You mean where you see gibberish like "ch 3, 2 dc in next sc, ch 2, skip 2 sc, 3 dc in next sc"??
Some of that is learning the abbreviations, and there are more for crochet than for knitting, unfortunately. In this case:
dc=double crochet (can mean something different in American and British systems)
sc=single crochet (again, has different meanings in the American and British systems)
When my mom was worried about learning to knit socks, a fellow customer at the knit shop told her - just follow the directions exactly and the pattern would work out just fine. My mom was pleasantly surprised to find that she was right. Same thing for crochet. Sometimes I look at patterns and think "How on earth is that going to work?", but I follow it anyway and 99 times out of 100 it works OK.
There are 2 main ways that crochet patterns work:
1) you make a long chain and build off of that, making rows like you do in knitting. This is what you'd do for filet crochet (emtpy blocks and filled in blocks), many afghans, and scarves.
2) in circles. Here you make a short chain and use a slip stitch to attach the last chain to the first chain. Then you go around in circles, making more stitches in each row (if you want something flat) until you get the size you want. Usually, you use this method to make thinks like little doilies, or granny squares or other motifs that you crochet together to make something big and flat. You also make hats this way, starting with an itty bitty circle at the crown of the head and working out and down from there.
Once you realize that you have these two options, and once you understand all the abbreviations and basic stitches, it all comes together pretty easily. For example, you might make five stitches in the top of a single stitch in the row before and it all spreads out to make a fan shape. Then you skip however many stitches the pattern tells you and make five stitches in the top of a single stitch and you have two fan shapes right next to each other. You often use chain stitches to make spaces or holes in your work.
Here's a pattern I found online - I'll paste it in and then translate in italics.
For starting chain, ch 28. Chain 28.
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in ea ch across. In the 2nd chain from hook, make a single crochet. Single crochet in each chain across. Turn your work.
Row 2: ch 2 (counts as first dc), dc in next 2 sts, * ch 3, skip 2 sts, sc in next st, ch 3, skip 2 sts, dc in ea of next 3 sts *, repeat from * to * across. Chain 2 (this counts as your first double crochet), and double crochet in the next two stitches. *Chain 3, skip 2 stitches and make a single crochet in the next (3rd) stitch. Chain 3, skip 2 stitches, and double crochet in each of the next 3 stitches (the 3rd, 4th, and 5th).* Repeat between the *s until you are at the end of the row. Turn your work.
Row 3: ch 2 (counts as first dc), dc in next 2 dc, ch 1, * sc in ch 3 space, ch 3, sc in next ch 3 sp, ch 1, dc in next 3 dc, ch 1 *, repeat from * to * across. Chain 2 (counts as first double crochet), and double crochet in the top of the next 2 double crochet. Chain 1. *Single crochet in the chain-e space, chain 3, and single crochet in the next chain-3 space. Chain 1, double crochet in the next 3 double chrochet. Chain 1.* Repeat the steps between the *s until you reach the end of the row. Turn your work.
Etc. (this pattern has 18 rows, I believe)
After some practice you do learn the language, though it looks like some sort of secret code to begin with.