A database of language learning resources

quincy Member

Registered: 2008-08-22 Posts: 257

Hey guys I made a website to collect stuff we can use to learn foreign languages. It's still a bit buggy, but I wanted to share it with you guys for some feedback. I got the idea when I couldn't find a fun and easy book in Spanish to read. I found that the only way to get this sort of information from a language learners perspective is by lurking on forums. The goal of the site is for anyone learning any language to quickly find something specific to their needs.

Anyways I'm not trying to sell anything here, if you like the idea of the website try it out and tell me if there's parts you don't like. I'm still working on the website so expect things to change/break sometimes.

http://www.languagelearningresources.info/index.php

Necrojesta Member

From: England Registered: 2012-06-12 Posts: 137

Not bad... if it kicks off to a good start it could become a nice resource, not just Japanese learners either, everyone.

kodorakun Member

From: Seattle Registered: 2008-10-15 Posts: 276 Website

Yeah -- looks a bit simple but is really fast and has a smooth update/filtering feature, so I like it!

Out of curiosity, what is the DB you're using and your development language? I was just reading about python-based websites/forums/blogs (e.g. pylons/pyramid/django, etc) the other day.

Might be worthwhile to consider breaking video into "anime/live action/drama/feature film" or the likes, books could be "manga/novel", and games could probably be broken down by console or platform. That might be over-filtered, but if your database grows very large it might be useful.

K

JapanesePod101 Sponsor

quincy Member

Registered: 2008-08-22 Posts: 257

I used MYSQL, PHP, and JQuery to make the site. I actually didn't know a thing about making websites when I started this so I taught myself the most popular ones.

The formats all ready have sub-formats, they're in the drop down box at the top.

Glad to hear you appreciate the speed and simplicity. I'm not the artsy type so I focused on making a simple and easy to use website. Register an account and you can change the color theme

Last edited by quincy (2012 August 07, 6:09 pm)

Surreal Member

From: Sweden Registered: 2009-05-18 Posts: 325

You should check out this thread if you haven't already http://forum.koohii.com/viewtopic.php?id=480&p=1 as well as this thread http://forum.koohii.com/viewtopic.php?id=1133 .

And go check out Icecream's website, it's very similar to what you're doing http://icecream-llr.blogspot.co.uk/ If you want to ask for permission to use anything from her site or if you want to ask for some tips you could send her a PM, I'm sure she'll help you out.

undead_saif Member

From: Mother Earth Registered: 2009-01-28 Posts: 635

The filtering feature can be really useful, because as you said, one can search for a specific source for his/her need.
Suggestions:
-Maybe you can add more tags like: what part of language it teaches (reading, writing, listening and speaking).
-A dead-link report button can be helpful.
-Maybe a better reviewing system can be deployed that allows finding bad resources and removing it (report button?) Because all users can add.

Keep up the good work, it seems promising!

quincy Member

Registered: 2008-08-22 Posts: 257

Surreal:
Icecream's website is limited to the resources that she is aware of, my site allows user contribution. What I really need is genuine opinions and suggestions from a variety of language learners. I will keep adding resources myself to make the site worth visiting at least.

undead_saif:
Yeah the website still has room to grow. Editing resources is somewhat available (currently it must be a resource you added yourself), reverting edits is possible, but hasn't been implemented. Resource moderation I haven't thought out yet, but it will be necessary.

Thanks for the tips, I'll keep adding/changing things so keep an eye on the site.

Edit 8/29: I've noticed a fundamental flaw in the way websites are organized, I plan on redoing the website in a way that simplifies finding and adding resources. I may rebuild the website from scratch using some more modern design tools I've since come across.

Last edited by quincy (2012 August 29, 1:10 pm)

Index » 喫茶店 (Koohii Lounge)