Lots of good advice. My general approach (regardless of memorization technique) is:
- Learn a little bit of simple vocabulary
- Find out the major quirks (do different tones mean different things, does the language have clicks or trills or other difficult sounds, etc.)
- Introduction to language grammar; you do not need to learn all the details to start, just the lay of the land
- Learn how to pronounce the sounds
- Learn a little about the sentence structure and word order. You may luck out if the target language is in a similar family to one you already know.
- Find out what the noun variations are; singular/plural, gender, cases
- Learn a little about how pronouns, articles, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions work; which vary based on gender or case
- Learn what the verb tenses are, and how irregular they are
- Read up on the conjugation of present and simple past tenses of verbs. Focus first on to be, to go, to come, to walk, to sit, to stand, and other common verbs
- Spend most of your time on vocabulary (including idioms). >90% of learning a language is vocabulary. This is a long grind. Even if you are not perfect with grammar, knowing what the words are will allow you to understand what is being talked about.
- Expose yourself to (i.e. talk with) native speakers and to media from the culture.
- Go back to learning a bit more grammar when you find some aspect of the language that you are not understanding.
- Keep improving your pronunciation; realize that how you first learned to pronounce things was only good enough to get started
I have come to believe that (assuming you have exposure to native speakers and media and a good grammar reference) optimization of learning vocabulary is the main factor in learning a language. Whether that is with memory palaces, Anki, notebooks, Duolingo, a tutor, or other techniques, efficiency is the key. Part of the optimization is prioritizing which words you learn when, and having a system of introducing those words, learning them, and reinforcing them.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. And don’t get hung up on having to get the right word every time. Here’s a general quote on learning:
The older I get […], the more “Sucking at something is the first step to being sorta good at something” feels true. The best learners are the people who push through the discomfort of being objectively bad at something.
– Tommy Collison @tommycollison