#self-learning

   I have been posting unhappily about education/online classes for years, now. Now might be a good time to post something positive.

   When I want to learn something, my go-to was always to find a book and read about it (or ask someone). These days I can look things up online and read about them there - unless the only options are videos, in which case I opt out. My kids, however, are 21st century natives who are very comfortable attending ‘Youtube University.‘

   Two days ago my son showed me a photo of someone doing Urban Exploration. The site reminded me of old news photos of Three Mile Island power plant. I told him about it, and he had never heard of it before (in spite of being more than a little obsessed with Chernobyl).

May 15, 2021 :: [59/100] I’ve been self-learning Java programming using the Objects First book and BlueJ software. I struggled so much yesterday and realised again how quickly I anger when I cannot understand something that doesn’t seem like it were difficult to understand. A night of sleep did not fully solve the problem but I sat down with my bf (a CS grad) and he helped me think and then I solved the problem and we realised that I solved it  pretty much the same way in a previous exercise and I wonder why my brain does be like that.

As a language lover who can't possibly afford all of the language lessons I would love to take, over the years I learned the best ways to self-learn them. This introductory phase doesn't even require a textbook - I am sure everything here can be found online for free.

Disclaimer: this is the method that works the best for me, and I'm sharing it with the intention of helping other people who are stuck. There's a million different ways to self-learn a language, so if this one doesn't work out for you, don't lose motivation!

Disclaimer 2: this method might not work with all languages. I'm sharing this knowledge keeping in mind my experience with Latin (in particular French, Spanish, etc) and East Asian (in particular Korean and Japanese) languages.

Without further ado, here are the steps: 

1. If you're learning a language that uses a different alphabet, make sure that's the first thing you learn

Relying on romanization is fine at first, but further down the path it will only serve to confuse you. Romanized words of these types of languages can be written in many different ways, so often they don't even provide an accurate way of pronouncing them. Furthermore, as you make progress, you won't be able to access a lot of content in your target language since you won't find it romanized. 

2. Learn your first words

Before actually getting into all the grammar rules and whatnot, learn your first words! These include, among others:

Greetings

Answers (yes, no, maybe, etc)

Numbers

Please and thank you

Practice their pronunciation to get used to the language's sounds, and how they're written (especially if you have to use another alphabet - it's a chance to practice your calligraphy!).

3. Learn essential vocabulary and grammar

I call these "essential vocabulary/grammar" because they are words you must know to build sentences (other than verbs). These include:

Articles (definite, indefinite, partitive, etc)

Basic pronouns (personal, possessive, etc)

Depending on the language, basic grammatical particles

Sentence order! In many languages, the subject/verb/noun order is totally different. Make sure to know how your target language orders that.

Make sure to also learn their rules and remember the exceptions. The latter are always annoying, but don't worry - as you progress, you will learn these by heart, and they will eventually come to you naturally!

4. Learn the most basic verbs in the present tense

Like the vocabulary of the previous step, verbs are also essential when building sentences. Now that you're only a beginner, you don't need to learn difficult verbs or tenses, so stick with the most used ones:

to be 

to have

to do/make

to say

to go

to know

to think

to see

to want

to give

5. More vocab!

Now that you know your verbs, complement your knowledge by adding more basic vocabulary. Here are some ideas:

Places

Food

Objects

Adjectives

Family members

Knowing these in addition to the grammar points you've learned will allow you to construct simple sentences, such as I am going home or This is my sister.

6. Practice for your level

Like many other people, I'm guilty of jumping straight into watching movies and shows in my target language, only to get frustrated with myself when I don't understand anything despite everything I learned until then. Of course, I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, since it does help you develop your listening skills (especially if you do it with subtitles!), but I have a tip for the ones who prefer an easier activity.

Look for children's content! I know this sounds silly at first, but books, movies, shows, etc made for children usually use basic grammar and vocabulary. If you think about it, the listening exercises you find in language grammar books made for beginners often seem like they're made for children for that reason. Therefore, if you can't find clips and texts for your level easily, try following this tip!

A few more tips for self-learners + resources

Write a diary in your target language. Even if you don't know that much, try describing your day the best way you can (even if that means you have to write everything in the present tense). That's a way of understanding what sort of vocabulary is useful in your daily life and what are your weaknesses.

For you listening skills, other than Netflix, listen to music as well! Seize the opportunity to also learn the new vocabulary you find in the songs.

For speaking skills, if you don't have anyone to practice with, read texts out loud and record yourself to check your pronunciation. If you're up to it, finding friends online that speak your target language is also a great way of practicing dialogue!

Most used words in every language

Textbook masterpost

More helpful books!

Random tasks to practice your target language

My blog's langblr tag for more helpful posts

Assignment 1 excercise 3(schoolism Craig Mullins)

excercise for the first assigment in the course of craig mullings in schoolism that i'm self-Learning

[Computer science] requires an innate drive for constant learning and continued self-development, as the products and technologies we use change very quickly. . . .

My personal strategy is to:

Learn stuff I'm interested in on the side, regardless if [it’s] applicable on the job.

Not [be] afraid to switch jobs when they become truly boring.