Speak Like a Native: Professional Secrets for Mastering Foreign Languages

This is a distillation of the techniques and strategies used by the author and other professional linguists from the Defense Language Institute, State Department, CIA, NSA and other government agencies. It includes the 10 rules for establishing and achieving your goals, the author's unique 12-step process for accelerating your learning and 50 proven tips favored by the pros. This instruction program will allow you to speak any language like a native.

Table of Contents:
Introduction - 1 PART 1: GETTING ORGANIZED - 7 Rule 1: Learn your own language well before you attempt to learn someone else's. Rule 2: You only get out what you put in Rule 3: Success is determined by the goals you set. Rule 4: Communication is always the ultimate goal of applied language study. Rule 5: Prioritize your goals in a flexible format and be ready to add, remove, or reorganize them to suit the characteristics of your target language. Rule 6: All languages are not created equal Rule 7: In addition to researching your language, research its dialects and try to identify materials that focus on the dialect(s) most relevant to your needs Rule 8: There is no substitute for quality study materials Rule 9: To achieve your personal goals, you need to create a customized language curriculum. Rule 10: No language is too difficult or too complicated for you to learn. PART 2: DEVELOPING A PLAN - 21 Step 1: Decide on your specific goals and determine how and under what circumstances you will use your language skills Step 2: Research your language to become familiar with its overall organization, structure, and writing system Step 3: Visit your local library and become familiar with the types of materials available on your target language. If you plan on buying language study materials, visit local bookstores, including university bookstores, and see what types of materials are available there and at what cost. Step 4: In examining the study materials available to you, pay close attention to the phonetic system used to teach the language. If the writing system of your target language is not a convenient and easily learned phonetic system, the study materials will probably use one or more romanization systems to teach pronunciation. Become familiar with these, try to determine if there is a popular standard, and make the decision to stick with a specific system. Step 5: Identify other unique aspects of your target language and assess the challenges they will present to your learning it. Step 6: Based on your initial research and your now deeper understanding of your target language, reassess your goals and add, delete, or reprioritize as necessary. Step 7:Compare the English content of the various study materials you've found with your goals and select the materials that best represent the types of topics you'd like to focus on Step 8: Purchase all the administrative supplies you'll need to support your study efforts and keep them organized. Step 9: Learn the phonetic system of your target language and, if necessary, an associated romanization system. Step 10: Identify characteristics and nuances of your target language that are critical to its structure and use and get these concepts clear in your head. Step 11: Using your personalized, prioritized list of goals and objectives, begin your study of the language. Step 12: After a few study sessions, and after gaining a deeper understanding of your target language, reassess your goals and adjust accordingly. PART 3: STRATEGIES AND TIPS FOR OPTIMIZING YOUR LANGUAGE STUDY - 53 General Study Strategies Surrounding Yourself with Language Accelerating Your Language Study with Culture Using Your Language in a Foreign Country Mastering the Written Form of Your Language Advanced Study Concepts and Strategies

About the Author :
Michael D. Janich is a two-time graduate with honors from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) in Monterey, California. After completing its basic one-year course in Chinese-Mandarin, he completed intermediate and advanced Chinese training through the National Security Agency, where he served as a political-military intelligence analyst and translator. During his second period of study at DLIFLC, he learned Vietnamese. He then worked as a POW/MIA Investigation Team Leader and an intelligence officer and served as interpreter for official negotiations between the U.S. and Vietnamese delegations.