NATIONAL BESTSELLER • For anyone who wants to learn a foreign language, this is the method that will finally make the words stick. “A brilliant and thoroughly modern guide to learning new languages.”—Gary Marcus, cognitive psychologist and author of the New York Times bestseller Guitar Zero At thirty years old, Gabriel Wyner speaks six languages fluently. He didn’t learn them in school—who does? Rather, he learned them in the past few years, working on his own and practicing on the subway, using simple techniques and free online resources—and here he wants to show others what he’s discovered. Starting with pronunciation, you’ll learn how to rewire your ears and turn foreign sounds into familiar sounds. You’ll retrain your tongue to produce those sounds accurately, using tricks from opera singers and actors. Next, you’ll begin to tackle words, and connect sounds and spellings to imagery rather than translations, which will enable you to think in a foreign language. And with the help of sophisticated spaced-repetition techniques, you’ll be able to memorize hundreds of words a month in minutes every day. This is brain hacking at its most exciting, taking what we know about neuroscience and linguistics and using it to create the most efficient and enjoyable way to learn a foreign language in the spare minutes of your day.

This book is a study companion written in plain English, which explains the things that you need to know to be successful in learning Portuguese. No prior grammatical knowledge is assumed, and technical terms are explained clearly and progressively. Exercises are provided to help you consolidate what you have learned and build your Portuguese vocabulary. Although the main focus is on European Portuguese, Brazilian alternatives are also given. Among the many things covered in this book: How do you pronounce words in Portuguese? What do all those funny little squiggles mean? What exactly are verbs, adjectives, prepositions, and pronouns? How do you know when to use 'ser' and when to use 'estar'? How do you use the personal infinitive? How does the subjunctive work? If you don't know your diacritic from your diphthong, you've come to the right place!

The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey. It is now a cliché that the world is a smaller place. We think nothing of jumping on a plane to travel to another country or continent. The most exotic locations are now destinations for mass tourism. Small business people are dealing across frontiers and language barriers like never before. The Internet brings different languages and cultures to our finger-tips. English, the hybrid language of an island at the western extremity of Europe seems to have an unrivalled position as an international medium of communication. But historically periods of cultural and economic domination have never lasted forever. Do we not lose something by relying on the wide spread use of English rather than discovering other languages and cultures? As citizens of this shrunken world, would we not be better off if we were able to speak a few languages other than our own? The answer is obviously yes. Certainly Steve Kaufmann thinks so, and in his busy life as a diplomat and businessman he managed to learn to speak nine languages fluently and observe first hand some of the dominant cultures of Europe and Asia. Why do not more people do the same? In his book The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey, Steve offers some answers. Steve feels anyone can learn a language if they want to. He points out some of the obstacles that hold people back. Drawing on his adventures in Europe and Asia, as a student and businessman, he describes the rewards that come from knowing languages. He relates his evolution as a language learner, abroad and back in his native Canada and explains the kind of attitude that will enable others to achieve second language fluency. Many people have taken on the challenge of language learning but have been frustrated by their lack of success. This book offers detailed advice on the kind of study practices that will achieve language breakthroughs. Steve has developed a language learning system available online at: www.thelinguist.com.

Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar Workbook is an innovative book of exercises and language tasks for all learners of Brazilian Portuguese, ideal for use alongside the Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar or as an independent resource. The book is divided into two sections. Part A provides exercises based on essential grammatical structures whilst Part B practises everyday functions, including making social contact, asking questions and expressing needs. This third edition offers a greater variety of exercises, including exercises designed to practice concepts introduced in the "Notes for Spanish Speakers" sections of the Grammar. Exercises from the second edition have also been revised and expanded upon and a comprehensive answer key at the back of the book enables you to check on your progress. The Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar Workbook is ideal for all learners who have a basic knowledge of Brazilian Portuguese, including undergraduates taking Brazilian Portuguese as a major or minor part of their studies, as well as intermediate and advanced school, adult education and self-study students.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1869.

Here is an informative introduction to language: its origins in the past, its growth through history, and its present use for communication between peoples. It is at the same time a history of language, a guide to foreign tongues, and a method for learning them. It shows, through basic vocabularies, family resemblances of languages -- Teutonic, Romance, Greek -- helpful tricks of translation, key combinations of roots and phonetic patterns. It presents by common-sense methods the most helpful approach to the mastery of many languages; it condenses vocabulary to a minimum of essential words; it simplifies grammar in an entirely new way; and it teaches a language as it is actually used in everyday life.