Have you ever wished you could speak a foreign language? Maybe you’ve already tried but didn’t manage to stick at it. Or maybe you already speak one or more foreign languages and need to learn another for your job or a gap year. Or perhaps you’re simply interested in language learning as a hobby – a wonderful one at any time of life.
The book shows you in plain terms that anyone anywhere can learn a foreign language. It gives clear guidance and many practical tips on how to go about language learning, showing you how to set clear aims and stick at it, using a wide range of resources and motivating suggestions. Each of the book’s 100+ tips includes one or more activities to help you apply that tip in your own language learning context.
An ideal practical introduction for even the most reluctant language learner and a perfect practical guide for language learners at all levels. A great piece of work. DAVID CRYSTAL, author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
Research has shown that the best language learners are those that use the best learning strategies. This book – which contains a whole range of very useful strategies - is therefore ideal for preparing you for learning a language or improving your language learning strategies even if you are already an experienced language learner. A few hours reading this book or dipping into it from time to time will save you many more hours, because your learning will be more efficient and effective. I thoroughly recommend this book to all language learners, novice or experienced. JOHN FLOWERDEW, Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Lancaster and Birkbeck University of London
Whether you are starting to learn or teach a second or foreign language, or want to improve your existing skills, this remarkable, accessible book will be really useful. The two authors, experienced and qualified language teachers, have managed to combine theoretical insights with practicality to provide a vast amount of guidance in ten informative and entertaining chapters, covering a variety of topics dealing with the social, linguistic and cultural aspects of learning a language. Each chapter is divided into manageable chunks of two or three pages each, suitable for dipping into whether at home or on the move, each chunk consisting of a brief explanation followed by an ‘over to you’ section, where you are invited to complete short, practical tasks. Congratulations to the authors for producing such an attractive and relevant compendium of ideas! PROFESSOR CHRIS KENNEDY, University of Birmingham
This is an immensely practical and helpful set of tips and guidelines for anyone taking on the challenge of learning a new language. MICHAEL MCCARTHY, Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Nottingham
This book covers an impressive range of key ideas in the area of language learning; from understanding what it means to ‘know’ a word, to the role of reading in expanding language knowledge, to the connection between language and culture. Whatever their language-learning aims, it’s bound to provide numerous “light-bulb moments” for any learner to help them along their language learning journey. JULIE MOORE, lexicographer and author of ETpedia Vocabulary
This book is deeply expert, interesting, clear, comprehensive and completely relevant to all kinds of learners in all kinds of situations. Work your way through its full menu of ten sections or graze it like a you’ll enjoy the ways it helps you to learn more and better. RUSSELL WHITEHEAD, Russell Whitehead, Managing Director, Language Testing 123