Scarborough-Phillips Library has acquired the online language learning application Mango Languages. This service will be available for free to all St. Edward’s University students and faculty with Internet access. Mango offers all languages taught at St. Edward’s and many more.

The university acquired Mango in May and has begun promoting its use this semester with the return of the general student body. With Mango, students can learn foreign languages as well as use a translation tool.

Once an account has been created, the user can track his/her progress and even practice correct pronunciation. There are three levels of learning, one for common practice and polite conversation, one for users looking for an average grasp on the language, and the highest level gives students an “in-depth and comprehensive language and grammar skills.” Foreign language students and faculty can also use Mango to learn English.

“[Mango] is offered for free online through the library’s website,” collection development librarian Kady Ferris said. “All you need is an Internet connection and your St. Edward’s ID.”

Students do not have to be enrolled in a foreign language class to use Mango, which librarian, instruction coordinator and associate professor Anna Stewart sees as an advantage.

“You don’t have to be taking Spanish to learn Spanish,” Stewart said. “The people that I have talked to have been really enthusiastic about it.”

Registration of an email account is also required. The service is otherwise free to use at student and faculty’s leisure.

“The university looked into programs like Rosetta Stone, but it would have required students to rent laptops with the software on it,” said Ferris. “Mango is much easier to access anywhere.”

Senior Amanda Pinget said that she would be interested in creating an account.

“I was thinking of going to Angers soon and I wanted to learn French,” Pinget said. “I was looking into Rosetta Stone but it’s really expensive.”

Mango can be accessed through the library’s section of the St. Edward’s Web site under language and linguistics in the databases link.

Mango offers 22 languages total, including Greek, Russian and Portuguese.