how to learn any language-第11章
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language learning materials。 Don’t settle for one where the clerk is not sure but says；
“We might have something in French and Spanish over in ‘Language。’”
BASIC TEXTBOOK
Find a basic book （textbook； workbook） that gives you a good grounding in the grammar
of the language。 Never mind if it seems to give you grammar and little else。 Never mind
if it reminds you of the books that depressed you back in high school and college。 We’ll
find all the excitement – reading and conversation – elsewhere。 Grammar is all you need
from this one。
DICTIONARY
Most language dictionaries are two way： English…French （or whatever） and French…
English。 Make sure the dictionary you buy at least lives up to that。 （I have walked out of
bookstores with dictionaries I assumed were two way that turned out to be only one way；
and the way I wasn’t looking for！）
A lot of dictionaries are infuriatingly inadequate。 They don’t even have words like
negotiate and proprietor。 Spend a little time making sure you’re getting something
substantial。 It’s a good idea to look through a newspaper and make a list of some of the
more complicated words in the news columns。 Those are the words you’ll soon be
looking up。 Does that dictionary have them？ Price； colour； and the neatness with which
the dictionary fits into your pocket； brief case； or handbag are a lot less important than
finding a dictionary that can deliver。
PHRASE BOOK
Buy a phrase book for travellers。 Berlitz publishes a series in eighteen languages； and
others keep popping up in bookstores and the racks of airport newsstands。 They’re
inexpensive and easy to use。 These books； smaller than a piece of toast； offer little or no
grammar； but they bristle with practical words and phrases； listing the English followed
by the foreign language and then a transliteration that guides the rankest beginner to an
understandable； usually a creditable； pronunciation。
Don’t be put off by the na。veté； inexpensiveness； superficiality； and comparative
weightlessness of these travellers’ phrase books when laid alongside your impressive
dictionary and your complex grammar book。 Good zoos need hummingbirds as well as
elephants。
NEWSPAPER OR MAGAZINE
Find a newspaper or magazine in your target language。 Most big cities have newsstands
where you can buy publications in a dazzling variety of different languages。 Otherwise；
call the nearest consulate or embassy of the country whose language you’re out to learn。
Usually they’re proud and pleased to help you。 If you have a choice； go for a publication
from that country itself； rather than one published by immigrants from that country in
America。 Certainly no foreign language publication printed in America is likely to
contain language more authentic than publications printed in the home country； and it
may very well be less authentic。
A friend of mine who set out to learn French immediately bought a subscription to
Le Monde； a popular Paris daily。 That’s overkill。 If he were to learn every word in any
one issue of Le Monde； it would be “mission accomplished。” One issue of one
publication in your target language at this point is all you need。
STUDENT READER
It may be difficult； but if possible see if you can locate a schoolbook or some reading
material from the country at about a sixth grade level。 Such books are obviously excellent
bridges from the rudiments to the real world。 If you can’t find one； never mind。 Your
newspaper or magazine will seem elementary to you soon enough。
PORTABLE TAPE PLAYER
The invention of the handy portable cassette tape player catapults language learners from
the ox cart to the supersonic jet。 You can now inhale a foreign language through your
ears。 “You can’t expect me to do two things at once！” is a bygone complaint。 Listening to
foreign language cassettes as you go about your daily deeds is a high form of doing two
things at once。
The Walkman （or any such tape player） is an electronic can opener for whatever
language you’re learning。 Formerly we had to chew through the tin。
CASSETTE COURSES
There are many cassette courses in many foreign languages。 They range from “travel”
cassettes； really simple tourist phrase books set to sound and costing between ten and
twenty dollars； clear up to multicassette study courses that carry the student into
advanced levels and cost between one and two hundred dollars； or more。
Don’t dismiss the least expensive ones as “superficial little travel cassettes。” If you
master every word； every phrase； every pronunciation； and every grammatical point
contained in even the simplest of those cassettes； you can consider yourself advanced。
There are basically four kinds of cassettes for the study of foreign languages。 We’ll
call them flat single rep； flat double rep； formatted； and cultural。
The flat single rep cassettes； usually the least expensive； give you the English word
or phrase followed by the foreign equivalent uttered only one time。
The flat double rep cassettes are the same； except the foreign phrase is repeated
twice。 （When you begin making your own study cassettes； you’ll repeat the foreign piece
three times。）
The formatted cassette puts theories of instruction into practice and follows systems
that some highly successful language teachers have found effective。 For example the
Pimsleur method； named after the late Dr。 Paul Pimsleur； takes the student by the ear and
guides him through the language as though it were a Disneyland exhibit。 Unfortunately
Dr。 Pimsleur died before he could personally develop courses in a large variety of
languages to advanced levels。 His techniques； however； are being applied to more
courses in more languages by Dr。 Charles A。 S。 Heinle of the Cassette Learning Centre in
Concord； Massachusetts。
The Pimsleur method provides the best minute by minute “learning through
listening；” thanks to several strokes of Dr。 Pimsleur’s innovative genius。
First of all； you become a participant。 Pimsleur doesn’t let you merely listen in
hopes your lazy mind will help itself to some of the new words being offered on the
smorgasbord。 After five minutes with any Pimsleur course you will always harbour a
certain disdain for all cassette courses that merely give you a voice saying something in
English followed by the equivalent in the target language。 Pimsleur pricks your
wandering mind to attention by asking； for example； “Do you remember the Greek word
for ‘wine’？”
Theoretically； that little trick shouldn’t make a spectacular difference。 After all； you
bought the course。 You want to learn the language。 Why should the teacher on cassette
have to find ways to constantly recover your attention？ The unfortunate truth is that the
average mind plays hooky whenever possible。 The difference between Pimsleur asking；
“Do you remember the Greek word for ‘wine’？” and a voice simply saying “wine” is； as
Mark Twain once put it； “the difference between lightning and the lightning bug！”
Nor does Pimsleur always settle for the simple verbal prompt。 A typical Pimsleur
tactic is to demand； “You accidentally bump into a man getting on the bus。 What do you
say？” That ingrains the foreign phrases for “excuse me” far more than a rote recitation of
the words themselves。
Pimsleur’s “graduated interval recall” achieves what I call the “pinball effect。”
When the steel ball in the pinball machine nears the bottom； you can manipulate the
flippers to catch the ball and send it all the way back to the top again。 Likewise； at the
very instant when your mind is about to let a new word or phrase “fall to the bottom”；
Pimsleur zings it in again； sending it back to the top of your awareness。 This time it
doesn’t sink so fast。 When it does； Pimsleur hits it again。
Pimsleur gives you a pause on the cassette after each question he asks yo
