DEARBORN — The Dearborn Public Library, also known as the Henry Ford Centennial Library, is now offering the Mango Languages online language learning system to meet the community’s language-learning needs.

The Mango program is free for all cardholders at the library and features both English as a Second Language (ESL) lessons (in a total of 15 courses) and 22 languages including Arabic.

Each lesson uses real-life situations to teach actual conversation with audio from native speakers with clear instructions.

Mango is a Michigan company based in Farmington Hills.

“We are thrilled to add our library to the growing list of libraries across the country who have added Mango to their resources,” said Maryanne Bartles, Library Director.  “Some people need to learn a second language for business or travel reasons.  Others just want to because they think it would be interesting. No matter the reason, learning the language should be fun. With Mango, it definitely is.”

There are two versions of Mango available at the library. One is Mango Complete, which is available in nine foreign languages, including Arabic, and three ESL courses. It is a 100-lesson course which is designed to provide a deep understanding of a language and its culture.

The second is Mango Basic which is designed to appeal to a beginner in a new language. It teaches everyday greetings, gratitudes, goodbyes and helpful phrases in a short period of time. The courses require two to five hours of time to complete.

The ESL courses were essential in choosing this program for the Dearborn Public Library.

“We had been reviewing products like this for a while and really liked Mango,” said Deputy Library Director Julie Schaefer. “But we waited until they released English for Native Speakers of Arabic before we took the plunge and purchased it for our users.”

Users can visit any Dearborn public library for an introduction on how to use Mango online. Also  if they have a library card, they can access  the Dearborn Public Library homepage  at www.dearbornlibrary.com from any computer.

For more information call the Dearborn Public Library at 313.943.2330.