be replaced by a synonym such as perform, execute, carry out, operate etc. Great article! I will swear by the reading and listening until I die, as it's the way I've learned to speak English. As I spent a lot of time on the couch watching Dutch subtitled series and reading in English as a child I've never had much use for a 'formal' education in English. I closed the subject in final exams with a 9.5 out of 10, never having really studied a minute. As for pronunciation I highly recommend a poem called 'The Chaos'. It's a high paced lesson in humility if you think you speak English. Be sure to have one of those digital dictionaries handy, as you will need it. A lot. Another way that reading helps improve vocabulary is that when you're reading, you see how the words are actually used. If you just read the dictionary, you may learn several formal definitions, but still not use the word quite right. By reading, you'll get comfortable with how to use specific words and when. This is a great article, and the comments are equally inspiring -- command of one's native language is a skill that differentiates the true lifelong learner from those that finished school, and subsequently finished learning. The only thing I would add would be to make sure your *content* is more than adequate, as well. One's grandiloquent vernacular can be dexterously exercised to camouflage one's paucity of contextual significance. ;-) At