how to learn any language-第14章
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its “tall” （vertical） form rather than its “fat” （horizontal） form and enter your words one
under the other down the length of the card。 Write the English word across the
“forehead” of the card； then flip it； not sideways； but head over heels； and write the
foreign word across the opposite forehead。
Then turn the card back over to the English side and write your next word directly
underneath； turn it over and write in the foreign word； and keep repeating until the card is
filled。 That head over heels lengthwise flip makes the card easier to manipulate in a
crowded bus or elevator and less likely to fall out of your hand。
When you graduate to writing entire phrases on your blank flash cards； it’s
obviously better to treat the card in its fat form。 Continue to flip head over heels。
Now； case 2： You find a word in the dictionary that seems as though it’s trying to
be the word in your text but it falls off track： the ending changes spelling。 You’ve
probably found your base word； all right； but the word in the text； for reasons you don’t
yet comprehend； has taken another form。 Is it a verb？ Then the dictionary will give you
the infinitive form （to be； to do； etc。）； whereas the form in your text could be one of many
variations； depending on person； number； tense； or； in some languages； aspect。
If that riff of grammatical terms makes you feel like I felt on my fifth day of Latin
class； fear not。 Language teachers would prefer to assume that such grammatical jargon is
familiar to every graduate of an American high school English class。 Alas； that
assumption is grossly misguided。 But help is here。 The “Back to Basics” chapter later in
this book will explain all necessary grammatical terms in friendly； nonthreatening
language that requires no prior understanding of grammar。
Write the base form – the dictionary form； that is – on your flash card and try to
decipher the meaning of the text with that base form as a clue。
If the meaning is clear； don’t worry yet about why the word in the text differs from
the base form。 Part of the fun of this process is having that knowledge surrender itself to
you as you proceed through your grammar book。 If the meaning is not clear； make a
“question card；” spelling the confusing word the way it appears in the text。 Keep your
Sturdikleer with question cards with you at all times。 When you meet your informant； or
anybody who can explain your confusion away； pull out the question card and your
miasma of confusion will become windshield wiper clear。
List no more than six unknown words per flash card。 Don’t clutter the card。 It’s a
good idea to draw a line under both the English and the foreign word； giving each entry
its own “cubicle” on the card。 Also； check carefully to make sure you don’t omit either
the English or the foreign word； giving you a situation in which English word number
three on the card fails to correspond to foreign word number three。 （I once went around
for almost a year thinking the Russian word for “prince” meant “raspberry jam”！）
In cases 3 and 4； either the word’s not in the dictionary or it’s not there in any form
recognisable to you。 Enter the word on a question card。
You may have four or five complete cards； eighteen or twenty words defined and
ready to be learned； from the first paragraph in your text alone。 Put those cards in clear
plastic and carry them with you at all times。 Don’t mix them up with the question cards。
Keep them separate。 The cards with the dictionary forms of the foreign words from the
text you didn’t know； with their English equivalents on the reverse side； are the
beginning of your collection of linguistic growth protein。
Advance！
Now you’re ready for paragraph two。 Between paragraphs one and two； you’ve been
glancing at those flash cards during your hidden moments – waiting in line； on elevators；
etc。 With highlighter poised like a sword； you now sally forth into the second paragraph。
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
