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The best technique to learn a language, is to completely immerse yourself in the culture. Even if you are not able to travel to the homeland of the language. The resources that are available are mind boggling.

With the advent of the internet and the desire for cultures to "connect", learning a foreign language is becoming ever simpler, and cheaper too. Globalization aids in this to some extent, however it is the peoples desire to communicate with each other that drives the availability of programs such as Rosetta Stone, The Invisible Language, Google's Translator, and many more.

I can speak, read, and write English, German, French, Spanish, and some Italian. My goal is to be fluent in as many languages and be familiar with as many cultures as is possible within the short term of life. This stems from a love of languages. I love programming for the same reason. Learning to program in C, C++, java, javascript, visual basic, cold-fusion, css, html, are all similar in function. They are a way of communicating with something.

The first thing a person should do is purchase a book on the language in question. Then make flash cards, label items in your home, speak constantly within the language, change the language of your desktop, obtain a pen-pal, and converse with people from the culture. I don't recommend this but it has been done, make a wrong number call to the country in question and talk. If they hang up immediately, try somewhere else. That method is comical and, as previously mentioned, ill advised.

The essence of the language relies on understanding the culture where it is primarily used. Do not try to learn a language without learning the culture. Otherwise, your lessons will be distilled and your pronunciations will be incorrect. Try also to learn the hip idioms, slang, and proper way to address elders. That sounds funny, but it is paramount to gaining fluency.

Learn more about this author, Jeremy Robertsen.
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