Rationale

It is 3 o'clock in the morning and you�re sleeping deeply. You won't hear me when I will enter your room and slowly come up to your bed. When I will suddenly turn on the lamp and grab your shoulder, you will jump out of bed, frightened and panicked.

And I will show you this:

And I shall ask you one and single question: �What is this?� And you will answer �It�s a corkscrew!� ; or, if you are German �Ein Korkenzieher!� or, �Un cavatappo!�, if you are Italian, ��Un sacacorchos!�, if you are Spanish, �Un tire-bouchon!�, if you are French, and so on.

�Very well�, I say, and you close your eyes and fall asleep within seconds.

* * *

Why did I construct this surreal nocturnal encounter? Because it illustrates the way we know words – spontaneously, in the most extreme of situations, and without giving a second thought to it. And, indeed, that's the way you need to master the words of other languages.

To become fluent in another language, you must learn between 5,000 and 15,000 new words (depending on how different the new language is from the languages you already know; see The Word Brain, page 13ff). The best way to absorb them is moving to another country and returning to school. If this is impossible, you will need other strategies. Reading for hours and hours every day is one option. Before reading books and magazines though, you need a few thousand words at hand. The Word Brain is designed to help you learn them.

The Word Brain works on computers, but it works best on smartphones. We recommend that you learn every single day at least 10 to 15 minutes or – better – 10 (or 15 or 20) minutes in the morning and in the evening.

Access to The Word Brain – learning words with your smartphone is by invitation only. To receive an invitation, please contact me.

My best wishes,

Bernd Sebastian Kamps