HOWMARXLEARNEDFOREIGNLANGUAGES 　　KarlMarxwasborninGermany,andGermanwashisnativelanguage.Whenhewasstillayoungman,hewasforcedtoleavehishomelandforpoliticalreasons.HestayedinBelgiumforafewyears;thenhewenttoFrance.Beforelonghehadtomoveonagain.In1849,hewenttoEnglandandmadeLondonthebaseforhisrevolutionarywork. 　　MarxhadlearnedsomeFrenchandEnglishatschool.WhenhegottoEngland,hefoundthathisEnglishwastoolimited.Hestartedworkinghardtoimprovedit.HemadesuchrapidprogressthatbeforelonghebegantowritearticlesinEnglishforanAmericannewspaper.Infact,hisEnglishinoneofthesearticleswassogoodthatEngelswrotehimaletterandpraisedhimforit.MarxwrotebacktosaythattheEngel’spraisehadgreatlyencouragedhim. 　　However,hewentontoexplainthathewasnottoosureabouttwothings-thegrammarandsomeoftheidioms. 　　Theseletterswerewrittenin1853.Intheyearsthatfollowed,MarxkeptonstudyingEnglishandusingit.Whenhewroteoneofhisgreatworks.TheCivilWarinFrance,hehadmasteredthelanguagesowellthathewasabletowritethebookinEnglish. 　　Inthel870s,whenManwasalreadyinhisfifties,hefounditimportanttostudythesituationinRussia,sohebegantolearnRussian.AttheendofsixmonthshehadlearnedenoughtoreadarticlesandreportsinRussian. 　　Inoneofhisbooks,Marxgavesomeadviceonhowtolearnaforeignlanguage.Hesaidwhenpeoplearelearningaforeignlanguage,theyshouldnottranslateeverythingintotheirownlanguage.Iftheydothis,itshowstheyhavenotmasteredWhentheyusetheforeignlanguage,theyshouldtrytoForgerallabouttheirown.Iftheycannotdothis,theyhavenotreallylearnedthespiritoftheforeignlanguageandcannotuseitfreely.