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As you may know (or notice), I’m totally fond of languages and I really enjoy learning them.

I started by learning German when I was 8 years old, then I began with English when I was 12, Italian and Spanish when I was 14 and Russian when I was 16.

And every time I start learning a new language, it becomes easier and easier because now I’m used to HOW to learn a language.

There are some little methods that I’ve come up with over the years that really help when you want to study a new language, so that’s why today I wanted to share with you some of my most precious “tricks” and advice.

(But don’t forget that everyone is different and that what works for me may not work for you.

Try and you’ll find your own way ;D) - Write down examples, not only words.

After so many years of school and vocabulary books, I can now confirm that my teachers were right (though we never really believed them...) : vocabulary is the most important thing in studying a language and learning a word in its context helps remembering it a lot.

So whenever you come up with a new word or idiom, write it in your notebook with its translation into your own language, but not only: add the complete sentence where you found it.

I promise you it will help you to 1) remember it, 2) know how and when to use it.

Same thing when you make a mistake in an exercise: write the correct sentence somewhere.

Knowing where your mistakes are helps.

- Songs are always a good idea.

Can you imagine a funnier way to learn a language than to do it with music and songs you like?

It may seem off-topic, but this really helped me learn lots of vocabulary and improve my pronunciation.

Listen to a lot of songs in the language you’re learning (I’m sure you’ll always find something you like, the Internet is wide), search for the lyrics, translate them and try to learn them by heart.

It’s a very pleasant way to learn a lot, fast and without many efforts.

- Don’t be afraid to speak.

I know it is not as easy as it seems, but you’ll see that one of the most important things with a foreign language is to dare talking it with someone.

Even if it is not perfect.

Even if you make mistakes.

Even if the person in front of you doesn’t understand and makes you repeat.

If you don’t try, you’ll never learn. That’s it.

I know as well as you do this fear of speaking a foreign language when you know you don’t speak it perfectly, but this doesn’t matter, the people you talk to will almost always make an effort to understand you and even to correct your mistakes, and one thing I can ensure you is that the moment when you have your first conversation in a foreign language I one of the most wonderful feelings ever.

It is worth trying, and the most difficult part is to take the first step.

Then you get used to it, the fear disappears.

Sooner or later you’ll always find yourself in a situation where you HAVE TO talk and can’t avoid it anyway, so it’s better to do it as soon as possible and practice, no? ;) - Try language exchanges.

This is a perfect way to learn a language AND make friends at the same time.

You only need to find someone who speaks the language you learn and learns the language you speak.

You can do it through Internet with e-mails, writing to the other person and correcting their mistakes, or in person (if you are lucky enough to live in an international city).

It’s a very effective, fun and cheap way to learn new words and expressions.

- Read books or magasines, watch TV and films.

As soon as you are able to understand something in the language you are learning, practice it!

Read and write down new words, watch TV (with subtitles if you need them) and try to understand as much as you can.

Live the language in all its aspects.

- Study regularly.

Of course studying three hours of that language every Monday is useful, but the most useful and quick way to master a language is to never stop learning.

My last English teacher told me about the 15-minutes –a-day method.

It’s easy and effective.

If you don’t have time to study one hour a day, it doesn’t really matter, but try not to spend a day without being in contact with the language.

Use 15 minutes every day to learn vocabulary, read, watch TV or anything else that helps you learn.

It will be easier then to warm up for studying seriously if you never loose contact with the language.

- Talk to yourself.

I know this can sound quite stupid, but it’s one of the things that helped me the most when I was trying to master new languages.

When you’re alone somewhere, try to explain to yourself what you’re doing or thinking in another language.

This will force you to remember how to make a sentence, conjugate a verb or it will make you look up some words you don’t know.