So you want to learn a language....
The world seems to be shrinking at an ever-increasing pace. More people travel abroad than ever
before, visiting countries whose languages remain mysterious for any who haven't taken the time to
learn their fundamentals. Thanks to the Internet, we can find and cultivate new friendships with
people from practically any land. Even in your own county, you have probably noticed an increase
in the number of immigrants who speak a language different from your own.
Many of us would like to learn at least one language other than our mother tongue, yet all-too-
often, our educational institutions don't seem to be able to do the job of helping us reach true
fluency in a second language. In addition, many non-native speakers of English - perhaps you who
are reading these lines - have achieved a certain degree of proficiency in their English studies, but
just can't seem to become totally fluent.
No matter which language you have chosen to learn, you've no doubt often asked yourself the
"What can I do to learn faster, to acquire correct pronunciation, a good-sized vocabulary,
sufficient grammar, and above all, to learn to really talk in the language I'm learning?"
been helping people learn English, and have seen the difficulties that they face. Theirs are the same
problems that I myself had to solve when I learned German and Spanish. Let's face it: learning to
speak another language is no easy task. The good news, however, is that by using a sound strategy,
almost anyone can indeed learn a foreign language well, and can even have a surprising amount of
fun doing so!
The purpose of this guide is to help you to successfully overcome the many-faceted obstacles
that you will meet along the way. Don't expect a lot of "theory" here: all of the advice I give is
highly practical, and has been tested on the hundreds of pupils I've had over the years - and of
course, also on myself.
The knowledge you will gain from this book will not guarantee that you will master a second
language; knowledge isn't the key, but rather, the use of that knowledge. Yet I can assure you that if
you follow the advice given here, the road to mastery of another language will be shorter, and
almost certainly more pleasant!
