The world is getting smaller for teens — which means your opportunities to explore it are bigger than ever. You might be thinking about international travel:
- with a language-learning club in high school.
- as part of a pilgrimage or service project through your place of worship.
- on vacation with your family.
- in summer classes.
- or as a semester abroad in college.
Before you head off, get ready to explore your destination with Pronunciator — a free, powerful language-learning resource available through your library’s website. Pronunciator offers instruction in 315 languages, with 10,000 instructional phrases per language, including American Sign Language.
Pronunciator includes a variety of learning modules that can be used on their own or combined for a customized experience. The Main Courses feature videos, drills, quizzes and flashcards, along with voice comparison, pronunciation analysis and a built-in coach to help you practice and track your progress.
Another option is Daily Lessons — short videos (under 10 minutes) that introduce new vocabulary and include quick, visual quizzes to check comprehension.
You can also create Personalized Courses based on up to five interests or your future career, or choose from longer Learning Guides. These six- to eight-week courses are organized by skill level and cover topics such as travel and healthcare. Below, as an example, find the Learning Guide menu for Afrikaans.
There are real-time translation features as seen here. Simply type in any phrase and see how to spell it and hear how to pronounce it.
There is also a live chat feature.
Pronunciator is also available as an app for your smartphone; it’s called Bluebird. Look for this logo 
in your app store. The app version offers 164 languages with 146 featuring narration and translation. This audio-centered tool is a powerful supplement to other language-learning apps because it – along with the desktop version – focuses on conversational language, including regional dialects and accents. The desktop and mobile apps sync seamlessly, allowing you to track your progress across devices.
Becoming a citizen of the world, not only of this country, is a powerful step in many young people's coming-of-age journey. Whether you’re going on a two-week vacation with your family or a six-month independent expedition to a faraway land, it’s up to you to reflect on what that experience means to you and to make the most of it. Trying to learn the language can help you acclimate when you arrive and be a more present guest. We hope Pronunciator can help along the way.
In the meantime, check out this reading!
Take a journey across the globe with these engaging books set in countries like Greece, South Africa, England, Mexico, Pakistan and more. Explore diverse perspectives with thought-provoking titles such as All My Rage, I Kick and I Fly and We Are Not from Here, or enjoy lighter reads like Lion's Legacy, Love from Mecca to Media and The Marvelous Mirza Girls. Whether serious or playful, these stories offer a wonderful way to expand cultural awareness and empathy through reading.
