Advice about learning Esperanto with lernu.net

Hi !

We are delighted that you are interested in Esperanto and that you have registered at lernu!. In this messsage we wish to present in brief some thoughts about learning Esperanto.

Try several courses

At lernu!, there are many different types of courses and learning aids at different levels. Our suggestion is to try several of them, and complete the ones that you like. If you have not learned Esperanto before, we imagine that it will work well if you initially follow this scheme:

1. Do the first two parts of the course Mi estas komencanto (I am a beginner) to familiarise yourself with some common phrases and to start practising the pronunciation of Esperanto's sounds.
   
   
2. Next, try Bildoj kaj demandoj (Pictures and questions), which will teach you basic topics by the direct method, i.e. without clarifications in another language. If you like this course, go ahead and do about 10 parts of it.
   
   
3. Also, go through about 10 lessons of La puzlo Esperanto (the Esperanto puzzle) to get an overview of the language elements of Esperanto.
   
   
4. Now you can easily go through the first three parts of the correspondence course Ana Pana, and in this way get in contact with a personal language helper.
   
   
5. Travel to five cities in Vojaĝu kun Zam (Travel with Zam); this will familiarise you with many useful words.
   
   
6. It would also be good if you read the first pages of Pri La Fundamento (About the Fundament). That way you'll become familiar with the "basic rules" of Esperanto.
   
   

Then return to the courses that you enjoyed, and complete them. In this way you will hopefully acquire a good base for further learning, through other parts of lernu! or elsewhere.

Use the language

When you have a basic knowledge of the language, it's important that you start using it in communication with other Esperanto speakers. One way to do this is to use the message system or forum at lernu! - you will find them under the menu heading Communication. Other ways are to go to Esperanto meetings, subscribe to a magazine and read books. You can find help at lernu! about these methods too, for example under Library and on the main page under "Recently in the Esperanto movement".

Don't believe that Esperanto is very easy

In our experience, learning a new language is always a challenge and never a "very easy" thing. The same is true for Esperanto, although it is clearly less difficult than national/ethnic languages normally are. Even those who have never really succeeded in learning a foreign language can learn Esperanto! But much learning and practice is necessary if you want to use the language fluently and correctly. Don't be amazed if from time to time you lose hope in ever speaking Esperanto well... However, if you are ready to make an effort for a few months, or a few years, you will definitely succeed and will then be able to enjoy the international language Esperanto in many different ways!

We would like to end this message with a quotation that we think is important (from "La Bona Lingvo" by Claude Piron):

"Esperanto is not a national language, and does not share their aims or functions. The criterion for judging its merit should not therefore be the extent to which it is capable of doing what national languages do, but the extent to which it fulfils its own function: acting as an intermediary between peoples."

Bonvenon kaj sukceson! / Welcome and good luck!
All helpers of lernu.net

If you have a question or comment, you can send it via the comment link below, which is at the bottom of every page. Also in the website are people who volunteer to help you in the language which you prefer. For example, you can contact the following people: erinja CE4JLK BasCostBudde ilia rdmiller3 Martinbr Jarvis russ darkweasel Sbgodin iurigaspar tipodesegnisto.