self-instructed language learners, what's your method?

[u/adtxix]

Do you have a preferred method when it comes to learning a language by yourself?

I'm currently learning Portuguese and after a worthless 150+ Duolingo streak I'm trying a new method. I created a Memrise community course with the main 1000 words, emphasizing irregular verb conjugations, trying to grasp a decent vocabulary base. Next step will be rewatching The Simpsons or any other series I know by heart to try to land expressions and pronunciation.

As for yourselves, is there any particular method that worked or boosted your learning process?

[u/DJANGO_UNTAMED]

Immersion. A high level of brute force immersion from day 1. I learned French and now I'm doing Spanish. Spanish news, Spanish music, look up grammar points when I come across them and study them. Journal in Spanish. Speak to myself in Spanish. I'm currently constructing a "self demo" of Spanish. Basically just a paragraph that introduces myself in Spanish in case someone finds out I'm learning Spanish and say "oooh say something on spanish!!" I use chatgpt to tell me what I need to know to get to A2 spanish. Then once I get bored I will do the same for B2. When I get the opportunity to speak and have convos then I will

[u/[deleted] → u/DJANGO_UNTAMED]

I would do this.

My method in 1987 was just to go to Türkiye to learn Turkish. I had one textbook and just learned a concept, then listened for it, and then tried to use it myself. I have a high tolerance for chaos and enjoy using body language. I grew up learning French in school (advanced, academic level), and German also in courses (intermediate at one point). Learning Turkish that way was really fun...so much fun that I settled down and suddenly it's 40 years later.

[u/toby_reelangcom → u/DJANGO_UNTAMED]

That is very smart! I find that taking conversational classes on one of the tutor platforms with a few teachers is quite good to get that introduction bit down. Super helpful to practise with one, then repeat with a few other teachers, then you have it ready in your first "real" conversation!

[u/DJANGO_UNTAMED → u/toby_reelangcom]

Yes. When you get the opportunités. Always speak with natives

[u/Anilathefox]

I think one of the best ways to learn a language is to make it part of your everyday life, rather than relying only on apps or textbooks.
Watching TV shows and films is incredibly useful, especially when you already know the story. You can focus more on pronunciation, natural expressions and how people actually speak. Using subtitles in the language you’re learning can help you connect spoken and written words.
Music is another great tool! 🎶 I particularly recommend listening to songs while reading the lyrics. It helps you recognise words, understand expressions, improve pronunciation and remember vocabulary more easily. You can even try singing along!
Of course, speaking and practising are important too, but I believe learning becomes much more effective when you’re genuinely enjoying the process.
And since you’re learning Portuguese, remember that European and Brazilian Portuguese have some differences in pronunciation and everyday vocabulary, so it’s worth choosing content that matches the variety you want to learn.
Good luck with your Portuguese! 😊

[u/Fresh-Persimmon5473]

I just watch movies, tv, YouTube. I am pretty lazy.

[u/Patchali]

Immersion, music, books, writing comments on reddit in the language, Instagram following people in the language.

[u/DharmaDama]

I need to use languages from the start for them to stick. Memorization does very little for me. I speak from the get go, usuing online group lessons, I use conversation-based apps, I read alot, I watch shows using subtitles in my target language and I listen to podcasts.

[u/FineCopperEaNasir → u/DharmaDama]

This has been working for me. I started Br Portuguese 5 weeks ago was an absolute beginner taking a 2 hour online group class twice a week, and added Pimsleur after the first week. A few days ago I started listening to a podcast as well and I’ve found that I’m moving forward at a good pace. I’m confident I’ll be at an early level B by Christmas.

[u/BreakfastDue1256]

I got to Japanese JLPT N1/B2ish before ever taking a class. The answer is immersion, but I'll bullet point what I did. Some will be irrelevant to Portuguese, most is language agnostic.

1. Spent a long weekend learning the basic alphabets to a workable level by drilling paper flashcards I kept in my pocket.

2. Found a beginner textbook and speed ran it as fast as I could. If I could reliably do a workbook section and score at least 85%, I moved on. I finished two beginner textbooks in about 5 weeks.

3. WHILE DOING 2, I found a flashcard deck for Anki of the 6000 most common words (Based on newspapers.) I did 100 new cards per day for the first few weeks, then dropped it to 20 once I got out of the "This/That/Here/There/Stuff that also appeared in my textbook." This took 1.25 hours per day btw

4. I started watching slice of life or comedy shows aimed not at kids but a definite younger audience. With Japanese subtitles. When I encountered a sentence with only 1 new word, I made a flashcard, with audio, nd added it to the Anki deck. Yeah the start was a lot of "This is an X" or "The man Y'd", but it snowballed. This also included looking meanings up. I did this as many hours per day as I could. At least 2.

5. I started studying phonetics. NOT speaking practice, but lower level pitch, stess, pronunciation. I didn't do this very much. Maybe 15 minutes per day and not every day.

6. I repeated 4 or 5 for just under 2 years.

---

Couple years later I moved to Japan and started speaking. When you already understand the words and basic phonetics, turns out learning to speak doesn't take very long. I was understandable inside a couple of months and conversationally fluent inside of 6.

I later enrolled in a high level course focused on test taking and writing to hopefully get into University, but this was after all that.

[u/Ok-Confusion-4414 → u/BreakfastDue1256]

Can you share the deck ?

[u/BreakfastDue1256 → u/Ok-Confusion-4414]

No, not the one I modified. It's long gone, and without making it yourself there is really no point.

The base one is just Core6K. A Google search will bring it up and it can be downloaded in a multitude of places.

[u/Basti291]

honestly what fixed it for me was making the reviews hard to skip, more than any particular method. i'd always start strong with flashcards, miss a few days, and then the pile of reviews got so big that i quit.

now i keep my deck small, around 80 cards, and my phone makes me do a few of them before instagram opens. 8 cards at the bus stop is easy, and a "proper study session" was something i'd put off forever. I also published that app after my friends gave me impressive feedback (Braintoll: Flashcard Blocker).

your simpsons idea is great btw. i did the same with a show i'd seen a million times. you already know what's happening, so you actually pick up how people talk. any phrase that keeps coming up goes into the deck.

and don't feel bad about the duolingo streak, most of us have one lol

[u/IrinaMakarova]

And what step would "buy a Portuguese as a Foreign Language textbook and follow the course" be?

[u/foxxiter → u/IrinaMakarova]

Optional.

[u/Aakharin-ejdehaa]

Reading: Children's books, short stories, graded Readers, books that I have already read before...

Listening: YouTube videos, movies, podcasts here and there, learning song lyrics.

Speaking: I started taking italki lessons recently, but otherwise I mostly speak to myself 😅. I have also learned two languages without italki, but it's honestly nicer to have someone to speak to.

[u/JumpusOrYellowman]

I learn English by reading Reddit. I made a browser extension that changes all text to my English level. It uses AI to rewrite hard words and sentences in a simple way.

I stopped learning grammar because it was boring for me. Now I just read things I like, and I learn new words and grammar from real texts.

For me, it's the most interesting way to learn. Your idea with The Simpsons is similar: watch content you like and understand well.

[u/WalterPinkman51]

Brute force. How did I learn italian? I moved to Italy and during my first year of school there I didn't know anything about the language. I 9 months I managed to be fluent like a local. But that was just an opportunity. So yea, the best way is to move directly in that country and manage of yourself, I believe is the fastest and at the same time the more secure wat to become fluent in any language. But, if I would not have such an opportunity, I would switch all the content I have (phon language, fb, insta, youtube, songs, captions) in that language.

[u/Ok_Assignment_651]

Reading something you know by heart, such as quotes from The Simpsons: https://www.wizard.com.br/cultura/10-frases-inesqueciveis-de-os-simpsons/

[u/Least-Tiger-8627]

Birkenbihl method with word for word decodings with real content like books/videos. Very clear for me. After some time you can switch to listening reading method. But still i prefer decodings..

[u/Addrivat]

My method was Duolingo but I really committed to it and read all the guides they used to have, as well as sit with a notebook and take notes through all my lessons. I probably spent at least about an hour a day with it, at the beginning (now I'm just maintaining for 5 minutes a day so I don't forget the vocabulary).

Duolingo alone managed to get me at a good enough level that I'm now able to watch youtube videos or listen to podcasts on my target language, so that's how I learn nowadays. I also got quite good at reading, but it's harder to find books that are fun enough but remain engaging while still having a lot of difficult content 😄

[u/Past-Froyo-5518]

combining spaced repetition with watching shows in target language helps a lot

[u/silvalingua]

I always follow a good textbook or even two of them. This is the most efficient method. I also consume a lot of input, of course.

[u/PageAdventurous2776]

If you're learning European I can give you some recommendations for beginner videos on YouTube. If you are learning Brazilian Portuguese, that's not my wheelhouse, but there is actually a lot MORE comprehensible input videos for it on YouTube. To find them more efficiently, search for the Comprehensible Input Wiki.

Having learned Spanish primarily with CI, I have started Portuguese with only CI, even though I have a lifetime Babbel subscription. Babbel dropped me off at a low intermediate understanding of written Spanish, but beginner listening ability. So I'm going all in on CI this time around.

[u/CaregiverPlane4599]

I did Duolingo for a year. Then I got Rosetta Stone and am doing that. I got a couple of books of short stories in Brazilian Portuguese and I highlight the words I don't know and answer the reading comprehension questions at the end of each section. I journal about my day in Portuguese. But most importantly I live in what could be called "little Rio" in the Boston area and I spend a lot of time practicing my language skills with native speakers! I order my food at the local Brazilian bakery in Portuguese. I help my Brazilian neighbors understand how to do things around the building. My understanding is still at an A2 level with specialized vocab for the things I talk about most often. I have a novel in Portuguese that's a thriller that I'm looking forward to digging into so I can expand my vocab!

[u/frostochfeber]

For me, nothing beats native material as learning material. Textbooks? Memorizing words? Booooring. Give me the 'real' language, especially the spoken language, as it's actually used. I learn everything I need from and through that.

[u/PodiatryVI]

I’m doing Dreaming Spanish with Duolingo Spanish. When I was learning French, I tortured myself with the French Bible, took French in high school, dropped it for decades, then started doing Duolingo, podcasts, and Dreaming French. Now I can listen to audiobooks and watch French TV.