A Guide To Studying Indigenous, Under-Resourced and Minority Languages.“