Talk:List of language self-study programs

Navigation
Lists "serve as natural tables of contents and indexes of Wikipedia" (Manual_of_Style/Lists). Wikipedia has similar lists of software, video games, books about video games, convenience stores, coffee companies, lighthouses, etc.

It is interesting that Editions Harmattan and Reise Know-How Verlag, for example, are often used as references in Wikipedia, but do not yet have their own articles. Numbersinstitute (talk) 15:59, 13 September 2013 (UTC)

Page was created after leaving it as draft for about a week and soliciting comments from the talk pages of the main Self-Study programs which already have articles on Wikipedia. Numbersinstitute (talk) 00:00, 20 September 2013 (UTC)

Content
Would it be helpful to show which ones are free? Which listen and score pronunciation? What else? Numbersinstitute (talk) 15:59, 13 September 2013 (UTC)

Links from publishers' names in this list
Most links go to the relevant articles in Wikipedia. Byki and Transparent go to the publisher's website. Seems better to go to Wikipedia article, since lists are supposed to provide a guide to Wikipedia, among other functions. Any thoughts? Kim9988 (talk) 01:22, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

Are More Citations Needed?
Ironman added a head note asking for more citations. Not clear to me what needs a citation? This is just a list, connecting the Wikipedia articles it points to. Can someone else clarify? Kim9988 (talk) 20:29, 16 February 2014 (UTC)

Global Recordings Network
Movses deleted 2 references to Global Recordings Network, saying it is not a language-self-study program. As Wikipedia's article on Global Recordings Network says, it is the only resource to self-study most languages. While it was developed primarily to provide religious stories in 6,000 languages, it has parallel content in multiple languages (similar to 50Languages, Pronunciator, and many others in this list), so it allows learners to use a language they know to learn the parallel content in any of the other languages. Professor Arguelles writes,

"even if you have no other resources at all, the 20-25 hours of recording of a text whose meaning you can understand by reading in a language known to you as you listen to this new one should enable you to use these audio New Testaments to actively study and learn a language... If you are actively looking for a short sound sample of a specific language that is not available here, you may well find it at the Global Recording Network, a similar project that claims to have some degree of Christian message or teaching (although nothing on the scale of a complete New Testament) in 5,800 languages."

Maybe it needs more explanation in the article. Kim9988 (talk) 19:30, 1 February 2018 (UTC)
 * This is database of records, but not the language self-study program. In case polyglot Alexander Argüelles can study language just from New Testament, good for him. But usual student cannot do it. If you open Global Recordings Network website (http://globalrecordings.net/en/about), you will not find the statement, that this is the language self-study program. So, yes, you CAN use it for self-study, but this is NOT the main goal of this website. So, please do not mix up databases of records and self-study programs. --Movses (talk) 14:07, 2 February 2018 (UTC)


 * So we have a reliable source, Argüelles, who is a long-time language professor, who writes that other students besides himself can use GRN as a self-study program to learn languages when there is no specially designed course. No reliable source disagrees with Argüelles, or has perhaps considered the matter. The Global Recordings Network article cites other linguists who use GRN for language purposes, rather than religion. Movses agrees "you CAN use it for self-study." I tend to agree with Movses that it may confuse readers to include GRN in the table, but it seems to be an established resource for languages, so it may be best to describe it in the header, along with the other miscellaneous information that gives context for the table. So I'll do that. If another editor later wants to put it back in the table, I wouldn't object, but it would deserve some explanation in the "business model" column or in a footnote, that it is usable for language study, though developed for other purposes. Kim9988 (talk) 22:10, 26 February 2018 (UTC)

Column headings Suggestion
Since 2016 when wisely made this a table instead of a list, the list of programs has been titled "Software". Several programs are books or CDs. I suggest "Program" or "Self-study Program" would be better, since that is the title of this article and covers both books and software.

Until 2019 when improved the order of the table, the last column was called "Business Model", and the book programs showed "sell books" or "sell books and CDs". I suggest going back to the column title "Business Model" or moving to "Payment Structure" since these terms cover the content better. "Freemium" and "subscription" are business models or payment structures, not pricing. What do others think? Kim9988 (talk) 21:30, 30 January 2021 (UTC)