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How to Learn Languages FastWorldwide Multilingual Phrase Book
"Americans are among the busiest people on the planet," says Dondero. "They have little time for long college courses and expensive language learning programs. They just need basic phrases and quick." Dondero's 248-page book contains all the major world languages, including: Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Swahili, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Hebrew and Indonesian. Some exotic languages are also included, such as: Catalan, Serbo-Croatian, Hungarian, Thai, Vietnamese, Tibetan, Kazakh/Uzbek, Farsi, Gujarati and Zulu. But Dondero doesn't just list dry phrases in reference book format. He opens with "How to Learn Languages Fast." He then shares his secrets on accelerated learning methods and immersion techniques. A native-born American, he is fluent in Spanish, Italian, French and Portuguese. He has taught himself over 20 other languages to an intermediate level. He has learned survival skills for another 20 more. He believes that "fluency does not necessarily need to be the goal. Busy travelers most times just need to know how to ask directions to a good restaurant, bar or restroom" says Dondero. "You simply need some pronouns, question words, a few nouns and adjectives, and only the present simple tense for key verbs." Though, the book also contains many colorful phrases for finding a hostel late at night in Switzerland, ordering a drink in Moscow, negotiating with Mama-san in a Filipino brothel, and red light district lingo for Amsterdam. Globetrotters, backpackers and other adventure travelers, will find these "street language" sections especially useful. "Just start speaking" Dondero says. He challenges the language learning establishment who believe that if you don't speak a foreign language perfectly you shouldn't speak it at all. "It's only the French that are real strict in this regard," says Dondero. "Mexicans and others, are real forgiving of Americans who mispronounce their language." Dondero advises travelers to use every spare moment on the way to their destination for language learning, whether by plane, boat, train or the 5-hour car ride from Houston or L.A. to the border with Mexico. One of his hot tips: "Be a maniac with the tapes. Don't just listen to them in your easy chair once a day. Listen to them around the clock in the shower, on the way to work, on the Walkman while doing yard work, and even late at night before you fall asleep." He's also big on cognates, particularly for Spanish, Italian, Germanic languages, and others like Japanese and Filipino that use huge amounts of American words. "Go ahead, throw in as many as you need, particularly with European languages," says Dondero. There's no harm in blurting out, "Perdon, donde esta shopping, por favor." Finally, Dondero, a huge consumer of language-learning materials critiques the best and the worst, and offers an extensive list of excellent on-line language learning sites. *Note - Eric Dondero is a Multilingual Interpreter and Certified Language Instructor who lives in Angleton. He has traveled to over 25 nations worldwide. He is a US Navy Veteran and a graduate in Political Science of Florida State University. He has worked in numerous political campaigns for both Libertarian and Republican candidates nationwide. The book is now available at Amazon.com, in Houston area bookstores and selective bookstores nationwide. Upcoming Book Tour Dates include: Metro- Houston, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Amarillo, Dallas/Ft. Worth, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Colorado. More info: www.portsidelanguages.com. Edited by Dave Shultz |
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TM
Portside
Language Services has just released the "Worldwide Multilingual Phrase Book;
Survival Skills for Over 40 Languages" by Eric Dondero. The pocket-sized
book makes a handy reference for business and pleasure travelers. 