First stop, the Municipal Library
So, we are improving our English or learning a foreign language, right? So our first stop is the library. You will need to find a decent grammar book in the target language and also a variety of relatively short-length reading material in the target language. Both of these resources can be readily available at your local library, and also at little or no cost. With these, you will increase your English or foreign language skills to a substantial degree. The grammar book will be a helpful guide through those sticky points you will encounter when the grammar of the target language differs substantially from English or your mother tongue. But make no mistake, it is not “the bible” and should not be overloaded with grammatical rules and regulations. His grammar book is a handy guide for occasional reference. Use it accordingly.
a structured type
“I’m a very structured type of person, so I definitely needed to have a grammar book to help me with the structure of Dutch and then German, which are very strict in their grammatical rules of application,” adds US expat Kayleigh Garman who now living and teaching English in Istanbul, Turkey. “That also allowed me to continue learning Danish using many of the same methods that I learned from studying and using my other foreign languages.” Kayleigh speaks seven languages now. He should do something right.
Cochimi or Kukapa, anyone?
There is a wide variety of entertainment magazines in most major languages and unless you are learning Cochimi or Kukapa you should eventually be able to find something. Short, breaking articles are best at first. A newspaper, a general interest magazine, the Bible, brochures, flyers and even, oh yes, comics can help you on the road to fluency in your new language.
While you may be able to flip through one or more of these posts in a matter of minutes, your personal satisfaction in doing so will be priceless. Copies of foreign language magazines are available at newsstands, libraries, airline offices, consulates and embassies, bookstores, universities, language institutes, ethnic stores, shops, travel agencies and restaurants, by subscription and online.