Christopher Lonsdale - The Third Ear: You Can Learn Any Language

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge all the people who have contributed to making this book a reality.

Firstly, Id like to thank Kevin Jones, Allen Dorcas, Michelle Tanmizi, Diane Wilcoxson, Jonathan Harger, Roger Bell, Robert Atter, Jeremy Kidner, Colin Jesse and the many others who gave insights into the language learning process, both from their own experience, and from observing the experience of others.

Equally important is the contribution of the core group of testers, who worked with the ideas in the book. Many thanks go to Andrew Mok, Augustine Tan, Marc Mostacci, Steve Udy, Janet Blount, Christian Masset, Panida Tang-sriwong, Thirawit Leetavorn, Mark Michaud, Larry Gaffaney, Philip Jackson, Tina Boe-Hansen, Dirk Rossey, Michael Boddington, Elizabeth Bridgeman, Margaret Leung, Luan Xiuju, Naaz Kazi, James Rynne, Zoe Fitzgerald, Lyn Brewster, Andrea Gutwirth, Carol Wong, Angela Spaxman, Uli Burke and Sayed Gouda. Paul Coffey deserves special mention for putting into action all of the ideas in the book, resulting in him learning to speak Mandarin in just a few short months.

Many people helped in the books creation, reading various versions and giving useful input that helped to shape the final version, or simply just giving encouragement. Special thanks go to Mark Tier, Michael Guss, Tony Giles, William Courtauld, Huaying Zhang, Chris Robinson, Leon Jakimic, Graham Earnshaw, Simon Chau, Barry Brewster, David Brooks, Maureen Mueller, Gilles Bassi, Mark Powell, Mark Michaud, Cathy Lee, Edith Scott, Daniel Spitzer, Leanne Wang, Sylvain Gauthier, Richard Finn, Andy Boerger, Steve Alexander, Andrew Matthews, Jeremy Blodgett and Manab Chakraborty. Several hundred people contributed to the decision process for the title, weighing in on various options. Thank you all for making your thoughts known. The final inspiration that led to the title The Third Ear came from Tom Masterson and Sarah Monks. Thanks guys.

Help came in many other forms as well.

Stephen Roberts did a great job taking some of the key ideas of the book, and turning them into simple, fun cartoons.

Magnus Bartlett and Peter Gordon both provided helpful guidance for the whole publishing process.

Alan Sargent took what I thought was a well-honed piece of work and honed it even further. His disciplined editing has, I hope, made a definitive impact on the final work.

Importantly, Id like to thank my daughter Michelle for giving me the chance to watch her as she grappled with her first language. In many ways The Third Ear could not have been written without those insights from a first-time beginner. It was almost as if her arrival was necessary for key pieces to fall into place. Thanks Michelle.

And finally, my deepest thanks go to my wife, Fengdi, for standing quietly by me for the many years that it took from initial concept to finally completing the book.

Chris Lonsdale

October, 2005