How to learn to read another language

I've cracked it.

1) the first bit is the hardest: work through a basic primer in the target language - older books are better as there is more of an emphasis on grammar. This is just to get a feel for the basic structure and to be able to spot verb tenses, conjunctions and prepositions.
2) google a website in the target language eg. 'wikipedia polish'
3) 'wikipedia.pl' or suchlike will turn up - click on 'translate this page'
4) once in the translated version of the site copy whichever text you might wish to read
5) paste the copied text into a word processor prog. The translated text will turn up, as if by magic, with the original, target language interspersed, creating an otherwise impossible-to-find super literal rendering of the target language:

Z tego gatunku szybko wyewoluowała muzyka zwana breakbeat hardcore (popularnie rave ), która zdobyła wielu zwolenników w Wielkiej Brytanii i łączyła szybkie tempo hardcore oraz między innymi połamany rytm przejęty z acid house. This species quickly evolved music called breakbeat hardcore (popularly rave), which won many supporters in Britain and the united rapid pace of hardcore, and among other things, broken rhythm taken from acid house.

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6) print out your 'parallel' text and read the target language, underlining pairs of words which you had to 'look up'

Z tego gatunku szybko wyewoluowała muzyka zwana breakbeat hardcore (popularnie rave ), która zdobyła wielu zwolenników w Wielkiej Brytanii i łączyła szybkie tempo hardcore oraz między innymi połamany rytm przejęty z acid house. This species quickly evolved music called breakbeat hardcore (popularly rave), which won many supporters in Britain and the united rapid pace of hardcore, and among other things, broken rhythm taken from acid house.

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7) keep reading and notice how, with very little conscious effort, you are having to underline fewer and fewer words...

PS - be wary of sub-vocalizing if you want to avoid acquiring bad habits in pronunciation

grizzleb said:

Do you have to speak the language to begin with?

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Nope

There is an advantage to knowing how to pronounce the language properly, tho' - if you don't, then you might get into bad habits whilst reading which might sabotage later attempts to speak the language correctly, as it is hard to avoid reading 'out loud' in your head.