The HTLAL forum has an Advice Center for first-time language learners. This is intended to be a friendly place to ask basic questions. But a few popular questions have been asked dozens or even hundreds of times.
Getting Started[]
- How do I start learning a language?
- Which language should I learn?
- And should I learn two languages at once?
- What courses and other resources should I use?
- What are some good courses… in general? …for French?
- How do I use… Assimil? Foreign Service Institute? Listening/Reading? An SRS? Other popular techniques?
- Is Rosetta Stone any good?
- I have 2 weeks / 2 months / 6 months before visiting country X. What do I do?
Common Problems[]
- How do I stay motivated?
- How can I improve… my accent? my listening comprehension? my speaking?
Finding Resources[]
- Besides courses, what are some other good resources for… French?
- Where can I find online radio stations and how can I listen to them?
- What about foreign language TV?
Contributing to this FAQ[]
There is an ongoing thread at HTLAL where we are proposing topics. Please feel free to join us, or to fill in any of the linked topics above.