Learning French: A Rendezvous with French-Speaking Cultures includes what most platforms omit: context. In these 30 lively, step-by-step lectures, Professor Ann Williams of the Metropolitan State University of Denver has crafted an effective and engaging course that gives you the core building blocks of the language while also giving you crucial insight into the relationship between French and French-speaking cultures. This ingenious approach is perfect for adult language learners who are serious about enjoying and using the French language.   This course is designed to provide an insider’s look at the French-speaking world, and it reveals the deep and often invisible intersection between language and culture. By touring France and countries such as Morocco, Canada, Senegal, and others, Professor Williams gives you a feel for everyday life, highlighting the vocabulary you need for success, whether you are looking to get around as a tourist or want to engage with the people and the culture on a deeper level.

But Keine Panik! (Don't panic!) says award-winning Professor James Pfrehm in Learning German: A Journey through Language and Culture. With crystal-clear explanations and a cache of insider tricks, he conducts you through a full year of college-level German in 30 delightful, half-hour lessons. And with Professor Pfrehm's engaging and entertaining teaching style, you will actually want to repeat each lesson! You'll learn all the skills needed to understand and speak basic German: from its sounds and vocabulary to its wondrously challenging grammar. You'll be able to engage with films, literature, and other media in German. And most important, you'll be ready to travel to any German-speaking country—whether it's Germany, Austria, Switzerland, or others. The signs, menus, greetings, and customs will be more meaningful to you, and you'll be equipped to converse at an elementary level. In short, you'll be well on your way to forging your very own “journey” through the German language!

The 36 lectures of Understanding Linguistics: The Science of Language—taught by acclaimed linguist, author, and Professor John McWhorter from Columbia University—are your opportunity to take a revealing journey through the fascinating terrain of linguistics. You focus on the scientific aspects of human language that were left out of any classes you may have taken in English or a foreign language, and you emerge from your journey with a newfound appreciation of the mysterious machinery built into all of us—an appreciation likely to surface time and again in your everyday life.   In Understanding Linguistics, you explore the vast field of scientific linguistics and discover why this burgeoning field is becoming increasingly important in your everyday life:

• Glean the real meanings hidden in everyday conversations.
• Understand the process by which young children learn to speak.
• Comprehend that changes in language (including new words, constructions, or usages) are a normal and inevitable part of the language's evolution.
• Grasp the complex interaction of language, brain structure, and the physiology of the human mouth.
• See how the science of language can reveal nuances of human history beyond the reach of any other discipline.