While most of our readers choose English as the default language on their computers, many use a second language.

How do you type in a different language?

How do you switch between the installed languages?

How do you know which letters correspond to which buttons on the English keyboard?

How to type in a different language:

To type in a language other than the default English, you need to add an “input language.”

Select START if in Windows 7 (in Windows 8, start a search)

Select CONTROL PANEL

Select CLOCK, LANGUAGE AND REGION

Select CHANGE KEYBOARDS OR OTHER INPUT METHODS

Under the KEYBOARDS AND LANGUAGES tab, select CHANGE KEYBOARDS

Select ADD

Find the language you would like to add, select the PLUS sign, select the KEYBOARD option and then the language you are looking to add.

Select OK

Select Apply

How to switch between languages:

Near the clock on the bottom right of your desktop, you will see the option to switch between the languages you have installed.

Want to set up a hot key (so that you can have a custom shortcut to make the change)?

Select START (in Windows 8, start a search)

Select CONTROL PANEL

Select CLOCK, LANGUAGE AND REGION

Select CHANGE KEYBOARDS OR OTHER INPUT METHODS

Under the KEYBOARDS AND LANGUAGES tab, select CHANGE KEYBOARDS

Select the ADVANCED KEY SETTINGS tab

Highlight the language you are looking to make a hot key for

Select CHANGE KEY SEQUENCE

Select ENABLE KEY SEQUENCE

Using the two drop downs, you can customize the shortcut key to switch between languages

Wondering which keys represent which letters?

Once you have the new language installed properly on your computer, how do you know which keys represent which letters in the new alphabet?

While some may prefer to add stickers to the physical keyboards, others prefer to use the on-screen keyboard when necessary.

To access the on-screen keyboard on a Windows 7 computer:

Select START

Type and select ON-SCREEN KEYBOARD

To access the on-screen keyboard on a Windows 8 computer:

Access the search menu, and enter ON-SCREEN KEYBOARD