So what's FLAn?

It's an editor that lets you take a foreign language text and attach various kinds of media to words or phrases to help students understand the meaning of unfamiliar words or phrases.

What kind of media can I attach?

Text (definitions, comments, grammar notes, etc.), audio clips, video clips, images, GIF animations and Web links.

Does FLAn work with languages that don't use the Roman alphabet? Is it Unicode compliant?

Yes and no. You can use Latin and non-Latin alphabetic writing systems in the main window (L2) so FLAn will work with Spanish, French, Turkish, Greek, Russian, etc. At this time FLAn cannot process writing systems that don't have spaces between the words (Chinese, Japanese) as L2 text but those languages can be used for L1 (grammar notes, translations, etc.). So, for example, FLAn can handle English for Chinese speakers but not Chinese for English speakers...yet. A special edition of FLAn for Chinese and Japanese is scheduled for release on September 1, 2010. We are also working on a modification that will process right-left languages such as Arabic, Hebrew and Urdu. It is possible to input right-left languages now but this requires an extra step that is described in the Documentation available on the Downloads page.

FLAn is Unicode compliant.

Does FLAn work on the Web?

No, although you can create links in a FLAn unit to any Web site.

Is FLAn free?

Yes, it's free.

Can I make copies of FLAn?

Yes, but you cannot sell it or trade it for food stuffs.

Can I sell the FLAn units that I create?

Yes, through the RedHotWords Store. The Store works on the same principle as an App Store. Authors create FLAn units in their desired category, say 'Spanish for English Speakers' and they submit them to RedHotWords.com. The units are then sold in the store and authors keep 70% of the sale price. Authors will also participate in the profits from sales of subscriptions. The Store will be opening on January 1, 2011 and we are looking for authors now to create and submit units for sale. If you would like to register as an author, please send email to info@redhotwords.com.

In addition to the RedHotWords Store, there is a license for schools to sell RedHotWords readers to their students ($495/yr.) and one for publishers to sell readers commercially ($3495/yr.) to supplement their instructional materials.

Are there any FLAn units already created and available for purchase?

Not yet, but the Store will be opening on January 1, 2011.

Who made FLAn?

That would be Thom Thibeault, a foreign language educator with over 37.4 years experience teaching languages. He has taught German and Spanish at the high school and university level and has taught German at Southern Illinois University Since 1989. He earned his doctorate at the Universität Salzburg in 1989 and wrote his dissertation on computer-assisted language learning. He is very grateful that computer technology today is not as it was in 1989.