94Luke - yes, it helps a little bit to read about something I am interested in. Motivates you to keep reading even if you do not understand it all. Problem is people write with so much slang and idioms that its making it hard to understand! I have found when learning to speak english better, I have memorized a complete sentence or phrase. The grammar is already built in! No need to think about how to conjugate the verb etc. You should try it in German! But germany is kind of like other larger countries, we are also lazy about learning other languages. When we visit the neighboring countries, many people think, "bah, they all speak german, why talk in dutch/french/italian". I think its disprespectful to have that way of thinking. One must at least try to speak the other country's language if you are there. A few phrases. Its a sign of respect to not assume they all speak german or english, etc. You know? What I like about Holland is TV shows are broadcast in the original language with untertitel. So you can hear the real language. In Germany, its all syncronized (dubbed?). Its funny to hear the same voice actor in different shows. Like Tony Danza in Who's the Boss, he has the same voice as Alf in germany.