LEARNING TECHNIQUES by Margaret Watson Linguists are full of theories about how people learn – the use of short term and long term memory, how the brain encodes ideas, the use of mnemonics and lots more complicated techniques. You don’t need to know all that to learn a language. What you do need is to hear it and to try it out and this isn’t too hard – ask any two years old. Stick words on your bathroom mirror if it helps – or chant verbs while you go for a walk or jog – but the main thing is to actually use the language – to listen and to speak. If you have a DVD or tape use it in the car and repeat the phrases. Find a native English speaker – it doesn't matter where you live anymore, there will be someone in the area, or you can find someone online on a social network like Facebook, Twitter, BlogSpot, Second Life, you just have to find them, and then try your new vocabulary out on them. Explain that you're learning English, and they won’t mind I’m sure. But don't restrict yourself to native speakers. It's far more likely that you'll meet non-native speakers in the world – there are lots of people who are learning English, so make friends with people who are also learning and have a conversation. If your spoken English is quite limited just use what you have. We can all say ‘Hello. How are you?’ Build it up from there. According to Ethnologies there are 328 million native English speakers, but the British Council, estimates that as of the year 2000 there are between 750 million and 1 billion English as a Foreign language speakers. So, you do the math. Most importantly, keep your English up to date – English is a living language, it changes, so you can never think – that's it, I've learnt English. Buy an English medium newspaper for instance or tune into a news broadcast on a regular basis. Even if you don’t understand everything your vocabulary will be expanded and your pronunciation improved. If you don’t understand a phrase, ask someone. English is changing fast –some would say ‘at a rate of knots’ i.e. like a boat speeding through the water. Even I come across new words or ways of using them all the time. a) Put down the main sentence of every paragraph. b) Put down content words of every paragraph.

A) The main sentence of every paragraph is as follows:

1. "Linguists are full of theories about how people learn – the use of short term and long term memory, how the brain encodes ideas, the use of mnemonics and lots more complicated techniques."
2. "You don't need to know all that to learn a language."
3. "Stick words on your bathroom mirror if it helps – or chant verbs while you go for a walk or jog – but the main thing is to actually use the language – to listen and to speak."
4. "Find a native English speaker – it doesn't matter where you live anymore, there will be someone in the area, or you can find someone online on a social network like Facebook, Twitter, BlogSpot, Second Life, you just have to find them, and then try your new vocabulary out on them."
5. "But don't restrict yourself to native speakers."
6. "If your spoken English is quite limited just use what you have."
7. "According to Ethnologies there are 328 million native English speakers, but the British Council estimates that as of the year 2000 there are between 750 million and 1 billion English as a Foreign language speakers."
8. "Most importantly, keep your English up to date – English is a living language, it changes, so you can never think – that's it, I've learnt English."
9. "Buy an English medium newspaper for instance or tune into a news broadcast on a regular basis."
10. "Even if you don't understand everything your vocabulary will be expanded and your pronunciation improved."
11. "If you don't understand a phrase, ask someone."
12. "English is changing fast – some would say 'at a rate of knots' i.e. like a boat speeding through the water."
13. "Even I come across new words or ways of using them all the time."

b) The content words of every paragraph are as follows:

1. Linguists, theories, people learn, short term, long term memory, brain encodes ideas, mnemonics, complicated techniques.
2. language.
3. Stick words, bathroom mirror, chant verbs, walk, jog, use the language, listen, speak.
4. native English speaker, live, area, find someone online, social network, Facebook, Twitter, BlogSpot, Second Life, new vocabulary.
5. restrict, native speakers.
6. spoken English, limited.
7. Ethnologies, 328 million native English speakers, British Council, year 2000, 750 million, 1 billion English as a Foreign language speakers.
8. English, up to date, living language, changes, learnt English.
9. English medium newspaper, news broadcast, regular basis.
10. understand, vocabulary, expanded, pronunciation, improved.
11. understand, phrase, ask.
12. English, changing fast, rate of knots, boat speeding, water.
13. new words, ways of using them.