Have you ever noticed an advertisement which says "Learn a foreign language in six weeks, or your money back! From the first day your pronunciation (发音) will be excellent．Just send …" and so on? Of course, it never happens quite like that．The only language that is easy to learn is the mother tongue．And think how much practice that gets! Before the Second World War people usually learned a foreign language in order to read the literature (文学) of the country．

    Now speaking the foreign language is what most people want．Every year many millions of people start learning one．How do they do it? Some people try at home, with books and tapes; some use radio or television programmes; others go to evening classes．If they use the language only twice or three times a week, learning it will take a long time, like language learning at school．A few people try to learn a language fast by studying for six or more hours a day．

    It is clearly easier to learn the language in the country where it is spoken．However, most people cannot afford this, and for many it is not necessary．They need the language in order to do their work better．For example, scientists and doctors mainly need to be able toread books and reports in the foreign language．Whether the language is learned quickly or slowly, it is hard work．Machines and good books will help, but they cannot do the students' work for them．