On Learning a Foreign Lanuage

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I recommend learning a foreign language as someone with Asperger's syndrome, which is a mild form of autism, (e.g., me) would: by becoming obsessed with it (i.e., perseverating). Aspies tend to become deeply engrossed with a favorite interest of theirs and devote much of their free time to it and aren't hesitant to share what they know with people.

Anyway, here's how I learned French: I picked up the vocabulary quite easily because of my high verbal IQ and mastered the grammar by reading French grammar books and websites obsessively (e.g., 501 French Verbs has a grammar section). I also wrote tons of things in French (usually silly things), read up on French culture, read French newspapers online, and watched French news on TV (with subtitles). At the same time, I was developing an obsessive interest in linguistics, so I studied the phonetics and phonology of French to learn how to pronounce French more authentically.

I soon began talking to my family with an overdone French accent, slipping in and out of my not-yet-mastered French, even trying to teach my own stepfather some French even though he had no interest in my "lectures." There's a reason Asperger's syndrome is sometimes facetiously known as Assburger's syndrome.