Learning Resources (things to make you look like you are working)

August 17, 2010 11:46 AM

The first time I met ERIC, I fell in love. Maybe you will, too. The Education Resources Information Center is a project of the US Department of Education. Some of you may especially be interested in the wide variety of language learning materials, journal articles, and more, that go way beyond even the public domain Foreign Services Institute offerings, from Aymara for Spanish speakers (English, too) to Uzbek study for Peace Corps volunteers. There is also non-language stuff of all kinds like World Myths and Legends in Art and teaching (or learning) buckyballs. Best results when using advanced search for their full-text links only.
posted by whatzit (11 comments total)

Don't forget their resources on special needs education - just searching for full-text articles on autism gets you 634 papers covering a vast range of autism-educational topics.

I was using ERIC for their resources when it was just pages of categorised links to papers, so this whole 'search' function is all new to me!
posted by Coobeastie at 11:55 AM on August 17, 2010

By the way, World Myths and Legends in Art is available online from the source at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. I would know, I put it there. ;)
posted by advicepig at 12:06 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

The FSI language courses are an incredible resource. It makes me sad that millions of people spend hundreds of bucks on glossy language textbooks when there are great audio and text courses online for free.
posted by miyabo at 12:18 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

If you google for "foreign service institute spanish" you get some jerk selling the same public domain courses for $200 per volume!
posted by miyabo at 12:28 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

Definitely love at first site.

I've sort of become obsessed with Japanese language learning courses lately after realizing I've forgetten much of what I learned in high school and college, and though the public library here has lots of options, I've found them lacking. Then looking here I thought -- "really? only one file." And then it was 526 awesome pages.

Thanks whatzit.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:39 PM on August 17, 2010

For other great free education resources checkout OER Commons at http://www.oercommons.org
posted by mgraham at 1:01 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

This is terrific. In the words of Uzbek study for Peace Corps volunteers, "раӽмат thank you"!
posted by languagehat at 1:19 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

If you google for "foreign service institute spanish" you get some jerk selling the same public domain courses for $200 per volume!
posted by miyabo at 3:28 PM on August 17 [1 favorite -] Favorite added! [!]

I, uh, actually did pay for these digital files, but not $200 each - more like $200 for all 8 volumes. OTOH, I played those effing tapes in my car so much that I heard them in my dreams, and they certainly helped me pass the SAT II subject exam, which allowed me to minor in Spanish, which allowed me to pass the FTCE subject test, which allowed me to get a teaching certificate, and hopefully, ultimately a job teaching Spanish.

So it wasn't such a ripoff after all, because I was all like, "damn, I paid for these files, I better listen to them."

Plus, as a bonus, I have such memorable phrases ringing in my head as, "Querían que le sirviera de interprete para un profesor de ciencias que acababa de llegar."

oh, wait - what I actually wanted to say is that I do love ERIC! I do!
posted by toodleydoodley at 3:51 PM on August 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

A couple of my grad school projects are in ERIC. It's old skool.
posted by candyland at 6:29 PM on August 17, 2010

So it wasn't such a ripoff after all, because I was all like, "damn, I paid for these files, I better listen to them."

toodleydoodley, may I interest you in some delightful homeopathic air purifiers? Perhaps a bridge or two? Some lovely swamp farm land?
posted by IAmBroom at 11:40 PM on August 17, 2010

So it wasn't such a ripoff after all, because I was all like, "damn, I paid for these files, I better listen to them."

toodleydoodley, may I interest you in some delightful homeopathic air purifiers? Perhaps a bridge or two? Some lovely swamp farm land?
posted by IAmBroom 5 days ago [+]

you're late. I already bought all that shit.
posted by toodleydoodley at 3:46 PM on August 22, 2010 [1 favorite]