http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/114548175

Around the world with 80 words

The most effective way to develop your ability to communicate in a foreign language is to use the words you learn as much as possible with any native speaker of that language you meet. At the end of each group of eighty words is a magic question, made immortal in language teaching by my grandfather, Maximilian Berlitz, who used it in learning fifty-six languages. It is the question "What is this?" said while pointing to something. If you learn the word from a native speaker and repeat it aloud, it will stay in your memory much longer than it otherwise would. Each time you speak the new language, you will find that your vocabulary expands, since the words you know (and are therefore reviewing) will explain new ones. This, after all, is the natural way you learned your own language. We wish you pleasure and success in your travels. You will find that your attempt to communicate din foreign language will please the people you meet in that country, especially if you remember to use "Pardon me," "Please,' "Thank you," and so on. Even the police become generally more pleasant and more eager to help when addressed in their native language by an English-speaking person who at least tries to adapt to the local scene. Whenever you speak to a foreigner, use his language first. If he speaks English, so much the better; but if he does not, you have made an important and rewarding step in international relations. Bon voyage!

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