>Quick? No way. And there are no rules, really.

There are some, at least. I used to watch "Between the lions" on PBS, where they teach how to read.

I've seen how our youngest daughter was learning to read English - it's word by word, not rule by rule. But then, since the rules are not strict anyway, you only have to learn how to look nice while speaking wrongly :)

I am still wondering how to distinguish difference between bed bad bat or man men. I can not pronounce th and I usually say "when" the same as "then" or "than" Yesterday I was asking a teacher about my son's interaction with other kids and I had to repeat this word twice at least, because she heard "interruption" instead... Besides, I have some problems with "k" sound. That's just my own prononcuation (ouch, how to spell?) problem untreated in the young age I often have to explain that I have problems with this sound, when even in Russian I'm misunderstood.