Learning another language comes with so many benefits, and Charles County Public Library is a great resource!
It is never too late to learn a foreign language. Studies show that learning another language:
- Stimulates brain power
- Reduces cognitive decline
- Improves memory
- Enhances creativity
- Increases attention span
With over half the world’s population being bilingual, learning another language not only broadens the understanding of your native language but it also promotes appreciation of other cultures, expands job opportunities, and makes traveling to new places more immersive and enjoyable.
CCPL is here to assist you with this learning process by offering free access to Mango, an award-winning language-learning program designed to support library patrons as they gain a global perspective from knowing other languages. Mango is self-paced and intuitive while easily adapting to your unique learning style. It highlights your conversation and grammar goals and will keep track of your progress.
To start using Mango, go to our website: CCPLonline.org. On the menu bar, hover on the Research & Learn tab. Look for Online Learning Resources on the drop-down menu and click on the Language Learning bullet. Or paste this link into your browser: https://connect.mangolanguages.com/southmaryland_regional/start.
You can log into Mango as a guest, but the best way to utilize all features is to create an account using your Charles County Public Library card, email, and password. From there, you can choose any and all languages you want to learn – Mango has over 70 of them!
In addition to Mango, your local library has several foreign language resources available. Feel free to browse our online card catalog, MARINA, or Libby for the availability of print materials, DVDs, CDs, audiobooks, and digital books.
Of course, there are other ways to observe Learn a Foreign Language Month: you can dust off your old Spanish textbook from high school, sign up for French classes at the community college, or if you are fluent in another language, why not teach it to someone else?
We encourage you to share your experiences on social media via #LearnAForeignLanguageMonth. But don’t stop in December – these resources are always available! Our goal is that you will be so dogged in your determination to learn a new language that you will graduate from being bilingual to multilingual!