Thursday, April 19, 2012

Mango Apps!  

Learn a new language for FREE on your Android or Apple device


Mango has just announced a new Android app that brings language learning to Android devices with the same ease and convenience already enjoyed by those using the Mango app for iPhones and iPads.

As an Android phone user, I am really excited by this development, since I've been watching library staff members with iPhones having WAY too much fun with their mobile Mango access.  Now I can join the party and start working on my Spanish and French wherever I go.

Library patrons have access to both the desktop and mobile language learning power of Mango, and it's absolutely free!

Download is surprisingly easy.  To load the Mango app on my phone, I simply went to the Mango Languages page in Google Play (formerly Android Market, where all your apps are found) and left clicked once on the blue INSTALL button in the upper left of the page, next to the icon for the app.

I was asked to confirm the device to which I wished to download the app, and it was automatically loaded onto my phone via its 3G connection within a few minutes.

If you have an Apple iPhone or iPad, simply download the Mango Languages Library Edition app from iTunes. Click here for a direct link.

Once the Android app download was complete, Mango Languages was listed with all of the other apps on my phone. I tapped the Mango icon and the app asked for my username and password.

If you have already been using Mango at the library or at home, as I have, you know that each time you must sign in using your own personal username and password.  That's the way Mango helps us keep track of which languages we are studying and where we are in each course.  I simply entered that username and password into the Android app, and I was on my way!

If you haven't used Mango before, setting up a username and password is FREE for all Terrebonne Parish Library card holders.

To get your own username and password:
  1. Click here and choose Mango from the "M" section of the database list.  (Or go to mytpl.org, choose "Databases by Name" from the Research drop-down menu in the black bar at the top of the page, and then choose Mango from the "M" section of the database list.) 
  2. If you are not at a Terrebonne Parish library, you will need to enter your library card number.  Library cards are free and available at all library branches.
  3. On the Mango welcome screen, use the "Create a Profile" option on the right to choose your own unique username and password.  It's that easy!  
Once you have your own Mango username and password, you can log in on your mobile device or use the full edition for desktops and laptops available through mytpl.org by repeating step one above.

Your library account at Mango gives you instant access to beginning, intermediate, and advanced training in 38 languages.

Mango can also help ESL students learn English, with English courses in Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, French, German, Dutch, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

If you need any help reaching Mango through our web site or downloading the Mango app, please stop by your library or call (985) 876-5861 and choose option 2 to reach the reference staff.


Jennifer Hamilton
Reference Services Supervisor