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fact for which the abbreviation stands; acrostics are artificial and may discourage attempts to understand the material; pigeonholing is not a good substitute for arrangement by logic and organization; number letter translation is a complication requiring special learning and practice and appears to be useful for little more than tricks; paired associates and chain association have been discussed elsewhere and are not recommended for wide use. But all of these devices can be useful and helpful in particular circumstances. Since reports on sleep-study point to so much success in learning foreign languages it will be interesting to consider what wide-awake learners have to say on the subject. Weinland considers interest and enthusiasm of primary importance, interest not only in the language, but in the country where it is spoken. Conversing with a person for whom this is the native tongue, and reading newspapers and magazines in the language serve both to heighten interest and practice. Pictures and advertisements help the beginner to understand the captions in foreign literature. Knowledge of current events through reading papers in English (or the student's own language) makes it easier to understand articles on the subject in a foreign paper. Subscribing to periodicals also offers good spaced practice, which is found useful in remembering. The card system, with the foreign word on one side and the English word on the other, is recommended, with frequent practice in self-testing. Attention and accurate first learnings, with awareness of both the similarity to and the difference from the English equivalent, are stressed. A combination of the visual and |
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