Learn from The Academy of Achievement

Each year The Academy of Achievement holds a summit that brings together 50 high achievers in the world with graduate students. It has only one agenda: tell success stories and inspire youth.

Thanks to the videos that the Academy made available at its website, we can hear those inspiring stories from the high achievers like president Obama, director Steven Spielberg, entrepreneur Larry Page, writer Norman Mailer, and many more. The stories they told illustrates the sources of their successes. The repeated themes are passion, preparation and perseverance.

Those themes should resonate with those who study a foreign language, as mastering a new language is quite an achievement.

Learn from Consumer Report

Consumer Report is a magazine that reviews household products and services. Its independent buying guides help consumers make better purchasing decisions.

It may well help non-native speakers learn about the products commonly seen in average household, too. At its website, Consumer Report lists many short videos by product lines–cars, appliances, etc. The most popular ones are the buying guides, such as buying TV, Camera, or GPS.

Buying can be costly. But learning is free.

Learn from MTV Videos

MTV stands for Music Television, a cable TV started over 20 years ago. It used to run music videos around the clock. But it’s less about music now. The pop culture has since taken the center stage in its programs.

That’s what you will see from the videos at MTV website’s video channel. There are news (“The hottest women in music“, movie trailers (“Toy Story 3″), star interviews (“Denzel Washington“), and of course music (“Letdown“).

While soaking up the pop culture, absorb the language too.

Learn from CNET News

We are living in a digital age. Technology is everywhere, gadgets are mainstream, and geeks are rock stars. Better learn and speak the language of technology.

The best source is CNET. Under CNET TV, it delivers video reports in several categories. The news coverage under Product and Tech Show keep you informed; the knowledge under Buying Guide and How-To helps you make better decisions (like this timely one: “Top 5 wost tech gifts for dads“).

You can view the videos at CNET’s website and its YouTube channel.