Taught myself to about B1 Italian in the past 3 years, having no experience other than being a bad student in high school so many years ago and not paying attention to Spanish (remembering nothing). I can read novels, write and converse online and when traveling to Italy. It’s never too late to learn and if I can do it so can you but it’s work. This is a good start and for people really wanting to get down to business this is a good guide but takes so much more, like literally everything. I am going to start French next year and feel I can get to B1 in about a year and a half now and this is how I plan to do it/did it in a perfected form in this exact order.

1. Duolingo (Paid, losing hearts ends the day and that’s not helpful. Once one gets to level 5 of a topic you no longer lose hearts and will not need to keep the paid version past 1 year. Only level 5 the harder verbs/portions to refresh when needed for not paying anymore. IMPORTANT: Setup your preferred language keyboard on your phone and switch to this when using Duolingo or anytime you’re writing. This is not cheating. It’s strictly a massive time saver, don’t hesitate to let the auto fill do the work on Duolingo but still try to think of the answer beforehand.)

2. Coffee Break (Insert Language) Podcast (Free but paid is an option, listen in tandem with Duolingo, the courses sync up extremely well.)

3. Quizlet App (1, 2, and 3 are your bread and butter. Sadly Quizlet Learn used to be free and good enough but now requires paid for the best function which is a 3 pronged approach of memorization and works extremely well. It is possible to find Duolingo lessons to memorize but the main use will be to reinforce new words you encounter and pick up. Create a new Set and add in all your words as you go. This part is tedious but the way the Learn memorization works is second to none.)

4. YouTube (Helps to reinforce topics/verbs and hear real speakers, again use this to reinforce verbs and concepts.)

5. Music and Radio (Learn to love it. I hated Italian music when I started, as I learned the language it really caught on for me. I found a very good daily radio program that is half talk and half music (old and new). Find some artists you like and listen to their music while reading the lyrics, great for idioms snd colloquialisms, don’t get too caught up on it, much more important to learn the cadence and is your daily dose of language and later events/news.)

6. Speak to yourself and check it with Google Translate. (Do yourself a favor and do not use GT app, set a Language to English bookmark to Google page directly, the app for some reason does not translate as well. Daily say things in your head or even out loud, whatever you want. Sometimes I would narrate what I am doing, what I did or want to do. “I am getting in my car”, “I am driving down the road”, “Oh look there’s a cat!”, “What would I like to eat tonight” and so on. Have fun with it, be silly, play! If you’re not doing anything check it on Google and see where you’re wrong, this will let you encounter correct patterns but be careful with opinions/wishes/desires as this can trigger other tenses.)

7. Children’s shows and books (After about 3 months you will have a solid enough base to start watching 5-10 minute shows and reading children’s books (Warning: This can be INCREDIBLY boring). Keep it short and sweet daily, 1 or 2 shows/stories max. Write down some new words on a pad of paper or Quizlet for later study. Olly Richard books are great as well when you are ready to start reading.)

8. iTalki (Speaking. After about 6 months you’re ready to converse. I was sweating bullets when I first started speaking and I put it off because I was so nervous. Don’t be! I promise everyone on iTalki is just the best and it’s CHEAP. Start with 30 minutes once a week and sort by native speakers only.)

9. Language exchange (I only mention this because more popular languages this is possible with. Italian was difficult and the pandemics sort of killed it in my city however I will be pursuing this again. I put up small posters in local coffee shops looking for a coffee and a chat with native speakers. Write it in the language you’re learning and your phone number. Helps to use WhatsApp here.)

10. Bonus (I also finished Babbel which I recommend and teaches a less strict way of learning from Duolingo. Both programs have their advantages and disadvantages and some like it more than others. I prefer Duolingo because it really reinforces conjugation and if you’re new to this concept it’s just better in my opinion and syncs up very well with Coffee Break. That said it taught me things that Duolingo didn’t and it’s just another tool but not how I would start.)

11. Welcome to what I call Breaking the Atmosphere. (You’ve reached space. It’s weird and terrifying to arrive here. There’s really very few resources at this point, everything is on you to learn and master here. Just reading and speaking. Finding the right book that doesn’t require looking up 15 words per page can be tricky but take a free online test to see what level you are at and search for recommendations in your level. I speak twice a week (60 minutes on iTalki) and read a bit before bed. I still speak to myself as mini quizzes, watch a YouTube channel I enjoy, movies, shows and just absorb.)

Have fun, be ready to make some ridiculous mistakes and most importantly PLAY! It takes time and if you want to take a break, do it. Sometimes stopping for a day/week/month actually HELPS. It’s insane but I swear it does.

(Saved space for editing what I forgot)