Language course provides unlimited resources for Airmen Published Aug. 17, 2011 By Lea Johnson 21st Space Wing Public Affairs staff writer PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo -- Having the opportunity to travel the world and experience new cultures is one of the greatest benefits of a military career. To enhance the experience of traveling abroad, the Air Force launched a new language course Aug. 1, the Air Force Transparent Language Learning program, at the Peterson AFB Library. "We are actually one of the test libraries because they didn't want to go Air Force-wide and have any problems," said Charlotte Bonham, reference librarian here. The program should be available at all base libraries by the end of August. Previously, the library had offered the Rosetta Stone language program. However, when the contract ran out in July, the library knew they would not renew because of the cost. There are several benefits to using the Transparent Language Learning program. The biggest is the unlimited number of licenses. "When we had Rosetta Stone we only had 202 licenses. There were always people on the waiting list but this (program) is unlimited," Bonham said. The second benefit of the new program is the number of languages available to study. "It has 72 languages plus 17 English for foreign language speakers," she said. The Transparent Language Learning program is available for all active duty Air Force and their family members, as well as any Air Force civilian employee or contractor. A second language program, Rocket Languages, is available to any library user. One of the unique features of Rocket Languages, Bonham said, is that while it only offers 11 languages, one of them is American Sign Language. "It's one of the very few that has sign language. If you know sign language at all it's pretty good about showing the picture," Bonham said. To sign up for either program, users must register at the library circulation desk. Once completed, courses can be taken on any computer. For more information about this or other library programs, call 556-7462.