US Writer Teaches Language Through Fairy Tales (2/2)

I bring back all the words from level one, level two, and add 20 more words. So by the end of the entire series, which will be level nine, that will be 100 percent in the target language."

Burke says students often think of language learning as dull, but it doesn't have to be. Working with an illustrator, he designed his books with colorful cartoon-like illustrations that capture the young reader's imagination.

He says many Europeans are known for their facility with languages, and people in other parts of the world often speak at least two. Americans have a different reputation.

"It's a joke in the linguistic world that's painful, and funny. It's 'what do you call a person who speaks three languages?' 'Trilingual.' 'And what do you call a person who speaks two languages?' 'Bilingual.' 'And what do you call a person who speaks one language?' American.'"

Not all Americans are monolingual, of course. The country's many immigrants bring languages and cultures from all parts of the world. But Burke says too many Americans are fluent only in English, and he is working to change that.