Learning a second or third language is quite a common hobby. A lot of people do it in order to improve their skills and add a little something to their resume, others do it to communicate better with spouses and friends and some simply to it for the fun of it. A very common way of learning a new language is the self teaching method. A lot of people don’t have the time or the money required to attend a full on course and they choose this slightly more convenient way of learning. Most people take a course that guides them through the process, it can be a book, a CD package or a computer course. You can even find it online.

As good as it may sound, there are some disadvantages in learning a language this way. It’s much easier to slack off and forget to do homework since there is no one that would scold you for it. It’s very tempting to drag the process much longer that it should be, since there are always other obligations and things to do instead. There are also certain aspects of the language, like pronunciation and speaking, which might not get the attention they need. These few setbacks can harm your learning process, but you can definitely decide to overcome them and succeed. Bellow is a list of a few tips and things you should try to do in order to improve your learning process:

Set weekly time in your schedule. It’s very easy to miss lessons when lessons are something you do in your free time. Free time is something that changes from one week to another, while a language needs to be studied on a routine base intensive english course. If you set a certain time each week for your lessons and practice you won’t miss a lesson, you won’t forget the material from one lesson to the next and you will generally find that your learning is much more systematic and effective.

Surround yourself with the language. The best way to learn a language is by having it all around you. That is one of the reasons we learn our first language so easily. A very good way to improve your knowledge and fluency in a language is visiting a country where it is spoken. If you don’t have the money or the time to do so, try to make up for the lack of this language in your home environment. You can start watching films or TV in this language (first with subtitles, and at some point without).

Get another friend on board. It is much easier to learn when you are not entirely alone in the process. Once you have someone else going through the same thing, you can support each other and convince each other not to give up during the hard times.You can also help each other out. If there is something you don’t completely understand, maybe your friend can explain. The best thing about having someone else learn this language as well is you can practice speaking with each other. Yes, you are both learning and you might make mistakes but it will help build your confidence so that when you get the chance, you wouldn’t be shy about using it because you’ll be used to it.

If you’re worried about progressing in a good pace and not wasting you’re time or giving up in the middle of the course, a good idea might be to make a list of goals before starting the course. Just like a teacher organizes the material by lessons and time periods you can do the same thing. Go over the curriculum and set goals for each week or month. This way you’ll be able to monitor your own progress and you’ll be satisfied with your achievements. Note that once you start the course you might find that you need more/less time for each stage, in which case you should update your schedule to match your progress rate.

With these few everyday things you’ll be able to make the most of your home language course. You may have noticed that most of these tips don’t offer specific things you need to do while studying but rather general changes you should make in your life and in your approach towards learning. Once you adapt the right approach and prioritize this course as an important task rather than a fun activity to pass free time, you’ll see how your learning i