Rating- 8/10
Date finished- October 14, 2022
3️⃣The book in 3 sentences
Probably the biggest impediment to good pronunciation is picturing how a word is written while saying it.
I think the best answer to “Why learn a foreign language?” is that it may make one’s life richer. Not only after one knows it, but even during the learning
One of the quickest and surest ways to pick up foreign vocabulary is through reading. There is a richness of association in reading, which aids the memory, and “organic” learning is facilitated by the natural progression of word frequencies.
💡Thoughts
If you are ready to delve into the “hows” and “whys” of learning a foreign language, then this is the perfect book.
Summary + high yield notes
☎️The "why's" of language learning
🗣️Everyone can learn another language
According to reliable studies, only about 16 percent of what it takes to learn a foreign language is attributable to intelligence, at least as defined by IQ tests.
🎼Study after study has shown that, contrary to popular belief, musical ability accounts for only about 10 percent of what it takes to learn a language.
I think the best answer to “Why learn a foreign language?” is that it may make one’s life richer. not only after one knows it but even during the learning. That a language takes time to learn becomes a plus instead of a drawback when one considers how such a long-range commitment gives focus and continuity to a period of one’s life.
💡When is a language easy to learn?
A language—any language—has three distinct components: pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. A closer look at these components will reveal that the third is the most difficult to master.
📅How long does it take to learn a language
The overriding message is that anyone can learn a foreign language, but some people are quicker at it than others. Still, language learning is a serious commitment, and if one’s aim is to speak it comfortably (say, 2+ on the FSI scale), this is likely to take the equivalent of six months of full-time study.
🤔Which language should you select?
🇫🇷If you are reasonably good at telling dialect jokes and imitating foreign accents, then French pronunciation should hold no terror for you. But if you have a poor ear, get mixed up easily in spelling, or cannot tolerate “illogical” grammar, then maybe you had better pick a language farther down the list.
🇩🇪If you don’t mind learning grammar as long as it is orderly, then German may be for you. The effort of learning it is amply rewarded by the countries you can visit (Switzerland and Austria as well as Germany) and the many books, plays, and operas you can enjoy when you know it.
🇮🇹The “language of love" (Italian) is only moderately difficult. It has few troublesome sounds, a regular spelling system and grammar of only average difficulty. The payoff is good, though only in one country, Italy, where you can enjoy art, opera, food, sunshine, and lively people.
🇪🇸If you wish to learn a language that can be used in a variety of countries in both hemispheres, then take Spanish because it is fairly easy and there are many ways to put it to use as you are learning.
🇷🇺Russian is difficult but rewarding, provided you have a compelling purpose for learning it
🐰Learning the tricks of the game
There are good and bad times to study, and people often fail to take advantage of the good ones. Early in the morning: by rising fifteen minutes earlier, you can read a page of Russian a day. At lunchtime, you could practice Italian for fifteen minutes rather than chatting with officemates. Before dinner, a session with your vocabulary cards may help pass the time, and no rule forbids learning a language with a martini in your hand; in fact, it may lower your inhibitions.
🧠Organic learning
You might learn the verb “to give,” for example, by first learning the simple phrase “give me...” You would practice it by saying things like “Give me a scotch,” “Give me your phone number,” and so on. Soon, this command form will become automatic. By then you may have begun to wonder how to say, “Don’t give me...” (“Don’t give me red wine, give me white wine”). Then it is time to learn negative commands.
🎲The words and the music
The music of a language, its intonation, strikes you even when you cannot comprehend a single word. It can also be the first thing you learn. Even before enrolling in a course, you can absorb the new accent by listening to someone speak the language and imitating the sounds he makes. Use nonsense syllables as in singing, “Tum-de-dum-dum.”
Language, as Delattre says, is above all speech, not writing; a language that is not spoken is called “dead.” If you trust your ear, you are almost certain to speak with a good accent. Conversely, if you trust your eye alone, your accent may be a poor one.
In learning a language, the long-range goal—to master the foreign tongue—often appears unattainable. One must have short-range goals as well.
🌩️The "Hows" of language learning
👄How to practice pronunciation
Probably the biggest impediment to good pronunciation is picturing how a word is written while saying it. The written letters are associated in our minds with English sounds.
Consequently, these English sounds rise automatically to our lips instead of the foreign ones, and we must spend part of our energy combating this tendency. There is nothing hard about saying the French word for “son,” which is pronounced “feess”—until you see it written down: fils.
Never Look at the Letter “r. In English, this sound is pronounced differently from other languages. Our tongues curl up more than for a Spanish or Italian r, and in quite the opposite direction from a French or German r.
The correct learning sequence is this: listen carefully to get the sound firmly planted in your ear; then gradually imitate it with your tongue. Do not use your eye until you have the pronunciation down pat.
The longer a word, the harder.
Pronunciation deteriorates easily, so the longer you go without checking yours against a native, the more likely you are to revert to English speech habits.
Practice whole phrases, not words
When you have trouble hearing the difference between what you are saying and what you ought to say, ask an acquaintance who is a native (or who sounds like one) to imitate your followed by the right one.
📖How to master grammar
“Learning grammar from the rules is like learning the interpretation of a melody second-hand from the explanations of someone who has heard it sung.” Learning it from direct speech, as with recordings, is like learning the interpretation of a melody directly from hearing it sung. It is the only way to get it fully and exactly.
The best arrangement of material for learning, one that many good teachers use instinctively, is: (1) pose a challenge, (2) let the students try to respond, and (3) provide the correct response.
Learn the hardest thing first, and the rest will then seem easy.
🈯How to learn vocabulary
Try to inject a note of urgency into your attitude as you learn vocabulary. even do it artificially. Later on, the emotional attitude you had at the time of learning may help you to remember.
What one hopes to accomplish in learning vocabulary is to strengthen the bond between stimulus and response—between some life situation that calls for a particular utterance and the utterance itself. To merely repeat the situation without re-creating it is almost completely useless. (I say “almost” because some good may be derived from repetition: it may help one’s pronunciation.)
Rote practice gives only the illusion of learning since it does not lead to random commands. Practice in random order, though it may appear to take longer, actually economizes time in the long run and provides the most dependable recall.
Use flashcards
Apply the principle of graduated interval recall: The principle of graduated interval recall says that if you refresh your memory frequently at first, you will need to do so less and less often as time passes.
One of the quickest and surest ways to pick up foreign vocabulary is through reading. There is a richness of association in reading, which aids the memory, and “organic” learning is facilitated by the natural progression of word frequencies.
These patterns of German and French vocabulary point to certain general conclusions about learning vocabulary in the Teutonic and Romance languages: (1) Learn the commonest words first because they will accelerate your guessing power; (2) begin reading as soon as you have learned five hundred to a thousand common words; (3) pick reading material that strongly interests you and continue to learn words following the natural frequencies.
Conclusion
💡Beyond the spoken word
The Silent Language
• Never talk to a Chinese businessman with your hands on your hips. He will think you are angry at him.
• When sitting with Moslems, do not extend the soles of your feet (or shoes) in the direction of others. It is very impolite.
• Latin Americans like to talk up close, about a foot from nose to nose, while any distance less than two feet makes a North American think he is about to be kissed. When talking to a Latin American, you may find yourself backpedaling across the room with him in pursuit.
Letting yourself play the role of a foreigner will improve your performance. It may help you overcome pronunciation problems that had been getting you down before. It will also enliven the class for you. During moments of boredom, you may gradually imagine your new, foreign self in more detail: your job, your family, your boyfriend or girlfriend.