TLDR: attack learning a language from as many angles and media as possible, multitask language learning with other goals (walking/exercise, travel, movies to se

TLDR: attack learning a language from as many angles and media as possible, multitask language learning with other goals (walking/exercise, travel, movies to see etc). -- I've studied over 10 languages, and have known 5 fluently at one point or another. I wrote a post about my 30,000ft tips here: http://cosmicrays.wordpress.com/2010/05/16/language-learning/ http://cosmicrays.wordpress.com/2010/05/16/language-learning... As for closer to the ground tips WRT study resources, I like the Before You Know It flash card system for getting the basic building blocks: http://www.byki.com/ http://www.byki.com/. They have an iPhone app, which is key; I manage to learn a few words in obscure nooks and crannies of times. I also find as many language learning podcasts as possible, put them on my iPod and listen to them when I take extended walks. I usually take a course or two, not necessarily for the coursework or diploma but to keep my study goals on track. After I get some basics, I engineer a situation where I need to speak the language, whether it's an extended vacation, working abroad, a dedicated language partner, or something more creative (I once volunteered at a kindergarten!). I've tried immersion without getting a few basics beforehand, and while it may get some to their goals more quickly, I found the frustration too great and found investing a few weeks or months of prep before trying immersion more fruitful. Additional supplemental material: movies/tv (with in-language subtitles), children's books, switching your electronics to the language, romantic partner, news articles.... Arabic is especially hard IMHO, I've taken a handful of Arabic (MSA) courses, studied by immersion, and even worked professionally with Arabic text (machine translation research). When I started to learn German from scratch as a native English speaker I still knew more German than Arabic simply due to cognates and ease of reading. Doh! Good luck!