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*UPDATED* Here is a masterpost of MOOCs (massive open online courses) that are available, archived, or starting soon. Some are short, some are very interactive, some are very in-depth. I think they will help those that like to learn with a teacher or with videos. I checked each link to make sure they are functioning.

Spanish

Beginner 

AP Spanish Language & Culture

Basic Spanish for English Speakers

Beginner’s Spanish:Food & Drink

Fastbreak Spanish

How to Self-Study Spanish

Preparing for the AP Spanish Exam 

Spanish for Beginners

Intermediate 

Spanish:Ciudades con Historia

Spanish:Espacios Públicos 

Advanced

Corrección, Estilo y Variaciones

La Innovación Social  (Check under Translation)

Leer a Macondo (Taught in Spanish)

Spanish:Con Mis Propias Manos

Spanish: Perspectivas Porteñas

Reading Spanish Literature

French

Beginner

AP French Language and Culture

Basic French Skills

Beginner’s French: Food & Drink

Diploma in French

Elementary French I

Elementary French II

Français Interactif

French in Action

French Language Studies I

French Language Studies II

French Language Studies III

French:Ouverture

French Through Stories and Conversation

Improving Your French

Mastering French Grammar and Vocab

Intermediate

French: Le Quatorze Juillet

Passe Partout

Advanced

Fantasy, de l'Angleterre Victorienne au Trône de fer

La Cité des Sciences et de Industrie

Les Chansons des Troubadours

Reading French Literature

Portuguese

Brazilian Portuguese for Beginners

Curso de Português para Estrangeiros

Italian

Beginner

Beginner’s Italian: Food & Drink

Beginner Italian I

Introduction to Italian

Oggi e Domani

Survive Italy Without Being Fluent

Intermediate

Intermediate Italian I

Advanced 

Advanced Italian I

Italian Literature 

Italian Novel of the Twentieth Century 

L'innovazione Sociale (Check language under translation)

Reading Italian Literature

Catalan

Intro to Catalan Sign Language

Latin

Latin I (Taught in Italian)

Russian

Beginner

Basics of Russian

Easy Accelerated Learning for Russian

Russian Alphabet

Russian Essentials

Russian for Beginners

Russian Level I

Russian Phonetics and Pronunciation

Reading and Writing Russian

Travel Russian

Advanced

Business Russian  (must register)

Let Us Speak Russian  (must register)

Reading Master and Margarita

Russian as an Instrument of Communication

Siberia: Russian for Foreigners

Ukrainian

Read Ukrainian

Ukrainian Language for Beginners

Kazakh

A1-B2 Kazakh (Taught in Russian)

Chinese

Beginner

Basic Chinese

Basic Mandarin Chinese I

Basic Mandarin Chinese II

Beginner’s Chinese

Chinese for Beginners

Chinese Characters

Chinese for Travelers

Chinese is Easy

Chinese Made Easy

Easy Mandarin 

First Year Chinese I

First Year Chinese II

Learn Oral Chinese 

Mandarin Chinese I

Start Talking Mandarin Chinese

UT Gateway to Chinese

Intermediate

Intermediate Business Chinese

Intermediate Chinese

Intermediate Chinese Grammar

Japanese

Beginner’s Conversational Japanese

Genki

Japanese JOSHU

Learn 80 JLPT N5  Kanji I

Learn 80 JLPT N5  Kanji II

Learn 80 JLPT N5  Kanji III

Learn 80 JLPT N5  Kanji IV

Korean

Beginner

First Step Korean

How to Study Korean

Pathway to Spoken Korean

Intermediate

Intermediate Korean

Dutch

Introduction to Dutch

German

Beginner

Basic German

Basic Language Skills

Beginner’s German: Food & Drink

Conversational German I

Conversational German II

Conversational German III

Conversational German IV

Deutsch im Blick

Diploma in German

German A1 Grammar

German Alphabet

German Modal Verbs

Present Tense German

Rundblick-Beginner’s German

Study German Language from Native Speakers

Advanced

German:Regionen Traditionen und Geschichte

Landschaftliche Vielfalt

Reading German Literature

Norwegian

Learn The Norwegian Language

Norwegian on the Web

Swedish

Intro to Swedish

Finnish

A Taste of Finnish

Basic Finnish

Finnish for Immigrants

Finnish for Medical Professionals

Frisian

Introduction to Frisian  (Taught in Dutch)

Icelandic

Icelandic 1-5

Arabic

Arabic for Global Exchange (in the drop down menu)

Arabic Language for Beginners

Arabic Without Walls

Conversational Arabic Made Easy

Intro to Arabic

Lebanese Arabic

Madinah Arabic

Moroccan Arabic

Read Arabic

Hebrew

Hebrew Alphabet Crashcourse

Know the Hebrew Alphabet

Hindi

A Door into Hindi

Business Hindi

Virtual Hindi

Indonesian

Learn Indonesian

Nepali

Beginner’s Conversation and Grammar

Welsh

Beginner’s Welsh

Discovering Wales

Irish

Introduction to Irish

Multiple Languages

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/global-studies-and-languages/ : MIT’s open courseware site has assignments and course material available.

I’ll keep an eye out for new courses and if you know of any, let me know so I can update this list.

I am a member of the studyblr community. So I obviously think it’s a positive enough experience to remain in the community. But here are a few things I personally don’t like about it that I think need to be discussed more often.

Studyspo overload. This particular point I’ve actually discussed plenty. So much in the past. But I don’t think it can ever be said enough. Studyblr should not be about studyspo. For many reasons. It makes the community about aesthetic rather than education and learning. And it’s typically classist; not everyone can afford pretty stationery. Among other reasons, but those two are up there. And I know that’s not going to change the fact that dashboards will always be clogged with studyspo.

The “everything is rainbows and butterflies” attitude. That’s not how it actually is to be a student. And I think we all know that in our own ways. The most successful students don’t thrive off of purely good vibes and positive thoughts. Sure, those things make it more bearable, and that’s important in its own right. But success is made through hard work, and oftentimes, failure. Shoving those real, negative thoughts and experiences aside for sugar-coated motivational quotes and pretty pens gives an unrealistic expectation of what it’s like to be a good student.

Click bait study tip posts. These really grind my gears. Posts that have titles involving buzz words such as “4.0″, “Straight-A”, or “Best Students”. Frankly, a lot of those posts have the most basic advice out there. The same advice over and over again that I’ve seen in so many posts. Advice that seems reasonable but, in my experience, don’t actually fit what real students who get 4.0s do. Or at least skip over the actual reasons they get those 4.0s (which doesn’t boil down to a list of quick tips, but is, rather, a type of mindset or approach to studying).

Original studyblr blogs are hard to find. I like a decent dose of studyspo like anyone else, but at some point, following studyblrs means getting the same material over and over again. Personally, I’m much more interested in hearing about others’ academic journey and seeing original posts. To each their own, but I think the real experience of being a student is lost amongst a dash filled with pictures of pretty notes.

How afraid studyblrs seem to engage in academic discussion and constructive criticism. This relates to my second point. People here are nice. Which is great. But at the same time, it seems to discourage any type of discussion that might run close to offending anyone through disagreement. In academia, people disagree. And that’s okay! We can still have conversations about these things without the intent being to personally offend anyone. If we just assume that everything any studyblr says is correct… We’re going down a slippery slope of blissful, self-imposed ignorance. And, frankly, a lot of you studyblrs are young, impressionable high schoolers. You should learn now to question what you read. Don’t take peoples’ word just because they seem reliable. Myself included.

I hope this starts some good discussion. If you disagree, feel free to add your own commentary. This isn’t about the “right” or “wrong” way to be a studyblr. It’s about encouraging discourse.

as all my followers know, I’ve recently been very concerned about the terrible things happening in the world and in Paris right now. The International Rescue Committee  acts in support of the refugee crisis in Europe right now. Many of these refugees come from war-torn Syria. One of the terrorists that attacked Paris posed as a refugee to enter France. IRC supports better security screening for refugees, ensuring that the people who need help are getting the help they need, such as resettlement, and people endangering the lives of refugees and others are kept out. IRC also has long-term programs in the middle east and other regions, which you can read more about here.

My darling @szktm set up a donation website (its linked directly to the IRC page so it is very secure), where you can donate any amount to IRC via her page, The Good We Can Do. please donate if you have the financial means to, and if you feel like you want to support the causes that the IRC stands for. these few days have been terrible for people around the world, in Paris, in Beirut, in South Korea, in the USA, and plenty more that I have not yet read about, (and please send me any information that involve any country that needs help that I don’t know yet), but I’m sure can benefit from the effort that the IRC puts in. 

(its currently midnight now and i dont have a credit card so we cant donate here but once we get the means to we will do that.)

You can find out more about their extensive programs on their website, and you can find out more about their financial information here. of every 1 dollar you donate, more than 90 cents (specifically 93% of all donations) goes to the programs and services that directly benefit the people affected by crisis, and 3% is used for fundraising, and 5% to administration. 

Madaleine L'Engle  (via writetothestars)

Because you can never have enough good writing advice!

WELL SHIT THIS IS REALLY LONG I AM SO SORRY WHO WOULD EVER READ THIS FML. Also, it’s 1am and I am barely coherent and definitely not well-versed I’m so sorry.

I’ve been having thoughts related to the above topic for days, ever since I received my semester results. It’s occupying my showers, my attempts to fall asleep and my entire train of thought. I haven’t written a blog post in ages but amidst my totally not together life I decided FUCK YE I’M GONNA POST THIS. 

I can finally, safely say that, passion will always put you on the right path and passion CAN possibly be your only strong motivational force. 

Academically, I am someone that unfortunately isn’t born with the smarts to survive through a single test without studying, hence my academic performance is directly related to how hard I’ve studied. When I was 13, I was immensely focused on my schoolwork. I entered the worst class and slowly rose to one of the top few in my cohort. This went on until I was 14, because those two years were crucial to me, as my results determined what subjects I could study for my GCE O levels. Studying then was bliss to me, because putting in the effort and getting rewarded was the best way to escape from my mental illnesses. Perfection made life liveable. And also because someone in my life then gave me a lot of motivation. 

Surprise surprise, I was given every single subject choice. Clicking on that drop-down menu that I could scroll through was by far one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve had in my life (no shit). I happily submitted my choices, and in the end I didn’t get what I wanted. 

I chose what I was truly interested in then (very Geography & Math oriented), but my school gave me the most rigorous subject combination, because hey you’re smart aye who the fuck cares about what you want to study. Also, this was coming from a school that handed out literature combinations to the bottom few because “smart Asians are better off with math and science anyway”. I had to go through the entire appeal process (even after studying my butt off for this. I mean, shouldn’t it be the other way round?) and delay my textbook purchases until the very last minute (aka where the fuck is your textbook go reflect on nothing you did wrong). Halfway through the process I lost a lot of hope, and almost saw education as pointless. It’s not very nice to constantly receive small achievements which eventually ends at nothing, right? Alas, didn’t get my ideal combination, but at least it was slightly better, my school just did not want to compromise on my intelligence at all costs (seems like it was done out of convenience anyway). I was brimming with potential, but would it matter anymore if you treated me in a condescending manner just because I TRIED to follow my passion?

The next two years were almost like an extended journey to hell. I had to take on challenging subjects, compete against smarter individuals (yes I succumbed to the wrath of private tuition ew) and live up to everyone’s expectations. I had to do all of that when my mental health was slowly deteriorating. The girl that worked night and day to get what she wanted faded away, because she in fact did not get what she wanted despite working for it. I pushed away the person that was my main driving force in my academic life (I had my reasons), family started to become dysfunctional and new illnesses started to pile on top of one another. I had teachers that could not grasp the fragility of mental illnesses and parents who were quite frankly shit at handling situations of that nature. I did not trust seeking help in school because I was in fact from a Catholic school. To summarise, everything went downhill. And for someone who was already above average, not many could understand what I was going through, and people insisted on putting a golden crown on me. “You’re so smart, what is there to worry about?”

I can’t exactly remember when, but at some point in those two years, I found out that studying psychology would be the best fit, because I’ve always wanted to help others. I knew it was a demanding area of study & not just me, but many other students had slim chances in this course. I gathered whatever I could and tried my best in school, but because life wasn’t perfect then, I still wasn’t good enough for the course. 

At that point, I almost let what happened two years ago repeat itself. 30 minutes before the course/school submission deadline, I told myself “what the fuck mag you’re not 12 you’re turning fucking 17, if you’re gonna let a fucked up school system fuck up your entire life then wow gr8 man u the mvp”. So on a whim, I signed up for the course interview aka a second chance. 

I didn’t have many achievements in school, but enough to build up a decent portfolio. I can also safely say that I was one of the most tensed-up interviewees. I took my interview so seriously that I felt over-prepared when I talked to other interviewees. I was brutally honest in my interview and used passion to push through it. When the interviewer shot a question that had to do with why I wanted this course, I went on and on effortlessly (also, I could finally blabber about my contributions in the LGBT community without the fear of any judgement). I was the last and well I felt rather bad because we ended much later than expected. 

HALLELUJAH I GOT IN. That was my first taste of how passion brings people to places, because frankly speaking, my school achievements were probably the last thing anyone needs to enrol me in anything. I was so grateful and I just felt so alive like wow.

Anyway, life went on, and my first semester was amazing. I finally met people that are intellectually stimulating, people you can talk to with absolutely zero fear of judgement. Even with social anxiety, I managed to talk to a classroom of 20 or so people about the transgender community. It was hella liberating fuk catholic school!!!!!!! 

I’m still battling with my mental health, but school was much easier than it was the past 4 years. I’ve always had low expectations of myself, so I thought I’d get a GPA of 2 or so, judging from the fact that I had absolutely no background in biology and this course ain’t easy man. Holy shit I got a 3.83, which to me, being so near the perfect score has always felt too far away to reach. Of course, I still have my disappointments, like how I didn’t fit the criteria for a plus academic programme. But, I will never let my setbacks ruin me anymore, I have entire life ahead of me with a never-ending bucket list, so no time shall ever be wasted because of petty shit like this. I can only ever go forward, because passion is here for me and I will not disappoint her. 

Life has definitely been better. Ever since entering psychology, I’ve opened up this studyblr, got more involved in the activism part of the LGBT community, broken social anxiety barriers and finally did well in school. I am usually a pessimist but I cannot help highlighting how much better my life has gotten since I decided to be passionate. Studying used to be chore, but now I actually enjoy studying. 

If you actually got down this far into my post, thank you so much for reading. I hope this has been the least bit motivational to you. Don’t stop until you get what you want, because once you walk in on the doors of a passionate lifestyle, suddenly many things stop becoming a chore to you. Mental illness is a bitch and sometimes the people who are supposed to help you can turn out to be extremely toxic, but know that literally nothing can stop you from getting what you truly deserve. GURL/BOI U DESERVE HAPPINESS.