The essential first thing you must learn when studying a foreign language

I listened attentively as one of my students completed the remaining sentence of the Diglot-Weave Narrative.

''For le reste de la competition, Je couldn't get out of my mind l'image de la belle patineuse en robe bleue avec le shiny ruban dore dans les cheveux."

All the remaining students on the French course I was teaching had read the Diglot Weave Story perfectly.I paused, my head pointing towards the floor for what must have been five minutes.

"What's wrong sir? One of my students asked?"

I think a tear or two did escape my eyes.Tears of joy. For it was their first readings in French.Yet they had read the French words in the story perfectly. I must admit to you that I was quite surprised by this outcome.It proved that what I had taught in this short teaching module was correct.It also proved the diglot-weave narratives to be, what I believe the best approach ever created for reading a new language.

I will explain more about the great Diglot-Weave Narratives next time. But first -- the essential key to rapid language learning.

How were my students able to read French perfectly on their first attempt? They had already been programed to read without knowing it. How? Here's the secret.

The Alphabet = the essential short cut to fast language learning.

The majority of language courses jump you straight into reading a new language immediately.Their courses create scenarios which they think you will most likely meet when in a foreign country.Examples include, booking a reservation at a hotel, ordering a meal etc.Then they choose the most appropriate model sentences for you to learn by heart. Unfortunately the method doesn't work.
Remembering back to when I was a student, I recall how another fellow student took a total of ten minutes just to read one French sentence.The words look similar because the letters are similar.The French and English alphabets are very similar.But the sounds of many of those French letters are different.

Therefore the key; the short cut to learning any new language must begin with the alphabet.What are termed the Romanic languages, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, has a similar alphabet system to the English system.Learning the sounds of those foreign letters is the most important first step.

I state again -- the very first task to learning a foreign language fast is to master the sounds of the alphabet system.They must become ingrained in your mind before you attempt anything to do with the foreign language.Only then will you be able to read and pronounce new words of your target language correctly.

It's crucial how you begin to learn a new language in order to be fluent.The alphabet system of a new language is the foundations.Letters become words and words become sentences.

Till next time,
Carl