Learn a language in 14 days

Today is your day to introduce yourself to the language.

Language:
- Numbers: learn how to say the numbers and the year.

- Yes/No: learn how to say yes and no, and any varieties there may be for them (for example, several languages have two different ways of saying yes depending on whether the question is affirmative or negative).

- Language names: learn the name of your own language and the one you are learning.

- Talking about the language itself: learn how to ask "how do you say?", "what does this word mean?", "how do you read this word?", "I (don't) understand"...

- Please and thank you: your mum was right, being polite goes a long way. Learn how to say "please", "thank you", "sorry", "excuse me" and "you're welcome".

- Word order: check what the word order in your target language is. Does the subject go first, in the middle or at the end? What about the verb? (you can always find this information on Wikipedia language articles).

Culture:
- Go to Wikipedia and look for the article on the language you are learning. You will get to see what the language is all about in a glance, how many speakers it has, where it is spoken, and a little bit about its history. Read the whole article, but don't become obsessed, just read it as if it were a magazine article. Pay special attention to the word order of the language (usually under Grammar).

On days 2 and 3 you will learn how to introduce yourself and the basic verbs.

Revise:
- Take a few minutes to go over what you did on Day 1.

Language:
- Basic verbs: find the present tense of the basic verbs (to be, to go, to have). Be careful, some languages might have two or more ways of saying one of those verbs (for example 'to be' is Spanish can be 'ser' or 'estar').

- Questions: learn how to ask questions. Remember that there are two types of questions: yes/no questions ("Are you tired?", "Do you like swimming?"...) and content questions ("What time is it?", "When does the store close?").

- Personal pronouns: learn how to say I, you, he, they... Remember that most languages have polite personal pronouns as well. The best way to learn these is to do it at the same time you are learning the basic verbs.

- Days of the week and months.

- Talking about yourself: learn the name of your country, your city, and your profession in your target language. As well as how to say your address, your marital status, and your age.

Culture:
- Look for general information about the main country where the language is spoken. You don't want to become an specialist but a little background on its history, what kind of government is present, its customs and its people will help give the language an anchor in real life.

On days 4 and 5 you will learn how give and understand directions

Revise:
- Take a few minutes to go over what you did on Days 2 and 3.

Language:
- Prepositions of place: learn how to say the basic prepositions of place ("on", "under", "in", "on the right/left", "next to", "opposite", "in front of", "above", "below", "between"...).

- Imperatives: learn how to give orders. Remember that most languages have forms for positive ("go", "stop"...) and negative ("don't go", "don't stop"...) imperatives.

- Asking where something is or where you are: you should now know how to ask basic questions. Now is your chance to try your newly acquired knowledge and put it in context. Don't stop at simple "where are the toilets?" type questions, challenge yourself and make more complex questions using everything you learnt in Days 1, 2 and 3, for example "excuse me, do you know where the toilets are?" or "could you tell me where the toilets are, please?".

- Giving directions: Learn the basic vocabulary and expressions you need to give and get directions ("go straight", "turn right/left"...).

- Basic city vocabulary: learn the basic vocabulary you might need to give and get directions, such as "traffic lights", "corner", "street" and "avenue"; and the names of some basic buildings and features ("bank", "ATM", "police station", "toilet", "tourist office", "hospital", "supermarket").

Culture:
- Research about communities who speak the language outside of its country/countries of origin. Find out if there is one close to you, it can become a great place to practise your language skills and get in contact with the language. People usually like it when someone shows an interest in their language and culture, take advantage of that!

On days 6 and 7 you will learn the name of different foods, drinks and how to ask for them.

Revise:
- Take a few minutes to go over what you did on Days 4 and 5.

Language:
- Food and drink: learn the names of your favourite foods, some specialities of the countries where the language is spoken, and the names of common drinks and beverages.

- Restaurant speak: learn how to ask for things in a restaurant ("I would like...", "I want to try..."...), and vocabulary related to having a meal ("menu", "starter", "main course", "three-course meal", "bill"...).

- Present tense: start off learning tenses with the present. Most languages have a present that expresses general facts and habit, and a present used for things you are doing at the moment of speaking. If you're brave enough go for both, if not just stick to the first one.

Culture:
- Days 6-7 are the perfect excuse to learn about local cuisine of the countries where the language is spoken. Wikipedia has a great collection of cuisine articles, worth taking a look. You could even head down to a local speciality restaurant or try your hand at cooking something new (a great website to find recipes is Allrecipes).

On days 8 and 9 you will learn how be the perfect tourist!

Revise:
- Take a few minutes to go over what you did on Days 6 and 7.

Language:
- Buildings: learn a list of buildings and tourist places you might find in a city ("church", "ruins", "castle", "park", "museum", "monument", "harbour",...).

- Asking for information about places: learn how to ask when a place opens and closes, how how the entrance ticket costs, if you need to make a reservation, if there ask any discounts, and how to get a guide or a map for it.

- Signs: know some common signs ("entrance", "exit", "open", "closed", "information", "ticket booth"...).

- Future tense: keep enlarging your grammar repertoire with the future tense. Most languages have several ways to express the future, go for the most common one. It might not be the easiest, but it's better to spend a little more time learning something useful than something you won't find a use for.

Culture:
- Check what cool exciting places you could visit in the countries where the language is spoken. Tourist guide websites, like Frommer's, are extremely good places to do this.

On days 10 and 11 you will learn how to ask for help and talk about emergencies.

Revise:
- Take a few minutes to go over what you did on Days 8 and 9.

Language:
- Common injuries and accidents: learn how to talk about everyday accidents and common illnesses, such as "flu", "fever", "headache", "pain", "swollen finger", "cut", "burn", "aspirin", "bandages", "painkillers"...

- Crimes: learn the names of some common crimes, like "theft", "pickpocketing", "robbery"... and the verbs related to each.

- Asking for help: learn how to warn people about dangers and how to ask for help ("help!", "watch out!", "be careful!", "I want to report a crime", "I need a doctor"...)

- Past tense: as with the other tenses, most languages have several ways of expressing the past. Go for the most common one.

Culture:
- Do a little research about the health system in the countries where the language is spoken. A lot of countries even have what we would consider 'alternative medicines', that are really interesting to learn about.

On days 12 and 13 you will learn to talk about your favourite hobby. No new grammar, just a couple of relaxing days. You've earned it!

Revise:
- Take a few minutes to go over what you did on Days 10 and 11.

Language:
- Your hobby: learn the basic vocabulary about your favourite activities. Focus on one or two, even if you have a long list of interests.

Culture:
- Do a little research about how big your hobby is in the countries where the language is spoken, and what local variations you can find there. The best way to do this is to just go to Google and search for the name of the hobby and the name of the country.

Nothing new for Day 14, just revise everything you have learnt the past 13 days. There is a lot of new information, and unless you have a prodigious memory you won't be able to remember everything without some revision.

Start by Day 1 and move your way up. You will notice that the first days you learnt made phrases without really understanding how they were constructed. Now, that you do have some grammar knowledge, try making sense of them.

Maybe you realise that you want to expand a little bit on one of the topics or grammar you learnt, do that today.

All photos are from stock.xchng and are royalty free.

From users (in order): hisks, Bikefellow, L_Avi, nkzs, beriliu, juliaf, lusi (last 2 photos).