German historical drama. Jakob Simon dreams of emigrating from his poverty-stricken life as the son of a blacksmith in Schabbach, a village in rural Rhineland.

As he studies the languages of tribal South America, the return from military service of his more worldly brother Gustav fails to break him from his daydream, but day-to-day living in Prussian feudal society means that his dreams have to be put on hold.

A vivid and well-mounted German-language drama imagines what it was like in the Wittenberg of 1517 for young monk Martin Luther and his friends. It does a fine job of getting across the corruption of the church at the time: one scene sees a (literally) fiery preacher using every theatrical trick in the book to extort money from the poor. Meanwhile Luther is prevailed upon to paste his rebellious pamphlet on a church door and so lights the touchpaper on centuries of religious conflict

The Catholic church has excommunicated Luther and condemned him as a heretic, but the Reformation can no longer be stopped. Whilst in hiding, and widely believed to be dead, Luther translates the Bible into German for the first time so that the ordinary people can read it.

The operation to capture Zacharie Gabbai has failed and he is now on the run. The police decide to set him a trap. Laure looks into the period in which Sandrine Jaulin's parents worked as a foster family, and a troubling history emerges.

An introduction to British Sign Language aimed at both hearing and deaf people. As well as explaining how BSL works, the author gives a fascinating account of the history of signing, and a chapter by Paddy Ladd describes how Britain's deaf community and its language have survived a century of attack and are at last today attracting respect and acceptability.

BBC correspondent Clive Myrie traces the life story of America's first black president.( Signed)

Stephen Fry loves Louisiana. Four months after the BP oil spill, dubbed the worst ecological disaster in the history of America, Fry returns to the Deep South together with zoologist Mark Carwardine, to see what the impact has been on the people, the vast wetlands and the species that live there.

Miners, nuclear scientists, politicians, environmentalists and even the City have all wrestled for control of the national electricity grid and the power that it has brought.

Contains selections from Úlfar Bragason, Baldur A. Sigurvinsson, and Guðrún Theodórsdóttir, Carry On Icelandic (2004)

Link to the language classroom and step-by-step reading guides from the Cervantes Institute (a non-profit organization created by the Spanish government to promote the study and the teaching of Spanish language and culture). CVC is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of Don Quixote and perhaps the most important figure in the history of Spanish literature. Click the link to find a variety of fun resources to learn and practice your Spanish.

A library of almost 3000 short videos arithmetic to physics, finance, and history with practice exercises. A very useful resource to practice your listening and note-taking skills while learning something new.

Japanese pages offering a taster of Japanese culture and language. Includes introductions to the language, history, and way of life of the Japanese.

Chinese Mandarin pages offering a taster of Chinese culture and language. Includes introductions to the language, history, and way of life of the Chinese people.

Left-wing weekly magazine on current affairs and culture. Only some parts of the magazine are available online for free. A fantastic way to familiarise yourselves with vocabulary suitable for advanced discussions of current affairs, politics as well as historical events and philosophy.

A collection of authentic conversations in French that targets mostly intermediate and advanced learners. Each conversation highlights the experience of two French speakers and provides an oral history of that experience.

Spanish monthly popular science magazine. Science, health, technology, nature, history. A great way to build both formal and informal scientific vocabulary.

Web Japan is sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and operated by a Japanese non government organization. The site provides highly reliable information on Japan across many different genres including culture, sightseeing, society, history and nature. The content is provided primarily in English, but a portion of the site is multilingual.

Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.

In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.

In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

The story of King Seretse Khama of Botswana and how his loving but controversial marriage to a British white woman, Ruth Williams, put his kingdom into political and diplomatic turmoil.

"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.

The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told in flashback by his peer and secret rival Antonio Salieri - now confined to an insane asylum.

Strong language and violence. A former neo-nazi skinhead tries to prevent his younger brother from going down the same wrong path that he did.

About a 1839 mutiny aboard a slave ship that is traveling towards the northeastern coast of America. Much of the story involves a court-room drama about the free man who led the revolt.

Three astronauts must devise a strategy to return to Earth safely after their spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage.