To learn a language you need to interact with another human being at a REAL live level of understanding. You must want to understand what the other is saying or trying to say. You must be curious. You must learn how to ask questions to get the answers you want to know. We learn by being in real situations with real people and real events.

Interaction or exposure to the language, guidance in the language and trial and error, in real situations, play a vital role in the acquisition of language.

The absolute best ways to learn a language are:

1. Travel abroad to the country whose language you want to learn and stay there for as long as you can. (Ideally, at least, one year) This option is not available to everyone either because of the time needed and/or the money involved to do such a thing.

2. Learn the language live, by means of chatting with others online, using audio and/or video with a native speaker of the language you want to learn. This option is practically free. You just need a good Internet connection.

There are many sites where you can chat for free or pay a membership fee to be able to speak with others who want to meet people of other cultures and/or speak in English or who want to learn your language so that you can teach them yours. This is a great way to begin to use your vocabulary and practice. This option is so practical. (See my Resources page, scroll down to Chat (Informal English) with People Around The World.

Choose your chat venues carefully because some sites may attract people of a low calibre that you may not want to associate with or learn from. When in doubt about a site or, after joining and entering the website chat, if you don't feel comforable that you are with people you would like to be with, leave the site and try to find a reputable site. They do exist. You just have to choose carefully.

3. Chat with an online tutor / teacher of English so that you can have your questions answered or, if you have doubts, clarification about something you heard or are trying to learn. Hopefully, you have already looked in a bilingual and/or a monolingual dictionary to see if you can understand what you want to know about.

Learning techniques to awaken your inner teacher is a great way to get into the language and make it your own. When in doubt, always ask a native speaker.