How to Learn Any Language

Study the pronunciation of the language first. 

Practice with the writing system in that particular language. Practice the most difficult sounds with repetitive drills daily until you are confident. Practice the most common words and short phrases. Check your pronunciation with an educated speaker.

Practice the native intonation, stress, and rhythm of common, short social sentences and social questions by using the things that you do on a daily basis. 

(If you don't go to museums or libraries on a daily basis, then don't start with those things.) You want to be able to practice this every day, so use what's common to you. e.g.: "Hi, How are you?" "Where is the gas station?" or "Where is the store?". Try to imitate the middle aged or older locals with hand gestures. Most foreigners speak with their hands to show feeling. Listening carefully to a repeated phrase 5 to 10 times. Use audio and video to help you. Then, try saying the phrase correctly in chorus with the recording. Repeat each of the phrases 10 times or more if needed. Speak sentences to yourself in a mirror, and use your hand gestures for a more real effect. If possible, ask educated native speakers to correct you and record correct phrases of pronunciation. Many language students get into bad pronunciation habits that are very difficult to break. Bad pronunciation will cause confusion and misunderstanding. Be patient and diligent with this early pronunciation drill as you will be rewarded with a near-native accent.

You don't have to purchase audio books in the language you wish to learn, as you can also find them on the web free of charge. 

With few exceptions, these free lessons will only be the basics, but that's all you will need to get you started. You can choose a popular audio book in a subject that interests you, however a CD-based "listen and learn" lesson is our best advice, especially if you drive to work every day, for this will ensure you that allotted amount of time each day to focus on that lesson. This will help your listening skills. Repeat listening to short segments of 30 seconds to one minute until you feel you have complete comprehension. Sometimes you may have to listen to the course completely more than twice to fully catch all that it teaches.

You can purchase a quality dictionary of the language you wish to learn or you can use a free online language dictionary. 

When you encounter a new word, highlight it in the dictionary. Then, copy the word, definition, and an example sentence using the word into a notebook. Then, study the notebook. This activity helps you think in the language.

Sometimes a picture dictionary is helpful for learning common nouns for some languages. 

Use a picture dictionary for Japanese, for example, because many of their words carry a variety of meanings, as in English.

Watch the news and soap operas in that language. 

Listen to the old music and even have it as background noise while you're doing something around the house. Pretty soon you will find yourself answering the radio or TV in that language.

Try reading a little about the history and the culture of the language or country that this language originated from. 

Reading it, you may find it much easier to keep yourself interested, especially if it is slow going at first.

• Try children's books. This is an especially good option if you are still learning to read a new script.
• Try popular magazines or newspapers in the language you wish to learn. Choose a topic that interests you. Magazines are a good way to learn common idioms in context. Magazine and newspaper articles cover a variety of subjects, and they're generally much shorter than reading an entire book.

Pay attention to the grammar. 

This is probably the most important part of the language besides the vocabulary. "Paul want Mary go store" may communicate an idea, but it is not at all correct English, and sounds very unintelligent. If you do not pay attention to grammar, you can sound equally incomprehensible in another language.

• Ensure you know how to express questions, affirmative and negative statements in the past, present and future using the 20 most common regular and irregular verbs.

You do not need to pay an educated native speaker to tutor you through one-on-one conversation practice, as this is an immersion technique, so find a friend or make a friend who is a native and have conversations with them.

 This is best for learning and after this is done you will become more familiar with the language and at least "high beginner to intermediate" level. Conversation Tutoring should be done at 100% in the language you wish to learn. Ask the tutor to help you with pronunciation and conversational grammar. Record the sessions if possible and take notes.

Learn some idioms, proverbs, and expressions. 

As your level advances, learn about some of the idioms and even slang in the language. Even if you do not use them much, it will help to recognize and understand these elements when you hear or read them.

Practice! 

Do not hesitate to speak the language in public and with native speakers. It will be helpful in improving your mastery. Also, don't be ashamed to allow other people to correct you if you pronounce something wrong. No one knows everything. Welcome some constructive criticism. Test your knowledge at every social occasion you have. Good luck and enjoy the wonderful experience of learning a new language!