Leverage Language Skills with Free Mango Platform

Care to brush up on your French? Learn Japanese? Or perhaps acquire a language that isn’t commonly taught at colleges, such as Danish?

Wesleyan is offering alumni and members of the on-campus community free access to the Mango Languages platform, says Antonio Gonzalez, professor of Spanish and director of the Fries Center for Global Studies. The platform provides high-quality online instruction in 72 languages, with an excellent blend of conversational language and cultural study. Gonzalez says that reception of Mango as a teaching and learning tool “has been very positive on campus” and that it is an attractive means for expanding the scope of Wesleyan’s language instruction.

“It’s crucial in any society for people to have intimate knowledge of different areas of the world, and not just in economically strong countries such as China,” he says. “An understanding of languages and cultures in Africa, Latin America and South Asia, for example, is essential in today’s interconnected world.”

In some cases, the platform may be used with on-campus resources to make it possible for students to learn less commonly taught languages. For example, Kia Lor, assistant director of language and intercultural learning, recently administered a quarter-credit course for students accepted for study abroad in Denmark—a popular destination among Wesleyan students. The course provides only an introduction, and students who wish to learn more about the language may use Mango.

Lor is also brushing up on Chinese, while Gonzalez is learning Turkish from scratch. Mango works well for either type of learner, they say.

Mango is available free on campus and to alumni.

For information on how to access and use the Mango platform, visit the Mango Languages link here. You will need your login credentials for the Wesleyan alumni site, and you will need to create login credentials for Mango if you don’t already have them. If you do not have a login credential for the alumni site, request one through the Alumni Help Desk. Apps are available for use on tablets and phones.