I went from no Mandarin skills, to managing teams in the language over a few years. Here are 3 things I learned along the way about language learning: 1. Pick a

I went from no Mandarin skills, to managing teams in the language over a few years. Here are 3 things I learned along the way about language learning: 1. Pick a method and stick with it - at any given time I was doing flash cards to practice vocabulary, working through a grammar book, and listening to a language learning podcast, Chinesepod. Every now and then, I tried new methods, but generally, once something worked I stuck with it until I felt it wasn't working anymore. 2. Habit - Every morning I woke up and completed my flashcards. Every day I reviewed my flashcards at least once during my break at work. Most days I listened to an episode of Chinesepod on my commute to or from work. Most nights I spent 30-60 minutes going through my book and reviewing my notecards/podcast notes. I had a schedule and stuck to it most days (though there was wiggle room when things got busy). 3. Don't be afraid to sounds stupid - Whenever I had an opportunity, I would try to converse with someone. Even though I butchered the language for at least 2 years, I got a lot of feedback and practice with pronunciation and tones that I would have missed if I just stuck to reading my books and practicing speaking to myself. To sum it all up: pick a method and practice daily. You can do this anywhere with little investment beyond 60 minutes of uninterrupted study per day.