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The going will probably be noticeably easier； because paragraph two will likely be
dealing with much the same subject matter as paragraph one and many of the words will
be repeats。 Step back and note how many fewer coloured lines marking unknown words
there are in paragraph two。 Never mind that those are repeat words。 If you knew them
from flashing your cards in the interval between tackling paragraph one and tackling
paragraph two； then it’s clean conquest。 Bask in it； and move on to paragraph three。
No cheating！ Don’t let your possible lack of interest in the subject matter of the text
tempt you into junking it and jumping across the page to another article that looks like
it’s about something that interests you more。 No soldier fighting in the arctic would dare
ask his commanding officer if he might be excused to go fight in the tropics。 Advance！
Charge！ Slog through it one step – one word – at a time。
By the time you reach the end of page one； if it’s a newspaper； you will note with
glee that the coloured markings indicating words you didn’t know； almost solid in the
early paragraphs； will have diminished precipitously by the end of the page。 That page is
a progress chart。
And you’ll have what seems like a ton of flash cards loaded with words in varying
degrees of surrender to you。 Carry as many flash cards with you as possible； and rotate
them regularly so your attention is evenly parcelled out among them。
Tradition bound teachers would have problems with that kind of “ice plunge；” a
naked leap into a foreign language newspaper after only five lessons of grammar with
nothing for help but a dictionary； which in many cases can’t help because you won’t
know the various disguises （changing forms） of many of the words。 What’s the point？
There are several。 America is a nation of people who make straight A’s in
intermediate French and then get to Paris and realise they don’t speak intermediate
French！ The knowledge that the text – newspaper； book； magazine； whatever – is a real
world document that does not condescend to a student’s level is a tremendous confidence
builder and energiser for your assault upon your target language。 The awareness that
you’re making progress； albeit slowly； through typical text； genuine text； the kind the
natives buy off their newsstands and read in their coffee shops； gives even the rank
beginner something of the pride of a battle toughened marine。
Memorise Your Part
You are now； let’s say； beginning chapter six of your grammar book and fighting your
way valiantly down the first column of your text。 Keep going on both these fronts； and
pick up another tool。
Open your phrase book and read the introduction carefully； paying particularly
close attention to the rules of transliteration。 All such books will have three columns： the
English word or phrase； the foreign language translation； and then the transliteration；
which is your guide to proper pronunciation using the English alphabet。
When you get the hang of the language； you won’t need the transliteration crutch。
Until you do； you need it totally。 But note that there is no recognised standard system of
transliteration。 The International Phonetic Alphabet is supposed to be； but nobody uses it
because learning it is almost as hard as learning another language itself。
There are at least half a dozen ways to transliterate the capital of China。 The
Chinese communists prefer Beijing。 The Chinese nationalists prefer Peking。 If that were
the only word you wanted to learn and there were no need for you to learn transliteration
systems； we could write it Bay…jing； adding that the Bay is pronounced like the English
word for the body of water and the jing like the first syllable of “jingle。”
Your phrase book will take mercifully little space to tell you how to pronounce the
words according to their chosen system of transliteration。 Usually in less than a page
you’ll be told to pronounce ai like the y in “sky”； ei like the eigh in “weigh” and so on
through all the needed sounds。 Some phrase books indicate which syllable gets the stress
by placing an accent mark on top of it； others by capitalising every letter in the syllable。
Don’t be impatient because you suddenly feel you’re called upon to learn another written
language which is neither English nor the language you’re trying to learn。 Look upon the
transliteration guide as your opportunity to learn the combination to a safe that will let
you help yourself to the correct pronunciation of every word in that book！
Advance now to the first page of phrases in the phrase book。 Your newspaper didn’t
teach you how to say “How are you？” and it’s a good bet the first five lessons of your
grammar didn’t either。 Here it comes！ This is your first chance to learn how to actually
say things。
“Yes。” “No。” “Please。” “Thank you。” “You’re welcome。” “Good morning。” “Good
afternoon。” “Good evening。” ”I’m very pleased to meet you。” “How are you？” “Very
well； thanks； and you？” “Fine。”
You’ll master these precious nuggets of real life communication quickly。 But don’t
stop with merely mastering them。 Use that phrase book and plot a conversational pattern；
a routine you go into when you meet someone who speaks your target language。 Treat it
as though you’re memorising your part in a play。
”How do you do？” “My name is _______。” “What’s your name？” “Where are you
from？” “How long have you been here？” “I don’t speak your language well。” “How do
you say that in your language？” “May I get you something to drink？” “I don’t
understand。” “Would you please repeat？”
Here again； traditionalists would frown。 “That’s not learning a language；” they’d
protest。 “That’s just learning how to parrot a few phrases！”
And right they’d be； if that were all you were doing。 But you are now accumulating
flash cards with vocabulary and moving through lesson seven or eight of the grammar； so
don’t feel you have to apologise for learning how to parrot a few handy phrases。
Your ability to bandy some useful phrases is a motivator。 There you are； speaking
the language！ Isn’t that what you started all this for？ Admittedly you’re not debating the
economic consequences of his government’s latest reversal on tariff agreements； but you
are asking someone if he’s too cold and telling him you hope to meet him again。
More magic happens when you’re at that peak motivation。 You find yourself
acquiring more material； more conversational gems gleaned from his end of the
conversation。 Remember； you’re a confessed beginner。 When you don’t understand
something； you’re excused for asking him to repeat it； spell it； write it down on one of
your blank flash cards。 （Always carry some。）
It’s gratifying； in fact； enthralling； to enter your next conversation with your powers
to converse enhanced by the previous encounter。
A note of caution； however。 Eventually you may find yourself about to small talk so
fluently you’ll mistake that ability for having arrived。 Back to the newspaper and the
grammar with you before such thoughts corrupt！
Add Cassettes
For most of the history of the world； there was no way the self taught language student
could hear the language spoken。 He had to rely on printed rules； grossly inadequate； to
guide him in pronunciation of his target language。
Then came the phonograph record； which seemed like ideal deliverance from
darkness； until the tape recorder came along； followed quickly by the portable cassette
tape recorder； which allowed language learners to pick up ear phones and listen to a wide
variety of foreign language fare as they jogged； shopped； ran errands； or walked to work。
As is the case with many technological breakthroughs； disappointment followed。
The closets of many fine； otherwise strong willed people are littered with the wreckage of
once beautifully packaged foreign language cassette courses。 They thought technology
had replaced study。 They thought all you had to do was pop a cassette into the machine；
press a button； and take in the language like a car takes in gasoline。
Remove that inflated expectation； resolve to do your part； and the invention of the
portable cassette tape player will indeed fulfill its promise to the language lover
endeavouring to become a language learner。
Are you presently armed with the right cassette course？
Unless your cassette was mislabelled and carries lessons in a language other than
the one you’d like to learn； it’s a good learning aid。 It may not be the best。 It may be far
behind the best； but so what？ It will offer you words and phrases in your target language
with native accuracy in pronunciation。
You no more want to limit your hearing of the language to one cassette course than
you’d want to confine your tennis playing to one partner。 The ideal cassette library is one
in which the student can