Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It

by Gabriel Wyner

The key is relevance. If you see something as useful, then it’s worth learning. If not, then not. In Appendix 4, I give you a decoder for the entire IPA, but if your favorite textbook or dictionary doesn’t use IPA symbols, then don’t memorize IPA symbols (just use them for a reference).16 If you know how to pronounce “ee” already (and you do), then you don’t need to worry about the location of your tongue. On the other hand, if a sound seems foreign and difficult, then go nuts. Learn everything. Learn its spellings, its behavior in your mouth, its relationship to the other sounds you already know. See how your textbook or dictionary notates it. Find some example words. Do whatever you can; the more you do, the less work it will be. It’s magic.