This goal could be finishing the Duolingo tree, or being able to speak with your friend in their native language. Work every day at it!

 

 

When using Duolingo, don't forget to use the sentence discussion and read the grammar notes too. The discussion boards are also worth taking a look at (only available in the web version).

 

Ask questions, look for people to learn alongside¹ with and if you're already there check out Lingots For Stories, a weekly writing challenge managed by myself and other great Duolingo members.

 

 

Check out your local library or the internet (a lot of books can be found as pdf downloads). Now here comes what might seem like a bizarre² tip: don't use a dictionary!

 

Instead, try to understand the word from its context³. This might be incredibly hard in the beginning, but I promise it gets easier. You won't forget the words, as you might if you just look them up. And don't worry about getting it wrong as you'll encounter the word again and correct your mistake.

 

 

Try watching a movie or TV series. You can stream it online. If you can't do that legally, see if the movies you own have an audio track in your language of choice. Youtube is also a great source for foreign language material.

 

 

I've tried reading children's books in Spanish but found them so boring that I never got past the first few pages. Then I read Ficcionesby Jorge Luis Borges, which is quite a difficult book, and I loved it. As a rule of thumb, if you wouldn't read or watch it in your native language, you also shouldn't in your second language.

 

 

If you know somebody who speaks the language you're learning you should definitely try to get them to talk with you.

 

 

The cost of learning a language isn't money but your time. It can take years.

 

Don't expect a language course to just shove⁴ the knowledge into your mouth. You have to earn it.

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