Iβve been asked a couple of times now what is my approach to self-study, and this is my messy attempt to answer that question. All of this is true for me, and might not work for someone else; still, I hope it may help somebody!
1. Getting acquainted with the language
When youβre learning a language with a different writing system than your own, thatβs the first thing you have to tackle, of course; but I usually try to get some background information even when the alphabet used by my target language is the good old Latin one. One thing I pay extra careful attention to is phonology: you want to get the sounds right from the very beginning, before you develop any bad habits (also, learning IPA changed my life). Having an accent as close to a nativeβs as possible is not necessarily the goal (I do like to work on that, but to each their own), but being understood is! And incorrect pronunciation can sometimes hinder comprehension, in some languages more so than in others. So donβt obsess over it, but donβt overlook it completely either. Getting to know the sounds of a language right away can also help you understand what people are saying a little quicker, and figuring out how new words might have to be read. Wikipedia is usually not bad when it comes to phonology, and Omniglot is a good resource as well.
2. Finding a good textbook
Iβm a free spirit so I often find myself not looking for a textbook right away, and just chaotically absorbing information from different sources (see immersion below). When I do set my mind to choosing, though, I try to stick to one well-made textbook that I like, which should possibly contain clear grammar explanations as well as exercises. The temptation to hoard resources is strong β and Iβve succumbed to it myself more than once haha β, but I usually try to steer clear from using more than one textbook at the same time (although I do have separate, more thorough grammars on the side more often than not). Iβd rather use a physical book if I have the chance, but if thatβs not your thing or you donβt have money to spend on that, thatβs okay: you can find loads of perfectly good books or websites online!
3. Compulsive translation
Anyone whoβs been following my blog for a while probably knows that I love translating virtually anything: from songs to poems to short stories. Itβs something that has always been a part of my life, and I thoroughly enjoy doing. Itβs also an awesome language learning technique, which will help you enrich your lexicon and teach you tons of new turns of phrase in your target language. It works both if you translate from your native into your target language and vice versa: find a good bilingual dictionary (I prefer paper dictionaries because they provide more examples of usage, but again, you do you) and look for equivalent expressions, donβt just translate word for word! It might work sometimes but not always. When it comes to translation, Reverso Context is a great resource for some languages, because it provides translation in context, taken from a massive corpus heavy on subtitles β which you shouldnβt trust all the time, but will help you as long as you put some critical thinking in.
4. Immersion (you donβt say)
What a surprise, right? I usually start listening to music / watching video content right away; I wasnβt that big on YouTube before but language learning has made me change my mind. You donβt have to get everything: even if you understand 3 words out of 20, this will help you grasp the rhythms and intonations of the language. This depends on how many similarities my new target language shares with the ones I already know, but as a general rule I use Italian (or English) subtitles in the very beginning, then move on to subtitles in the target language and finally get rid of them entirely. Some people will argue against subtitles of any shape or form, but I can only speak for myself and theyβve helped me quite a lot in the past. The way I see it, reading is also essential: if I donβt have time to leaf through novels, I usually check out at least an article a day in my target language and write down the words I donβt know, plus their Italian translation.
5. Routine β the good kind
In short words, I strive to make the new language a part of my life. There are a thousand things you can do: change your phone settings? Great! Check out the news? Even better! If youβre out of ideas, here are a few suggestions. And donβt worry if you struggle at first: in fact, the start of this process is a bit rocky for almost everyone. Consistency, however, is the key: once the early, most difficult days are over, all of this will start to come natural and stop feeling like a chore! The more you do it, the faster this process will be.
