1. 1. What is motivating you?
1.1. Your motivation will be the driving force that will get you through the tough times
1.2. If your ‘why’ isn’t clear enough, you will most likely give up in the first few weeks.
1.3. Decide why you are doing this, write it down and refer to it often, especially when you feel like giving up.
1.4. Use a sticky note to motivate you
1.5. Keep updating your why
2. 2. How to hold yourself accountable
2.1. Use Stickk.com, a website that utilises the psychological power of loss aversion.
2.2. Place a large wager that you’re not willing to lose.
2.3. Make the commitment public, invite friends and family to track your progress, otherwise, you have nothing to lose.
3. 3. Focus on building the right system
3.1. Set yourself goals to give you direction, and figure out what is required to complete the goal will allow you to fulfill them.
3.2. Determine your practice time, what area to focus on, and how often you can commit to practicing.
3.3. Figuring out your own system is an ongoing experiment
3.4. Commit to the system. Once you’ve reached your goals, move the goalpost a little further and repeat the process.
4. 4. Feedback is crucial to your development
4.1. Embrace the idea of making mistakes.
4.2. Immediate feedback is just as important as making the mistake itself. Or you'll keep repeating the mistake.
4.3. Here's how to find someone to give you feedback
4.3.1. Family & Friends
4.3.2. iTalki
4.3.3. Lang-8
5. 5. Build up your database first
5.1. It is important to build up your vocabulary database before speaking a word out loud.
5.2. Surround yourself in the language.
5.2.1. Podcasts
5.2.2. Music
5.2.3. TV Shows
5.3. Put down your pen and quieten your mouth. When learning a new language it is best to open your ears and eyes first.
5.4. Recommended Reading: Read This Before Talking To a Native
6. 6. The 1000 most common words
6.1. Study them. A simple Google search will help
6.2. Find the 1000 most common words used in your native language and translate them directly to your intended language.
6.3. In everyday conversations, you will find that 80% of the words used consist of only 20% of the language.
6.4. Use the Spaced Repetition System (SRS), it’s basically a complex version of the flashcard system.
6.5. Anki is a powerful yet simple program that harnesses the power of SRS.
7. 7. Get yourself a good grammar book
7.1. Grammar is what will turn your 1000 words into 10,000 sentences and then some. Don't brush over.
7.2. It takes time to learn
7.3. Find a good book about grammar in your language
7.3.1. Do a quick internet search for a list of books, reading the reviews should direct you to the right one for you.
7.4. Another method is by reading the written language in books and articles.
7.4.1. Expose yourself to the written language and your brain will subconsciously pick up the correct way to construct sentences.
7.5. Include a healthy balance of both methods in your practice time
8. 8. Consistency is key
8.1. There are no quick fixes, no shortcuts, and no alternative routes when it comes to practicing.
8.2. Stick to the rule of ‘ consistency over intensity ‘.
8.3. Devote a minimum of 15 minutes a day to language learning.
8.4. Recommended Reading: How to Be Consistent
9. 9. Traditional Language Schools
9.1. You don't need to go to study at a language school in order to learn a language.
9.2. When sitting in a class of 5 or more students, you'll be listening to incorrect grammar and accent
9.3. You will be going at the pace of the slowest person in your class, which could drastically slow down your learning speed.
9.4. Some people find there’s better structure when studying in a language school.
10. 10. Duolingo, Rosetta Stone & Memrise
10.1. They are online language courses. A few are free, whilst others require you to pay a monthly subscription.
10.2. Stay clear from any online course and use your time effectively by practicing all of the different methods provided in this article.
10.3. Recommended Reading: Duolingo Vs Rosetta Stone. Who Wins?
11. 11. The exercises that you need to implement
11.1. Reading exercises
11.1.1. Anki
11.1.1.1. Reviewing your Anki flashcard decks on a daily basis will help you remember words and sentences at an alarming rate
11.1.2. Kindle
11.1.2.1. It'll expose you to written language. It would be a good idea to download stories that are tailored to children.
11.1.2.2. Once you start to comprehend more words and sentences, you can start to read complex stories.
11.1.2.3. Read a book that you’re familiar with and read it in your chosen language
11.1.3. News & Blogs
11.1.3.1. A Google search with the keywords, “ Best _____ blogs in (your chosen language)” will be a good starting point.
11.1.4. Movies with subtitles
11.1.4.1. It’s best to watch a familiar movie.
11.1.4.2. When learning Swedish, I would watch English speaking films with Swedish subtitles.
11.1.4.3. Once I started to become confident, I would watch the same film with Swedish audio alongside Swedish subtitles.
11.1.4.4. Netflix is a great tool for this, you may be able to change the subtitles to your chosen language.
11.1.5. Lyrics
11.1.5.1. Reading lyrics whilst listening to songs in your language will help you understand what words the artists are singing.
11.2. Listening exercises
11.2.1. Music
11.2.1.1. Listening to music allows you to hear how certain words are pronounced.
11.2.2. Audiobooks
11.2.2.1. If you’re able to listen to a story that you’re familiar with, it’ll allow you to loosely follow the story.
11.2.2.2. Playing on repeat would do wonders to your vocabulary database.
11.2.3. Podcasts
11.2.3.1. Listening to two people conversing will allow you to pick up the subtle nuances of everyday conversations.
11.2.3.2. It can be difficult following along, especially if they’re talking at a fast rate.
11.2.3.3. There are also podcasts available that’ll teach you the language itself.
11.2.4. YouTube
11.2.4.1. You’ll be able to find videos on tips on how to master the grammar and learn the language.
11.2.4.2. Watch vloggers, or everyday people talking to the camera in their native language.
11.2.5. Movies
11.2.5.1. Watch a film you know well, so can understand what’s going on even if you get lost with what the characters are saying.
11.2.5.2. Watch movies that you’re interested in
11.2.6. Forvo
11.2.6.1. It's more than a pronunciation dictionary
11.2.6.2. There is a section that outlines essential words and phrases that you should know in your language.
11.3. Writing exercises
11.3.1. Journal. Write a minimum of 5 basic sentences every day and have someone give you feedback
11.3.2. If you don't have anyone to give you feedback, use iTalki.com
11.3.3. Whenever someone critiques your writing, sit down and analyse each correction.
11.3.4. If you come across new words or phrases, add them to your flashcard deck on Anki.
11.4. Speaking exercises
11.4.1. Working on your accent
11.4.1.1. Record yourself talking about yourself, and ask someone to give feedback
11.4.1.1.1. Do this again and again until you pronounce the words right
11.4.1.1.2. If you don’t have access to anyone that can critique you on your accent, use services similar to iTalki.com
11.4.2. Reading out loud
11.4.2.1. It's important to have a native speaker listening to get immediate feedback
11.4.3. Talking in everyday situations
11.4.3.1. If you have a friend who knows the language, commit to each other that you will only converse in your chosen language.
11.4.3.2. If you’re living in the country of your chosen language, commit to only using that language