Did you decide to learn Esperanto? Great! Are you able to visit an Esperanto course? If so, in that case you're a very lucky person. Unfortunately, not many people have that ability, and because of that, they have to learn the language completely by themselves. For those people (and also for those who simply prefer to learn alone) we decided to create an article, in which we give some advice about the most effective ways to learn Esperanto independently.

Motivation

Before getting started with independent learning, it's worth considering your reasons. Why do you want to learn this language? Without motivation, your learning could become too long, boring, and uninteresting, and after some amount of time, you risk losing enthusiasm for it.

Preplanning

Do you already have a motivation to learn? If so, it's time to plan your learning process. To reach your goal, you have to do a lot of work, so it's good if you plan in advance, so you can realize your wishes. Create a large and detailed (as possible) plan., then divide it into several parts then into all large tasks that you want to accomplish, then into small tasks. Next to each task, indicate how much time it should take you to complete (by your calculations) and which methods you intend to use for it. The more detail you use to consider everything, the easier your learning will be later. The plan is also extremely helpful to those who have limited free time. When working according to your plan, don't ever skip to another task if you haven't yet finished the task that you planned to do before it. If you notice that your plan isn't perfect, don't despair - you weren't able to foresee every problem and difficulty. You can always reconsider everything and create a new plan, that will undoubtedly be even better than the first, because you already have more experience in the language you are learning.

Enjoyment

Independent language learning requires a lot of time and strength, particularly in the beginning. But you must be patient. People like to be constantly rewarded for their work, they don't want to wait a long time until their wishes are fulfilled. And if that doesn't happen quickly, they begin to lose interest. To prevent that from happening, try to get pleasure from every word that is learned, from every completed step of your plan, from every sentence you write. If you have a plan prepared, you can easily see how quickly you are progressing and how you are succeeding in accomplishing what you set out to do. You will see real results of your work. And thanks to that, you don't have the feeling that you're "standing in one place" and never progressing.

Reward

Learning of Esperanto, like all learning, can sometimes be a lot of fun and can sometimes seem boring and difficult. And different sorts of people like different aspects of learning. Therefore, try to organize your learning plan so that the fun and difficult parts are mixed together well. You can also introduce a "reward" for yourself - for example, when you successfully pass a certain grammar test, the reward will be to simply enjoy Esperanto music, your favorite Esperanto author, online chatting, or a game. Decide for yourself! Just like in life, it's easier to follow the path to a great reward when you know that after every difficult part of the path there are small, but fun, rewards.

Regularity

The more regularly and frequently you learn the language, the better. It would be better if each day you could dedicate a half hour or so to learning, rather than a few hours once a week. And don't put off until tomorrow, the things that you can do today, especially if that is foreseen in your plan.

Helper

When learning from the very beginning, it's difficult to avoid errors, so it's good to find someone who already speaks the language well, who can correct your mistakes from time to time and explain to you the difficulties of the language. When learning Esperanto, it's worthwhile to find out if there is an Esperanto club in your city, or if an Esperanto speaker lives somewhere near you. If that doesn't help, then you can begin corresponding with someone from another country. There are many Esperanto speakers who like to correspond and who will willingly help you.

Co-Learner

Try to get a friend, a family member, or even a neighbor interested in the language. It's much easier and more fun to learn other languages in pairs. You can correct each other, exchange new knowledge, chat in the language you're learning, travel together to a place where they speak the language. You can even compete with each other.

Travel

One of the advantages of learning Esperanto is that it offers many travel possibilities to those who like to travel. And at the same time, travelling is one of the best ways to come into an environment where people use only the language that you are learning, and fully experience it and its culture. Therefore, if you like to travel, begin to find out about the next Esperanto event or about an Esperanto speaker who likes to host people, in the region that you would like to visit. There is more information here.

Stimulating the senses

Always try to utilize as many of your senses as possible for learning. For example, if you read, try to pronounce all of the words out loud at the same time, and imagine what you are reading. If you memorize words, read them, pronounce them out loud, write them down on paper, and imagine the meaning of those words in your head. Thanks to those actions, all of the information will be fixed in your memory for a long time.

Methods

There are many different methods that you can use during your learning. Here are some of them:

There are many things that you can utilize for learning. We listed only a few. Use everything that, in your opinion, helps you get a good grasp of a new language.

Don't believe those who say that you need some special talent to learn languages. That isn't true. If you have good motivation, a plan, if you are patient, willing to work, and organized, you will succeed in accomplishing everything!

Learning of a language is similar to a long, sometimes difficult, and sometimes very enjoyable journey. Only the most enthusiastic and stubborn reach the final goal. If you decide to learn Esperanto, we congratulate you and wish you BON VOYAGE!