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A much better book for most aspiring language learners looking for a how-to guide is Graham Fuller's "How to Learn a Foreign Language". It is less academic and more practical in tone, providing many suggestions with plenty of examples. The only practical things I saw in Rubin and Thompson's book which Fuller's did not have are (a) a self-test to help you identify your weak spots in language-learning skills, and (b) a section to help you clarify your objectives in learning a new language.
If you like the academic approach, this may be a good book for you. If you prefer a more familiar tone with a "hands-on" emphasis, get Fuller's book instead.
Many language teachers do not teach well HOW to be a student of the foreign language that they teach. That is because many of them are native speakers and never themselves had to think about how they learned language. Also, many of the teachers (particularly native Chinese teachers) are the product of a very archaic and dsyfunctional (my opinion of course) education system. Students of such teachers would benefit greatly from reading this book.
Also inspiring is the latest research and theory about language learning presented here. When I began foreign language learning, it was an accepted "fact" that adults (like me) could not learn languages as well as children. It is a suprise and relief to read in this book that research now debunks this myth.
I was suprised to see the other reviews of this book here on Amazon and to see that they were negative. I have found it to be a very helpful, well researched and well written book and an important reference in my continuing language studies.