A person who knows just one language has a narrow cultural horizon. Not all good works of literature, cinema and music are available in translation, and those that have been translated may have bits and pieces of idioms and ‘local color’ lost in translation.Learning a new language nowadays is no longer as difficult, time-consuming or costly as it used to. You don’t have to learn it in a classroom. You don’t have to be as smart as James Joyce. And you don’t need to live in Rome, for instance (although that would be lovely), to learn Italian.In this age of globalization, of jet travel, instant messages and quick access to information, you’ll look like a Neanderthal if you won’t learn a second language. In fact, a lot of people these days consider acquiring a second language as hip as going on a vacation to Tahiti or owning techie gizmos. And truly, learning a new language isn’t nearly as costly as a night in a classy resort or a new high-end mobile computer.If you hate the classroom setting, as it brings back bad memories of school, you can actually learn a new language anywhere anytime. You can learn it while doing chores at home, hitting the treadmill, gardening, sailing, waiting for the fish to bite, or getting a tan at the beach.Having the linguistic smarts can turn you into a polyglot, but even if you’re not inclined to learn a new language, learning a second language is still doable. If a parrot can learn to mimic human sound, you can do better than that. And no schoolmarm will be looking over your shoulder, making sure you’re toeing the linguistic line.Living in Thailand to learn Thai is perhaps the best way to learn the language, but doing so will take time, some personal and cultural adjustments and a lot of money, unless there’s a job waiting for you there.So how is it possible to learn a second language at your pace, at your own time, at any place you like and at no high cost? Well, that’s exactly what the Pimsleur language learning program is designed for.Developed by the notable language instructor, Dr. Paul Pimsleur, you are guaranteed of easy, quick and effective method of learning a second language. The program has the widest catalog of languages to choose from, including all of the major languages in the world. You can learn any of the European languages, plus Mandarin, Hindi, Arabic, Korean, Mandarin, Japanese, Thai and many more.Getting the program materials is even easier. No tree ever gets sacrificed for your learning module because you won’t get any textbook. The program is designed as an audio file (MP3 or WMA format) that can be easily downloaded from vendors on the internet into your personal computer.You can then burn the file into a CD, DVD or Blu-Ray disk, or load it into your handy audio players, pocket PCs or smart phones – which means you can listen to your language lessons while doing the dishes or laundry, walking the dog, doing your early morning exercise, or even soaking in the tub before bedtime (just keep your headphones and player away from your bubbly bath). Truly, there’s no easier way of learning a second language.