Locate a foreign language class through a community college or private institution. Check local admissions booklets or the phone directory to find a language class near your residence. Learning a foreign language in a classroom environment offers you the ability to meet other people to study with and a professor to explain sounds and meanings in depth. Classes can be expensive if purchased through private schools, and they may be less expensive through community colleges.
Read and listen to the language to learn how to write and speak. Novices can start by listening to books on tape to increase their language knowledge, understand accents, and to follow along in the book while listening and repeating the words. Those who are familiar but not proficient in the language can self-teach by reading materials such as dictionaries, books, newspapers and magazines to increase their vocabulary. Reading and listening is an inexpensive way to learn a new language.
Spend the extra money and hire a private tutor who speaks the language fluently. Tutors can be found through referrals, phone directory or a local Internet search. Working with a tutor can drastically increase your ability to speak another language because you are receiving one-on-one attention to your issues and questions. When you are not meeting with your tutor, speak to yourself out loud in the foreign language and use other skills such as books on tape to keep your memory of the accent and sounds fresh.
Flashcards work well alone or in conjunction with other learning techniques. Once you understand the sounds of the foreign alphabet, create flashcards to quiz yourself. Write the English word on one side of the card and the foreign language word on the other. Do the same with verbs, nouns, pronouns and the foreign language alphabet. Flashcards can be carried in your pocket and used at any time of the day, such as waiting for the doctor or in the school pick-up line.