Many people are now taking online courses for college credit in languages. Aside from credit, knowing a second language can make you more competitive in business. The skill also comes in handy if you travel a lot.
Benefits of Online Learning
There are many ways to learn foreign language, but the Internet has many benefits. It is very easy to check credit transfer policies of universities. There is no time limit. You can study for as long as you want. In traditional classes, the tutor’s attention will be divided among many students. Many of the courses on the Internet can be learned via self study.
But there are also web classes with instructors. Because these courses are self paced, you won’t feel pressed on when to study. You can simply go online when you have the time. You can learn the benefits of a second language at your convenience.
Price
In a traditional language school, you can expect to pay around $400 to $500 for a ten course program. Internet courses are cheaper costing around $250. You can also buy a monthly subscription with rates between $10 to $40.
There are also free language courses. They do not have credit or instructors. But they do have tools like dictionaries, glossaries, list of common expressions and so on. But usually they only teach you the basics of speaking, writing and reading in the language.
Content and Features
Online language resources employ many different features, with audio being one of the most useful. Sites with audio playback allow you to hear the accent and pronunciation clearly. Because they are delivered by native speakers, you can be certain they are accurate.
You can also play the audio repeatedly as often as necessary. There are also some sites that use video. Of course the majority of these sites use reading materials. Aside from the lessons online, some of these sites will require you to study supplementary materials in the form of books.
Other Information
Although many study alone online, it is also possible to study with other people as a group. Not all college credit sites offer this option however. Regardless of which class you enroll in, you can always go to other sources online and use them.
Online courses for college credit in languages also present other advantages. If your work is connected to tourism, translation or international relations, fluency in other languages will be a plus.