| Mario Pei, 1966, Harper & Row, New York, soft cover, ISBN
06-013323-6, 299 pages, 144 mm X 215 mm X 30 mm |
Introduction
Acknowledgements 1 | |
|
Part I - The art of learning languages 4
Amorey
Gethin (AG) and Erik V. Gunnemark (EVG) | 6 |
| Chapter 1 - Basics 1. Who can and who should learn
languages | 7 |
| §1 A' talent for languages' is not so rare as you may think §2
National differences §3 Lack of talent is not inborn; cultural influence are
stronger §4 Think rationally about learning languages §5 Resist bad influence on
your talent, and rely on yourself §6 A very few people may have permanent
difficulties §7 A good memory is not necessary §8 Bilingual people don't have
particularly good memories §9 Connect foreign words to 'things', not to words in
your own language §10 What motives are effective for language learning? The need
for an inquisitive attitude §11 Teaching languages to children is not effective;
adults learn better §12 Language learning should be enjoyed, not imposed §13
Learning a language is observing §14 You must do the work yourself Notes | |
|
| Chapter 2 - Basics 2. Understanding the basic nature of
languages | 17 |
| §15 Languages are translations of 'life', not of other languages
§16 Every language is different and divides the world up differently §17
Prepositions don't fit from one language to another §18 Words in one language do
not usually mean exactly the same as words in another language §19 Whole
expressions, too, are different in different languages §20 Do not learn by
translating into your own language §21 Translation is essential as a practical
instrument for beginners: it is the translation 'mentality' that is dangerous
§22 Translating is not the path to complete and certain understanding §23
Translation diverts your attention to the wrong thing §24 Translating acts as a
barrier to understanding speech §25 Translating can make language learning far
more difficult, sometimes for whole countries §26 Translating may also spoil the
enjoyment §27 Good translators don't translate Note | |
|
| Chapter 3 - Basics 3. Basic practical principles of
learning | 25 |
| §28 When and where you should observe - listening and reading
§29 Try to concentrate on exactly how people say things §30 Observing through
reading §31 Learning how the letters of other languages are pronounced §32 What
you should observe §33 It is important to notice the contexts in which words
are used §34 Different levels of knowledge; active and passive knowledge §35
The importance of organization, independence and self-confidence §36 The need
for concentration, time, repetition and practice §37 More time, and intensive
study, are needed for difficult languages | |
|
| Chapter 4 - Learning and lessons 1. How useful are
teachers? | 32 |
| §38 Languages are learned, not taught §39 Language learning has
not improved §40 Teachers can't do the learning for you §41 What can teachers
do? Explain grammar? §42 Explain words? §43 'Student participation' §44 Lessons
should do what students cannot do by themselves §45 Teachers should answer and
ask questions; they must know how the language works §46 The problem of
exercises §47 Classes take time and effort away from learning §48 The need for a
completely new sort of language lesson §49 We need language guides, not
teachers §50 Co-operative language guides §51 How to ask questions Notes | |
|
| Chapter 5 - Learning and lessons 2.With or without lessons | 42 |
| §52 AG's experience of learning languages without lessons §53
How eagerness produced the methods for getting on with the 'real thing' with
the minimum of fuss §54 Deciding whether to take lessons 155 Find out about the
lessons before signing up §56 Lessons to help you pass exams §57 Intensive
courses. Are they worthwhile? §58 Choosing and preparing for an intensive
course; follow-up §59 Trial lessons §60 Studying abroad: plan and prepare in
advance §61 Studying abroad: go on a course or study on your own? §62 Two other
good reasons for taking lessons §63 Working and learning as an au pair §64
Language laboratories §65 Computer assisted language learning §66 Al1 the things
you can do on your own Note | |
|
| Chapter 6 - Pronunciation | 57 |
| §67 It is important to aim at a reasonable accent from the
beginning §68 'Good enough' pronunciation §69 The realities of learning
pronunciation §70 Do not study the phonetics, but pay attention to the
particular sounds of each language §71 The international phonetic alphabet §72
The problems of pronunciation are mainly psychological; the key is listening §73
The temptation to pronounce what you see, not what you hear §74 Listening too
much to yourself instead of to native speakers §75 Self-consciousness §76
Imitating for fun §77 Psychological mysteries §78 Becoming less mentally
flexible §79 Being careless or lazy §80 A physical difficulty §81 Finding out,
listening and imitating - and being eager §82 Be determined that you can and
will get it right §83 Intonation §84 What you need for a good accent §85 What to
listen to - radio, television, tapes §86 Listen directly to your own voice, not
to tapes of it §87 Which accent? 188 Two equally good approaches to
pronunciation Notes | |
|
| Chapter 7 - Vocabulary 1. Principles and erst steps | 72 |
§89 What words do you need to know? §90 Active be and passive
vocabulary, and transparent vocabulary 191 Transparency can be different to
different people §92 Being selective is half
the secret §93 The basic
vocabulary §94 One has to crawl before one can walk: the 'active minimum' §95
Concentrate on central words! §96 Don't learn unnecessary synonyms §97 Don't
bother about marginal 'interest' words in the beginning §98 Important central
'interest' words §99 Confidence comes from knowing common phrases ell §00 The
most important phrases first! §11 Learn one-word phrases before longer phrases
§102 Complete question phrases, and longer phrases §103 Idioms, sayings and
proverbs §104 Don't waste energy and time on fancy phrases §105 Two ways of
learning the basic vocabulary §106 Remembering words and phrases - the basis of
language learning §107 The best 'surroundings' and contexts for learning §108
Learning on the basis of one's own language §109 Practicalities, including
constant attention to the problem §110 Organizing the words and phrases §111
Learn words with other words §112 Use both your aural and your visual memory
when you learn phrases §113 Learn 'ensemble' languages in sentences - not word
by word §114 Becoming independent of one's own language Notes | |
|
| Chapter 8 - Vocabulary 2. How to learn many words | 88 |
| §115 After the basic words be greedy for new words §116 You need
the vocabulary you need! §117 Dictionaries - too often the great enemies of
word-learning §118 What words are and what they are not §119 The great blessing
of being a grown-up §120 See and hear as many words as you can; learn true
meanings in 'living' contexts: newspapers, magazines, books, the radio §121
Learning the words of our own language §122 Learning meanings from context §123
Imagine blanks in the text §124 Two sorts of context §125 Favourite words §126
The disadvantage of being an adult §127 Memory aids §128 The dangers of the =
sign §129 Prepositions §130 More haste, less speed §131 AG's personal failure
and success at learning vocabulary §132 Notes and lists §133 Concentrate on one
meaning at a time Note | |
|
| Chapter 9 - Vocabulary 3. Dictionaries | 99 |
| §134 Choosing a dictionary §135 Good and bad dictionaries §136
Dictionaries - which way round? §137 Dictionaries and translation §138
Monolingual or bilingual dictionaries? §139 There are very few true synonyms
§140 How monolingual dictionaries mislead §141 The temptation to resist new
words §142 The trap of thesauruses §143 The trouble with definitions §144 The
false logic of monolingual dictionaries §145 How to use bilingual dictionaries
Notes | |
|
| Chapter 10 - Grammar | 108 |
§146 What grammar is - don't be frightened of it! §147 The small
part of grammar that is not meaning §148 What grammatical logic is and isn't
§149 There is no clear distinction between grammar and vocabulary §150 How
important is grammar? §151 Learning grammar: EVG'S approach §152 Learning
grammar: AG's approach §153 Indexes are essential in grammar or course books
§154 The weaknesses of courses §155 False and real tests of progress §156 The
need for general exercises §157 Doing exercises §158 Observe grammar in action!
§159 Making the grammar a natural part of you §160 Mistakes in books on grammar
§161 Missing the essence of grammar §162 Study the special characteristics of
each particular foreign grammar §163 Grammar examples §164 Planning the grammar
of what you say in advance §165 Making your own grammar charts §166 Using other
systematic arrangements of grammar Notes | |
|
| Chapter 11 - Reading to observe | 126 |
§167 Intensive reading §168 A sample passage for intensive reading
§169 A test on how well you observed the passage §170 What you could learn from
the passage §171 Work you can do yourself, with anything written, at any time
§172 Learn the technique you can
apply indefinitely §173 Useful material for
intensive reading §174 Ask questions about what you read! §175 The answers to
the questions in §169 §176 Observing with the help of computers §177 Parallel
texts are useful for beginners | |
|
| Chapter 12 - Reading, listening, spewing and writing | 137 |
§178 Words are tie foundation of knowing languages §179 Being able
to read is most useful linguistic skill for most people §180 Stop 'crawling' if
you can 'walk' §181 Fiction or non-fiction? §182 Three essentials for making
progress with your reading §183 Listening
§184 'lt is easy to speak but
difficult to understand' - the ears must mature §185 Lip-reading; telephone
conversations §186 Grammar and listening can help each other §187 Stay at home
to learn what to speak; go out to practise speaking §188 Adapt what you say to
your vocabulary! §189 Writing - the extended arm of speech §190 It can take a
long time to learn to write a foreign language §191 Always think carefully about
your writing; don't repeat mistakes §192 Keep all your old written work - for
you and for your language guide Notes | |
|
| Chapter 13 - Mistakes | 148 |
| §193 How important are mistakes? §194 Grammar mistakes §195 The
importance of mistakes varies according to your purpose §196 Decide not to make
mistakes §197 The problem is remembering the problem §198 Make a note of your
'favourite' mistakes §199 Can one avoid making mistakes even if one does not
have a teacher or guide to help one? §200 Being corrected when you speak §201
Being corrected when you write §202 Choosing the right person to correct your
mistakes §203 How much should a corrector correct? §204 How conscientious is the
correcting? §205 Correcting mistakes is very boring §206 Possible correcting
methods: by private teacher §207 Corrections need in the end to be in your head,
not on pieces of paper! §208 Possible correcting methods: by computer Notes | |
|
| Chapter 14 - A summary of practical principles of good language
learning | 158 |
| §209 The foundations of foreign-language learning §210 Good
attitudes to learning languages §211 The art of NOT learning languages | |
|
Part II - Facts about languages
Erik M Gunnemark | 160 |
| Chapter 15 - The world's most important languages | 161 |
| §212 The 'big' languages §213 English, German and French | |
|
| Chapter 16 - How many words are there? | 163 |
| §214 The numbers of words in modern languages; compound words
§215 Ancient vocabularies §216 Active vocabularies in dialects §217
Polysynthetic and agglutinative languages | |
|
| Chapter 17 - Transparent languages | 165 |
| §218 What we mean by 'transparent words' §219 Transparency as an
aid to reading and speaking §220 Some examples of transparent words §221
'Transparent' speech §222 More patterns linking languages §223 Examples of the
degrees of transparency between various languages §224 Stepping-stone languages
§225 Lists of non-transparent words Note | |
|
| Chapter 18 - International and puristic words | 172 |
| §226 International words §227 How many words are 'international'
§228 All is not 'international' that looks it §229 Loan words from eastern
languages §230 The international word ''hooligan'' §231 Puristic words instead
of international words §232 Free entry for foreign words into English §233
German is no longer puristic §234 Purism in the Slavonic languages §235 Modern
Greek is puristic but at the same time international §236 Four examples of
Finnish and icelandic purism §237 International and puristic names of the
months | |
|
| Chapter 19 - False friends and unreliable friends | 177 |
| §238 False friends §239 Unreliable friends | |
|
| Chapter 20 - Easy and difficult languages | 180 |
| §240 What makes a language difficult §241 Judging whether a
language is easy or difficult §242 Which are the difficult languages? §243 Easy
and difficult words to learn: the importance of spelling §244 Long words | |
|
| Chapter 21 - How long does it take to learn a language? | 183 |
| §245 How long depends on organization and concentration and on
how difficult §246 Ignorance and wishful thinking §247 Minimum times §248 How
many words can one learn per week? §249 How many hours of study: rules of
thumb | |
|
| Chapter 22 - How many words does one need to know? | 186 |
| §250 The percentage of the total spoken and total written
vocabulary of a language that is made up of a given number of words §251 From
500 to 100,000 words - different vocabularies for different needs §252 Basic
word lists; subjectivity §253 The Dutch basic word list | |
|
| Chapter 23 - Languages with difficult pronunciation | 189 |
| §254 The pronunciation is often easier than you may think §255
Spelling and pronunciation in English | |
|
| Chapter 24 - Features of grammar | 191 |
| §256 Accidence and syntax §257 Languages with easy or difficult
grammar Note | |
|
| Chapter 25 - Alphabets | 193 |
| §258 Unfamiliar alphabets - how difficult are they? | |
