Learn a Foreign Language While You Watch a Movie with Mango Premiere
November 15, 2013 —
Would you like to learn a language but can’t find the time or the motivation? Using the library’s newest language-learning resource, Mango Premiere, you can enjoy a movie and learn a language at the same time.
Many people are already familiar with Mango Languages, the foreign language learning system accessible with a library card at thelibrary.org/mango*. It features nearly 40 languages you can study at your own pace.
Now comes Mango Premiere, which combines education and entertainment by teaching language through foreign films. It’s accessible on the Mango site.
To celebrate the launch of this program and explain how it works, teens and adults ages 13 and older are invited to a brief presentation, door prizes, snacks and a foreign film at 6 p.m. Friday Nov. 22, in meeting room B of the Library Center. We’ll also watch a 2007 Japanese horror-comedy film with English subtitles, “Negative Happy Chain Saw Edge,” rated for age 13 and older.
Mango Premiere rolled out Nov. 12 with a few movies and easy, step-by-step instructions on how to watch a select movie. By late December Mango expects to add about 20 more films with language-learning options in English (for Spanish speakers), Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, French, Italian and Spanish.
Here’s what you can expect from Mango Premiere: In Movie Mode, each film provides a rating, language and synopsis. You can watch the film with your choice of subtitles, or switch on Mango’s optional color mapping feature to see translations. Anywhere you pause within the film, you’ll be able to learn from Mango’s interactive subtitles. Click on a word to hear it, or hover for a phonetic pop-up.
In “Engage Mode,” Mango breaks the movie down part-by-part, making it easier to learn. It includes scene preparation, slides with an overview of what’s going on in English and the other language; a list of words you may encounter; and cultural notes. You can watch the movie without interruptions or learn as Mango breaks the dialogue into individual sequences. You can also replay the scenes for review.
Mango Premiere offers more options that you can learn about by going to the website. But you can have even more fun by learning about it at 6 p.m. Friday at the Library Center.