make sure to master all material in the lesson.

merely reading the dialogues, exercises, and grammar explanations will not accomplish this. In order for the language that you are studying to become automatic or instinctive, you must repeat audio material numerous times, until you reach the point at which the dialogue or exercise is overlearned. When you can understand and respond properly to all such text/multimedia material without hesitation, error, or prompting, you have begun to internalize the material. Your ability to control and manipulate grammatical structures and vocabulary will become automatic, and will not require conscious encoding and decoding. Learning a new language is similar to the development of such skills as driving a car or playing a musical instrument: performance and proficiency are directly dependent on regularity and frequency of practice.

the number of hours per week devoted to language practice will determine your success. However, it is important to devote time to your language practice on a daily basis-especially including actively working with the multimedia material, practicing it with another student in a different setting, or even going through the material aloud to yourself at different times during the day. Even if you cannot give more than a half-hour per day to concentrated practice, it is nonetheless necessary to work with the language on a daily basis. Under absolutely no circumstances should you let yourself fall behind, relegate your language practice to weekends, or try to cram before an exam.

remember that constant and regular practice requires one final and most important element in language learning: perseverance. In spite of all the obstacles inherent in learning a language self-instructionally, be patient and persistent. Do not expect to speak or understand the foreign language perfectly at first try. Do not expect to be able to carry on a sophisticated conversation after a few weeks or months, or even after a semester or two. But with much patience and constant practice for automatic, smooth and comprehensible mastery, you will be able to attain your objective of building a solid oral-aural foundation in your chosen language.

if you have comments, suggestions, or any problems of any kind concerning any aspect of the ALSO Program, please feel free to contact the Director, Daniel Gross, ARH 330E, Ext. 3152.