Memorizing a few hundred words isn't so bad, but it doesn't get you particularly close to being able to speak English. It would be like trying to put together a

Memorizing a few hundred words isn't so bad, but it doesn't get you particularly close to being able to speak English. It would be like trying to put together a Japanese conversation out of the Japanese words I already know. (Now I find myself wondering which I've memorized more of: Japanese words or Ruby keywords and names.)