Here is a list of resources I have found for studying Haitian Creole (Kreyòl). Which are most useful for you will depend on your reasons for learning Creole and the amount of time you have to study. If you are a beginner and want to develop real communicative skills (beyond just memorizing some phrases that are useful for your situation), I recommend using either Wally Turnbull’s Creole Made Easy or Gloria Guignard Board’s Learn Haitian Creole with Gloria along with an audio and/or video program–HaitiHub, Gloria’s online videos, or the Pimsleur CDs/MP3s (all discussed below). If you just want those useful words and phrases, scroll down the page a bit farther for sources. Resource material for intermediate/advanced learners is also included in this list, mostly farther down.
There are two Facebook groups that I highly recommend joining: Learn Haitian Creole and All About Haitian Culture. These are a good resource no matter what level you’re at or what method you’re using to learn Creole.
The grammar explanations in Wally Turnbull’s Creole Made Easy are indispensable, although I didn’t find the vocabulary particularly useful. Creole grammar is fairly simple, but it is different from both English and French. The number of contractions and words that sound/look the same in Creole can make it tricky to figure out the grammar on your own, so a resource that explains the grammar is necessary if you really want to learn Creole. If you aren’t already comfortable with Creole pronunciation (which is phonetic and quite straightforward once you’re used to it), the accompanying Creole Made Easy Pronunciation Guide is helpful. There is also a Creole Made Easy Workbook, which provides practice in producing Creole.
The HaitiHub website offers online modules based on Creole Made Easy, but with additional multimedia content. Their Complete Introduction to Haitian Creole is $129 and includes a copy of the Creole Made Easy book. Their Fluency Booster program (for intermediate-level students) is $39. I have no personal experience with HaitiHub, but have heard good things about it.
A new option, which could be an alternative to Creole Made Easy, is Gloria Guignard Board’s Learn Haitian Creole with Gloria, a lesson book based on the online courses she was teaching via Skype (she is no longer offering live lessons). She has recently (July 2016) introduced a set of video lessons via Vimeo; they are $300 and cover both the beginner level (to accompany her book) and intermediate level (for which she provides an additional electronic text). I have no personal experience with her Skype or video lessons or her book, but I have seen numerous people rave about how much they learned from her.
I came across the Pimsleur series of Haitian Creole language-learning CDs after I had already learned a fair amount of Creole. There is a 10-lesson set, a 16-lesson set (which is the same as the 10-lesson set plus another six lessons), and a 30-lesson set (the same as the 16-lesson set plus another 14 lessons). The comprehensive set is cheaper if you buy a digital download version, but will still set you back $120. I got the 10-lesson set from my local public library and then was lucky enough to get the 16-lesson set through an inter-library loan. A huge plus for the Pimsleur program was that I could do the lessons in the car while driving, since there’s no need to have a text in front of you–it meant I could study Creole without taking any extra time out of my day. I was impressed by the way Pimsleur incorporates repetition with variations to practice known vocabulary and language structures. The vocabulary is aimed at a generic traveler’s needs–greetings, asking for directions, asking if someone wants to get something to eat, etc. I recommend the 16-lesson set over the 10-lesson set if you have the time for it. The extra 6 lessons do make a big difference–they cover more useful basic vocabulary like “I/you need”, “I/you can”, and “How much do I owe you?” Although I already knew a fair amount of Creole, I felt my speaking fluency improve considerably through using the Pimsleur program. You can try the first lesson for free to get a sense of the Pimsleur lesson format.
The Indiana University Creole Institute sells several resources, including a beginner through intermediate-level textbook, accompanying CDs, and a bilingual dictionary. In addition, the website contains numerous links to other resources of possible interest. I haven’t used any of their resources, but the textbook looks quite comprehensive, based on the online sample.
Mango Languages offers Haitian Creole. You can study online or using an app on your mobile device. My public library offers free access to Mango Languages; maybe yours does too. If not, you can purchase a subscription for $20 per month or $175 per year.
If you have the time and money, you can study Creole in Haiti. One option is Pale Dlololo Creole Institute. I have no experience with them other than reading their website, so I encourage you to do your homework if you’re interested in them. In June 2016, Gloria Guignard Board offered a 3-week Creole boot camp in Haiti for those who wished to improve their language skills in the context of doing Christian ministry. (I actually put down a deposit to attend the first week but had to cancel after learning that I was pregnant, with the baby due in July.) Apparently it was a success, and more Creole boot camps (10 days each) are planned.
If you’re looking for formal courses in the United States, you can search this database from the University of Minnesota to find colleges and universities that offer instruction in Haitian Creole. Of particular note is the 3-week Haitian Creole Language and Culture Summer Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
The Sweet Coconuts blog has a wealth of resources for learning Creole. It’s particularly useful for more advanced learners because of the wide variety of vocabulary discussed, and contains some cultural information as well. You can submit questions to be answered by a native speaker of Creole.
The University of Kansas has an Open Educational Resources site with a variety of free resources, several of them aimed at medical volunteers. There is a very good Survival Creole text with accompanying audio, featuring a variety of useful basic expressions. There are also a couple intermediate-level texts for those who have some knowledge of Creole but aren’t up to reading material written for native speakers.
A useful-looking medical resource for those with an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch is the Haitian Medical Reference Guide from Ultralingua. This includes material from Dr. Bryant Freeman at the University of Kansas.
A potentially useful resource available for free is the Defense Language Institute’s basic course in Haitian Creole. This is an extensive course comprising 50 lessons and is intended to take several months of full-time study. You can download the entire course (PDFs of the texts and MP3s of the audio). Unfortunately, the audio quality ranges from poor to completely unusable. The text and the audio also don’t correspond exactly. Even so, there is plenty of valuable material for someone who is dedicated to learning Creole. I would recommend acquiring some knowledge of Creole before attempting to follow this course due to the limitations noted above.
Simple Language for Adoptive Families sells a book and CD set with words and phrases aimed at families adopting children from Haiti. The New Crunch-Time Guide to Parenting Language for Haitian Adoption appears to be similar, but with audio downloads instead of a CD. I have no experience with either of them.
Hesperian Health Guides has extensive health-related resources in Creole that can be downloaded for free, including chapters and entire books.
The Creole Made Easy website features other books for sale as well, including a coloring book. For free, they also offer a medical guide, recipes, and an online translation dictionary.
The Hôpital Albert Schweitzer website has a downloadable 15-page Haitian-English/English-Haitian dictionary of about 3000 of the most common words.
The MamaBaby Haiti website has a list of resources, including a Haitian Creole for healthcare document that contains a one-page (front and back) summary of the most useful words and phrases for medical practitioners.
Transparent Language offers a Haitian Creole version of their Byki Express software for free. It appears to be a variation on digital flash cards, focusing on vocabulary acquisition. Brainscape offers an app with digital audio flash cards. It appears that creating your own flash cards is free, while accessing pre-made flash cards has prices ranging from $10/month to $80 for lifetime access. I haven’t used either of these.
You can read the Bible in Creole for free on Bible Gateway and on the Jehovah’s Witness‘ website. The Canadian Bible Society sells not only Haitian Creole versions of the Bible but also the New Testament on audio CDs. I purchased a Creole Bible, a New Testament with the Psalms, and the MP3 version of the New Testament from them and am pleased with the quality. In particular, I find the quality of the audio recording to be excellent. It contains music and sound effects that help dramatize the reading. The text corresponds with the complete Bible that I purchased; the New Testament is a slightly different translation. The American Bible Society has printed Haitian Creole Bibles but does not seem to offer an audio version. It appears that you can download the audio version of the New Testament for free; scroll to select “Kreyòl ayisyen” as the audio language.
For those with a reasonable grasp of the language, the Voice of America’s Creole service, Lavwadlamerik, offers news in Creole. Some stories are just text and others have a link to an audio story. You can sign up to get updates through social media and/or receive a daily e-mail with news in Creole.
There are a variety of videos in Creole on YouTube–from movies to music to worship services. I don’t have any magic search terms to find good ones. Your best bet is probably to go to the Learn Haitian Creole Facebook group, describe your level of language knowledge and what you’re interested in, and ask for recommendations.
Woy magazine has a list of resources to help you learn or improve your Creole, some of which I have already covered here.
If you can already read Creole, you might be interested in checking out this resource from MIT to learn more about Creole spelling and linguistics.
Searching for “Haitian Creole” on eBay or Amazon.com turns up various resources which may be of interest.
Finally, for those who have developed at least an intermediate level of understanding Creole, there are ways to listen to radio stations from Haiti (or from the US but aimed at Haiti) through the internet. I have used TuneIn Radio‘s Android app. A word of caution: I’ve noticed that Haitian stations tend to alternate between French and Creole, so if you’re not familiar with French, you may find this confusing.
I hope this list is useful. I would be appreciative of suggestions for any additional items to include and/or notification of corrections to be made.
so much information. Most helpful for the beginner to look around and try to choose what suits best. Thank you.
H Graham