Two hours of reading have changed the way you see languages and language learning. Not all languages are equal because, depending on who you are and which languages you speak, some languages are easier than others. However, all languages are equally beautiful. The Germans will appreciate that Turkish is as beautiful as German; the French will be delighted that Arabic is as expressive and gentle as French; and the Italians will be pleased to discover that Albanian is as subtle and amusing as Italian. Even more importantly, we have seen that languages are within the reach of everybody. Please pass this knowledge on to your children, grandchildren, and friends.

Although language learning is predictable, there are no miracles. Success is determined by the number of hours people are ready to invest. Fortunately, there are potent catalysts, for example life and love. Just imagine yourself in an intense love affair, spending weeks and months in close symbiosis, exposed to a single linguistic 'source', discussing the world from dusk to dawn, and all this submerged in memory-stimulating emotions, supplemented with memory-enhancing physical activity. The progress people make in these conditions is remarkable - sometimes dangerously remarkable. I once unmasked a cheating husband. While talking about Italy and Italian, I noticed that his language skills were quite honourable, so I asked him,

- How long have you been studying Italian?

- Oh, not that long. Three years, during my summer seminaries.

- And how long did those seminaries last?

- Two weeks each.

- Oh, really? I didn't know that you had a girlfriend in Italy.

- Who told you?

Nobody told me. The gentleman was simply too erudite. You don't acquire certain words and a certain ease with language in 6 weeks of canonical summer-school teaching. Cherchez la femme...

I have already recommended extensive travel for those who are in their late teens or early twenties. Youth, high levels of sex hormones, and the desire to find mates, are mighty communication catalysers. However, love and sex are not always practical. Later in life, you wouldn't want to get divorced just because you needed extra-marital language courses. For more composed people, there are entertaining alternatives, such as organised travel tours. I once went to Brazil and booked a 12-day tour in a local tourist agency. All other travellers being Brazilian, the 5,000 km bus trip (yes, Brazil is a vast country) turned out to be second among the most intensive languages courses I have ever had. (Number 1 was the French teenager, of course.)

I am well aware that some of my advice is demanding and that I have set the bar high. However, the bar is no higher than we can all reach. The most satisfying insight of the last two hours is that language learning is a mere variable of time: you may decide that you have no time, but never again will you have to say that you have no talent for it. If, instead, you find the time to learn a new language, I wish you the very best. Languages are formidable windows to the beauties and mysteries of the human odyssey. Pushing them wide open is among the most gratifying moments in life.