More players are discovering a unique GamesforLanguage feature:
You can get FREE subscriptions by (1) referring your friends to the GamesforLanguage demos (no purchase required!) and/or (2) by meeting the 2013 LEARN & EARN challenge.
For each friend you refer (and who only needs to REGISTER) you earn a 1-month FREE subscription. If YOU are already registered, just log in HERE and on the "PLAY" page, click the SHARE G4L! button (where you can also check your referral status).
And even if you only have ONE friend who registers, you can extend your subscription through our 2013 LEARN & EARN challenge, also described in the FAQs:Scoring 5,000 points will earn you an additional one (1) month - scoring 10,000 points will earn you two (2) months.
Update: All Gamesforlanguage content, all courses, all Quick Language Games, all Podcasts are now completely free.
And please know: we are only asking you to register, so you can continue to pick up your course(s) where you left off!
Homeschool.com, The #1 Homeschooling Community recently reviewed the GamesforLanguage.com program
They concluded:
“This is a fun language educational resource....it teaches relevant information....it's a game--so it's enjoyable....and it's very affordable--it's a great supplement for anyone learning French, Italian, Spanish, or German.
We certainly enjoyed Games for Language, and the games we played!”
We have recently been fielding inquiries from parents and camp counselors who wonder whether our GamesforLanguage programs are appropriate for homeschooling and summer camps. We always answer with an enthusiastic YES. In fact, our game-based programs are a great way to keep kids busy AND learning on rainy days. Once kids can read and write, they can play GamesforLanguage.
What are the GamesforLanguage program topics?
The 36 scenes of a course tell the story of a young man who travels to France, Italy, Spain, or Germany. The 4-14 line dialogs of each lesson – we call them “Scenes” - start with a conversation in the airplane, then cover visiting friends and family, some sightseeing, buying train/bus tickets, and ordering food. Along the way, tidbits of cultural information on each country are sprinkled in. (For example: Why did Mark Twain liked the name Heidelberg - where he lived for three months? Which French painter was a banker before he became famous?) The travel story engages the learner, provides relevant vocabulary, and creates a framework that ties everything together. Various games teach, review, and practice the vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation with points given for correct answers and completed games. (For voice recording, the player needs a microphone and Flash Player.) After the first few Scenes, players have to reach minimum scores in order to progress to the next Scene.
How does GamesforLanguage.com work?
We described both the idea of our program and its specifics in two recent blogs: The GamesforLanguage Program – Part 1: Approach and Methods, and Part 2: Games Summary. Even if children are following a specific language curriculum, GamesforLanguage will be a great and fun addition to their language learning, especially during the summer months and even later!
Hardware/Software
As this is an online program, you need a decent Internet connection, a PC/laptop with one of the modern and updated browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc. as well as an updated Flash Player (for the recordings). You can even play our programs (without an Apple app) on an iPad and iPhone using iOS6, but – because Apple does not support the Flash player – the recording feature does not work on those devices. (We are hopeful that Android devices will soon be able to play our program as well.)
We also provide mp3 audios of each level which can be downloaded.
Pricing structures
Inquiries by summer camps have prompted us to develop different pricing structures for group purchases. And during May our FREE six-day trial provides a great opportunity for trying out GamesforLanguage!
During the month of May, GamesforLanguage players can register for a FREE 6-day trial subscription. (Players who registered previously and have less than 300 points can still participate and can so indicate via contact.)
All can participate in our Learn & Earn challenge which continues into June. As further explained in our FAQs, users can earn additional free months, if they exceed score goals of 5,000 and 10,000 points respectively.
GamesforLanguage currently offers four languages: French 1, German 1, Italian 1, and Spanish 1. Easy games let players understand, read, write, and speak the story of a young traveler who visits the four European countries. With a story that continues through all 36 lessons of the program, players learn relevant and practical everyday vocabulary. Each player will also receive the mp3 audio of "The Story" at the start of each level to download.
We call this "an apple" in English, "una manzana" in Spanish, "une pomme" in French, and "una mela" in Italian. If you were a child, learning one of these languages, you would likely know this well before your second birthday!
Many language courses promote their method of learning a new foreign language with slogans such as "Learn a new language like child!". While there are obviously many aspects of "learning" that children and adults share, there are also significant differences. In fact, "learning like a child" really tries to create the image for you of a young child learning his or her first language, seemingly effortlessly. And who wouldn't also want to learn in a similar way?
A recent blog we published on GEOS Language Plus : LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE LIKE A CHILD (sorry, we noticed that the link does not work any longer! explains why there are major differences between a young child learning his/her first language and an adult learning his/her second (or third) language.
The great advantage of an online language program such as GamesforLanguage.com, as compared to language textbooks or CDs, is our ability to immediately and constantly improve our program. Early users will have noticed a number of changes over the last few months:
Implemented Changes
We've moved "The Story": In the easy first Scene - where the flight attendant asks our "hero" what he would like to drink - the dialog of "The Story" appears right at the beginning. However, for some users, listening to “The Story” without knowing the vocabulary, was frustrating. It therefore now follows the vocabulary games for the next 17 Scenes. Users will have acquired a vocabulary of around 350 words by the end of Level 3 (after 18 Scenes), and will now be able to guess the meaning of the next dialog. "The Story" will therefore appear again at the beginning of each Scene with Level 4.
Verb Picks: Following the suggestion of some users, we've added a simple conjugation game.
We've expanded the Memory Game: The initial Memory game now includes all new vocabulary (not just 8 key items). We were at first reluctant to overload the learner, but as we ourselves learned Spanish (see this blog and others that follow), we felt that each and every new word should be practiced.
We've added Word Hero: This recall game practices the vocabulary of the previous Scene.
We've added Recall and Record: In this game, the user recalls the vocabulary of a Scene of one (1) Level (i.e. 6 Scenes) earlier, and practices their pronunciation again in phrases and sentences.
Changes in the works
Downloadable grammar sheets: Not all users are interested in more detailed grammar instructions relating to the phrases and sentences of "The Story." However, for those who do, we're planning to offer downloadable, targeted "grammar sheets."
Personalized vocabulary list/game: We're working on a game that will allow users to create (then add/delete) and practice a personal vocabulary list.
Story audios: We'll shortly have mp3 audios of all scenes available for download. This way users can also listen to "The Story" on the road.
We’ve changed our mind!
Although apps have been the hot item for a while now and we already had a prototype in the works, we've changed our mind. We were growing weary of the many issues with apps, including having to wait 14 days for Apple to approve any changes and needing separate applications for Apple and Android.
We are working on a “responsive” website that tailors its display for optimal viewing on your device, whether mobile or desktop. “Responsive” design is quite new, but we are fortunate enough to have a “crack” developer on our team – our son Pascal – who just implemented such a “responsive” website for another start-up, www.Fundraise.com. Look for a new design and website for gamesforlanguage.com, which will work on all devices, in the coming months!
A Watertown couple has launched an online program to help people learn a foreign language and they want to share it with town residents.
Peter and Ulrike Rettig have desks facing each other in the second floor of their Watertown home, overlooking the Oakley Country Club. That is where they work onGamesforLanguage.com, a website where people can learn French, Spanish, German or Italian....
A guest blog by Ulrike was published (but was recently removed) on the Language Trainers site. 
More players are discovering a unique GamesforLanguage feature: 
They concluded:
We have recently been fielding inquiries from parents and camp counselors who wonder whether our GamesforLanguage programs are appropriate for homeschooling and summer camps. We always answer with an enthusiastic YES. In fact, our game-based programs are a great way to keep kids busy AND learning on rainy days. Once kids can read and write, they can play GamesforLanguage.
man who travels to France, Italy, Spain, or Germany. The 4-14 line dialogs of each lesson – we call them “Scenes” - start with a conversation in the airplane, then cover visiting friends and family, some sightseeing, buying train/bus tickets, and ordering food. Along the way, tidbits of cultural information on each country are sprinkled in. (For example: Why did Mark Twain liked the name Heidelberg - where he lived for three months? Which French painter was a banker before he became famous?) The travel story engages the learner, provides relevant vocabulary, and creates a framework that ties everything together. Various games teach, review, and practice the vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation with points given for correct answers and completed games. (For voice recording, the player needs a microphone and Flash Player.) After the first few Scenes, players have to reach minimum scores in order to progress to the next Scene.
We described both the idea of our program and its specifics in two recent blogs: The GamesforLanguage Program – 
connection, a PC/laptop with one of the modern and updated browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc. as well as an updated Flash Player (for the recordings). You can even play our programs (without an Apple app) on an iPad and iPhone using iOS6, but – because Apple does not support the Flash player – the recording feature does not work on those devices. (We are hopeful that Android devices will soon be able to play our program as well.) 
During the month of May, GamesforLanguage players can register for a FREE 6-day trial subscription. 