Listening and watching – very good results are achieved by watching and listening to foreign language material at the same time. Television is a very good medium for this. But any other multimedia tool at one’s disposal is also worth its weight in gold. Computer games, high books, cartoons. Every means is allowed. Often it is an advantage if you already know the material and then consume it in the foreign language.
Learn in the morning – whether you want to go the classic route and learn with a manual or a course, or learn casually with an app or online conversations with a tutor – the best thing to do is to learn in the morning. Mental performance is strongest early in the morning, when the head is still fresh.
Learn systematically – it is much better and more efficient if you learn systematically. Depending on the time budget – if you can’t study every day, then reserve two or three days a week and study. As a rule of thumb – better to practice 10 minutes every day, than only once a week.
Don’t start with grammar – from experience it can be said that people much prefer and learn faster through conversation. Grammar and spelling can come second.
Don’t give up – no master has fallen from the sky yet. Mastering something as complex and extensive as a language, even if it’s just the basics, takes a lot of time and a lot of practice. Often you can memorize a word or a phrase only after several attempts. To then be able to pronounce it and finally use it spontaneously is yet another challenge.
Speaking out loud – it’s best to remember what you say out loud. The ultimate would be to have a conversation partner to talk to.
Asking for help – you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help. Not everyone finds it easy to learn right away. If you know someone who can help, ask for help. In the long run, this is a better solution than giving up or memorizing mistakes.