Re: strategies for learning new languages

[Guy Steele - Sun Microsystems Labs <address@hidden>]

   Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 17:58:53 -0500
   From: Vadim Nasardinov <vadimn@attbi.com>
   To: ll1-discuss@ai.mit.edu
   Subject: strategies for learning new languages
   
   To follow up on the "learning languages" thread
   (http://www.ai.mit.edu/~gregs/ll1-discuss-archive-html/threads.html#02557),
   I'd be interested to hear resident polyglots comment on the following
   question.
   
     What strategies do you use for becoming proficient in a new
     language?
   ...

You gave a good list, but you left out my favorite:

* Read the "formal" language specification (or ANSI standard)
  from cover to cover, starting with "Lexical Tokens" and ending
  with "I/O Library".  If necessary, read it twice.

That aside, I have used all the strategies that you outlined,
though frequently I try to read up on the features that seem
to be "different" from what I already know.

--Guy Steele