Learning a Second Language: Twenty Minutes a Day Is Enough

Plenty of people start a language with great enthusiasm and give up a few weeks later. The secret to keeping going is a plan that fits into everyday life: twenty minutes a day that never gets skipped.

Take listening seriously

Find podcasts or short videos at your level and play them on your commute or while you cook.

Turn on subtitles in the target language, not your own, so your eyes and ears learn together.

Read more: The Pomodoro Technique: Focus in Short Bursts

Spaced repetition

Learn words inside sentences and review them with spaced-repetition flashcards. The brain keeps what it reviews at the right moment.

Ten new words a day is plenty; more than that usually slips away.

Speak from day one

Talk to yourself out loud, describe your day in a few sentences or find a language partner.

Mistakes are part of learning. The goal is to communicate, not to be perfect.

The takeaway

Short daily practice beats long, irregular classes. Listening, spaced repetition and real use are the three pillars of learning a language.

This is a sample article, written to show what the blog can do.