Providing community services and resources for language learners is incredibly important. Language learning is a long and hard process, and having community support throughout is incredibly helpful for motivation and community-building. Additionally, one of the fastest ways to learn a language is to practice it through immersion regularly. Community services can offer the immersion needed to practice speaking and listening, or to build relationships with other people learning the same language. Not only are community services helpful for language learners, they are also helpful for people teaching languages. For language teachers, community services can be helpful to learn the most up-to-date research on language learning, best practices for language teaching, and share curriculum with each other.
As librarians, we need to provide resources for all of our community members. Typically, when someone speaks a different language than we do, it can be difficult to communicate or find services that best support that patron's needs. It is important to have the skills to find appropriate resources, and provide these patrons with equitable access to services and freedom of information. Additionally, patrons who are learning a language have a diverse set of needs. Many of the resources I provide below offer services to needs that are less frequently discussed in the language learning field including among others, immigrants, people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, people with mental or physical disabilities, and people who have had limited literacy learning in any language.
Below are 19 of the best resources for supporting language learners. They include resources specifically designed for language educators, general language resources, Minnesota-based resources, and professional development organizations. This is not a comprehensive list. Many more resources and community groups can be found by looking in online forums for a specific language, attending local conversation groups, or through immigrant support organizations, just to name a few examples. For more information on resources to learn a specific language, check out the Language Learning Hub located in the navigation pane at the top of the screen!
Advancing ALTELLA: Advancing ALTELLA is the continuation of the Alternate English Language Learning Assessment Project. They provide resources for educators who work with English language learners who have significant cognitive disabilities. They also created a screener and a new version of the annual proficiency assessment. This is an incredibly helpful resource, as people with learning and developmental disabilities are often left out of the language learning conversation.
CUNY-NYS Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals: This organization works to support the education of bilingual students across New York. They provide research and classroom resources. Additionally, they provide translanguaging resources, or resources designed to support the simultaneous and complete use of all languages a student speaks. These resources include guides on working with particular groups of people, book lists, reading and writing resources, and leadership guides.
Center for Applied Linguistics: A non-profit organization contributing to the development of bilingual and dual language education. They provide research, resources, and policy analysis to support and promote language learning and cultural understanding. They support language education both in the United States, and globally, and are considered leading researchers in the field.
National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME): NAME is an organization designed to support educators and advocates committed to equity, diversity, and social justice. They provide educational and learning opportunities and resources, advocate for multicultural inclusion within policy development, and support educators who are doing the same. While not specifically focused on language learning, they do offer language resources. NAME also contributes to the multicultural classroom, which is helpful in language classrooms where students may have many different cultural or linguistic backgrounds.
National Heritage Language Resource Center: This organization provides support for researchers, educators, and heritage language speakers. They work to develop teaching approaches specifically designed for heritage language learners through research, curriculum design, materials development, and teacher education. While many resources can be used generally in language learning, they are designed specifically for people who are learning their heritage language, and addresses the many community and cultural needs associated with the practice.
7000 Languages: A non-profit organization designed to support the language preservation, teaching, and learning of endangered languages. They focus specifically on Indigenous languages, building learning courses for them. They work with Transparent Language to host these language courses, and provide learners the opportunity to learn about both the history and culture of the language, as well as the language itself.
First Languages Australia: An Australia-based organization designed to promote the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. They work to preserve, document, and share these languages in order to benefit the future of the languages. Closely working with tribal leaders, they provide many community resources and learning opportunities for these endangered languages.
The Language Conservancy: An organization designed to support the growth of Indigenous languages across North America. They specifically work with tribal leaders through the entire revitalization process. They provide many resources for learning Indigenous languages and documenting language development. This resource is focused both on learning the endangered and Indigenous languages in North America and preservation of the languages.
Language First: Language First is an organization designed to support parents, teachers, and schools with information about American Sign Language and English bilingualism. They are designed to support deaf and hard-of-hearing students in maintaining equitable language access. They provide a wealth of resources on the importance of language education and sign language resources. These resources are helpful both for people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, as well as hearing family members and loved ones. Many language resources focus on spoken languages, so having access to community resources designed for signed languages is incredibly helpful.
Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults (LESLLA): This organization provides research and language learning resources for adults. They offer a wide variety of resources, including a network of learners, heritage language learning resources, and language teaching resources. While this resource supports all adult language learners, it is specifically designed for those whom have had interrupted or limited education or literacy experience in their first language. Because of this interruption, specific resources are needed to support the higher barrier to literacy and language learning.
The National Museum of Language: This is a non-profit museum designed to support the examination and sharing of the history, impact, and art of language. This is a completely virtual museum that offers many different exhibits and articles about languages and language learning. Through their exhibits, they demonstrate the diversity of cultures and languages across the globe, and provide interesting highlights on languages and language research.
Literacy Minnesota: A Minnesota-based organization designed to support literacy initiatives across the state. They offer support for adult learners and teachers. Addition to supporting literacy initiatives across the state, they also support lifelong learning, self determination, justice, equity, and innovation through their services. They also offer the Open Door Learning Center, a specific location where people can go to build community and support literacy.
The Loft: An independent literary organization designed to support writers and readers. They provide a collection of services for people learning English on their website, as well as resources on literacy, writing workshops, and other book-related events. Their in-person organizations offer community support and learning opportunities. They also work to support many other local organizations, so this is a good access point for other local community support and resource options.
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL): An organization to support language teachers. They provide many resources for language learning methodologies and are a leader in language learning research. Additionally, ACTFL is the organization behind one of the most common fluency measurment methods, which create a benchmark goal of fluency among many language learners.
American Translators Association: An association for professional translators and interpreters. They provide resources on translation and interpretation, help set standards for the profession, and provide a searchable directory of translators and interpreters. For libraries and the general public, this resource is most helpful for the ability to find translators and interpreters for small-scale or large-scale projects.
Association for Language Learning (ALL): This UK-based organization supports educators and language learners of foreign languages. They provide trainings, resources, news, and professional development events. As this resource is localized to the UK, it is a good support for language learners in that area, as well as for finding other local community services and resources.
International Certificate Conference - International Language Association (ICC): The ICC is a professional development organization designed to support language teachers across the world. They publish an online academic journal for practicing teachers on best practices and new research in the language teaching field. Being an international organization, this resource is best for finding information on best practices for language teaching, and the most up-to-date research on languages.
Modern Language Association (MLA): The MLA is a professional organization designed to support the teaching of languages and literatures. They provide key research and professional support for language educators. They work to build community and advocate for languages across the globe. Additionally, they provide resources on general literacy, freedom of speech, and higher education as part of their work to promote lifelong learning.
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL): A professional network of English teachers across the globe. They provide research in English as a second or foreign language teaching and provide resources to educators. Typically, English teachers to speakers of other languages need to be TESOL-certified in order to obtain employment. As such, they provide and set the standards for English teaching across the globe.
Fluent forever: How to learn any language fast and never forget it by Gabriel Wyner
This nonfiction book demonstrates a language learning method which Wyner used to learn six different languages. Fluent Forever is considered by many language learners to be the "holy grail" of language learning. This book will walk readers through learning pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. Many reviewers find this method to be useful when starting to learn a language and getting through the beginner levels. This book would be helpful to recommend to a language learner, or for a librarian to understand just how much work goes into learning a language.
If you are looking for resources on learning a specific language, check out the Language Learning Hub, located in the navigation pane at the top of the screen.
Mohamed, N. (2025, January 17). People conversing [Image]. TESOL. https://www.tesol.org/blog/posts/how-to-teach-language-and-society-5-practical-classroom-ideas/