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left hand margin of whatever confuses you。 That paragraph will never change。 The
grammatical point that the confusing paragraph seeks to make will remain as immutable
as Gibraltar until your mind decides to open up to it。 Comprehension frequently clicks on
like a light switch。 No rush。
Try to summarise what you don’t understand。 Pretend you’re writing a letter to your
aunt complaining about this ridiculous new language you’re trying to learn and； using as
few words as possible； encapsulate your confusion in writing。 Take that note and put it in
a Sturdikleer holder and carry it with you in your pocket or bag。 Get into the habit of
writing down everything that confuses with you and carrying it with you。 You will try to
find informants or mentors – either native speakers or others who’ve learned your target
language well enough to answer your questions。 Befriend the Korean grocer； the Italian
waiter； the Albanian at the pizzaria； your dentist’s Romanian secretary。 You don’t need
such people； but they’re extremely helpful and easier to locate than you might think； and
getting easier all the time as America becomes an international mixture of peoples。 Your
informants will usually love being asked to help you learn their language。
Let’s suppose you’ve stubbed your venturesome toe on paragraph one or two or
three or whichever； and no comprehension clicks on。 At this point you must consciously
overturn the rules of misdirected American language teaching and do something radical。
You must wave goodbye to your unsolved puzzle and keep moving ahead。
If you don’t understand it； skip it for the time being。 Chances are excellent your
confusion will clear itself up as you progress through more and more concepts that you
do understand。 You will have the pleasure of looking back on earlier lesssons in the
grammar； seeing your wavy pencil lines beside a now clear paragraph； and saying to
yourself； “How could I have ever been derailed by this？” It’s fun erasing those wavy
lines！
Continue through five lessons of the grammar before you so much as glance at any
of your other tools。 Leave the cassettes wrapped in their packaging。 Don’t be tempted to
look at the newspaper or magazine in your target language。 The more of a language lover
you are； the tougher it will be。 Plodding through grammar while friendly cassettes and
real life newspapers await will make you feel like a child who has to finish his homework
before he runs out and plays baseball。 And that’s exactly the point。 You are a child in
that new language； and like all children； you have to learn to put first things first。
Grammar comes first。 Build a little character by slogging through five chapters of it。 You
will build up a head of steam that will send you charging headlong into more pleasant
terrain。
Cassettes； newspapers； flash cards； and phrase books will cut the boredom out of
waiting for buses and replace it with growth in another language； these will be your
reward after you make an honest beginning in the grammar。 Sustain your spirit during the
grammar study by reminding yourself how soon you’re going to be allowed to go out and
“play。”
Into the Real World
When you’ve served out your sentence of five lessons of grammar； spread out all your
other tools （you should regard them as “toys”） and prepare to use them all
simultaneously。
Take the newspaper or magazine。 Go to the upper left hand corner of page one。 （In
languages like Arabic and Hebrew； that will be the upper right hand corner of the “back”
page； which is their front。） That article is your assignment。 It will easily be the toughest
newspaper article you’ve ever read。 And it will just as certainly do you more good than
any other。
Take your highlighter and highlight all the words you don’t know in the first
paragraph。 You may very well end up with a coloured line through every single word in
that paragraph。 After all； this is no schoolhouse text that dips to your beginner’s level。
This is as real life and real world as an exercise can get。 And all you’ve had so far is five
lessons of elementary grammar。 Never mind。 Play the game and dutifully mark through
every word you don’t know； even if it be every last word in that first paragraph！
Then reach for your dictionary and your blank flash cards。 Go to the first word and
look it up。 One of four things will happen： （1） You’ll find the word exactly as it appears
in the newspaper。 （2） You’ll find a word that starts out the same but seems to go haywire
halfway through or at the end。 （3） The word will not be in your dictionary （even though
you gave that dictionary a “sophistication” test before you bought it。） （4） You will think
that word is not in the dictionary because the word has done crazy things with itself。 It’s
altogether possible； owing to rules of that language you haven’t learned yet； that the role
of the word as it appears in the newspaper demands it be written differently from the base
form； which is the one listed in the dictionary。 （The word vaya in Spanish； for example；
won’t be in the dictionary。 It’s the singular imperative form of the verb ir meaning “to
go。”）
In case 1； the word is in the dictionary spelled exactly the way it is in your
newspaper （from now on we’ll say “text” – it could be a magazine or even a book）。 Take
a blank flash card and write the English on one side； then flip it over and write the
foreign word on the other。 Write in block letters so your flash cards will always be easy
to read。 I hesitate to labour the procedure for making your own flash cards。 There is a
preferred procedure； however； and I herewith present it in case you don’t already know it。
Single words and entire phrases are best handled differently。 When you write
individual words on your flash card； you only need a “short runway；” so treat the card in
its “tall” （vertical） form rather than its “fat” （horizontal） form and enter your words one
under the other down the length of the card。 Write the English word across the
“forehead” of the card； then flip it； not sideways； but head over heels； and write the
foreign word across the opposite forehead。
Then turn the card back over to the English side and write your next word directly
underneath； turn it over and write in the foreign word； and keep repeating until the card is
filled。 That head over heels lengthwise flip makes the card easier to manipulate in a
crowded bus or elevator and less likely to fall out of your hand。
When you graduate to writing entire phrases on your blank flash cards； it’s
obviously better to treat the card in its fat form。 Continue to flip head over heels。
Now； case 2： You find a word in the dictionary that seems as though it’s trying to
be the word in your text but it falls off track： the ending changes spelling。 You’ve
probably found your base word； all right； but the word in the text； for reasons you don’t
yet comprehend； has taken another form。 Is it