I’m using Duolingo for Spanish.
I took 2 semesters of Spanish 2 years ago to complete my Associates degree. Oddly enough, the professor had a drinking problem and the classes were ruled by his antics. Anything I had managed to learn, I promptly forgot.
I don’t think I’ll ever be conversant, but you never know. Like this app, it is one I’ve committed to using every day.
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For me this app is my every day language practice (I’m german) 
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My husband’s mom is from Germany but his dad put his foot down about her speaking to their kids in German when they were growing up. Which is too bad. What a perfect built-in way to become bilingual.
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I hit all my study goals last night!! Gonna do it again today.
This was my kanji writing practice:
@AppropriateStress According to my buddy:
With Mandarin, focus on listening and speaking. Don’t get bogged down in the characters. This is simple advice, and all he had. There isn’t a tip or trick, it’s just work and figuring out what works. Daily usage, review, etc. The Fluent Forever book provides a strong foundation to learn a language from. I go back to it a lot.
@ifs I am going to work what you said about focusing on understanding words into my study. I think that is a great way to go!!!
Some other general tips:
I think this is great to know:
When kids learn languages, they follow a series of predictable stages. In English, for example, they begin with simple sentences: birdie go (The bird has gone), doggie jump (The dog is jumping). Shortly before they reach three years of age, they begin to use the -ing form of verbs (doggie jumping). Within six months, they’ve added the irregular past tense (birdies went) and is (daddy is big). Then, finally, come the regular past tense verbs (doggie jumped) and the present tense verbs in the third person (Daddy eats). Every English-speaking kid goes through these stages in the same order. According to researchers, you will never find a kid who learns to say “Mommy works” before “Mommy working.”
English students will follow developmental stages that closely resemble the development of child speech. Like the kids, they start out with -ing (He watching television) and only later learn is (He is watching). They master the irregular past tense (He fell) before the regular past tense (He jumped). Toward the very end of their development, they master the third-person present tense (He eats the cheeseburger).
Wyner, Gabriel. Fluent Forever (p. 113). Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale. Kindle Edition.
Getting started with ANKI:
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Thank you !
I have been learning essentially what children learn recently, how to say you are hungry, basic animals and colors ,numbers etc. Glad to be going in the right direction. I will definitely get fluent forever or maybe see if it’s my Kindle unlimited for now and read it while I order a physical copy.
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This is super helpful!!! I wish I had known sooner. So much wasted time 
I guess that is part of learning though!!
Effective learning: Twenty rules of formulating knowledge:
https://www.supermemo.com/en/archives1990-2015/articles/20rules
I have the Kindle version and really like it. It lets me follow the links more easily! I can enthusiastically recommend it!!
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I hope I never have to know how to ask this in any language 
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Nice, I’ve only tried the free version. It’s a good app!
Google translate is my go to for writing. If I keep what I want to say clear and simple, which is good practice anyway, it works well. Then I translate back and forth to check how accurate the sentence is. It also has a reading feature, so you can listen to how to say what you are translating. And it’s free!
But you should read the Google app Terms of Service to see why it’s free, just for fun, before using it. 
That is a whole different topic though!
I use another app called Translate Box that works well too. It uses all the different translators on the web, and shows slight differences in translations.
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Maybe just a few words and phrases. Like I love Finland, and It’s so cold today!
Rakastan Suomea!
Onko se aina niin tumma ja kylmä?
I think its interesting that being financially unstable is a factor in your triggering depression Ive known two people very similar to that. What may help is changing your attitude towards finances, just like changing your finances. Eckhart tolle, the author of ‘power of now’ had been homeless a few years but as his attitude towards being poor and homeless had changed, he was in a state of bliss.
Btw thats determination, nearly 3 hours a day I admire that👍
I think cheating is one of the core principles to learning a language. Whatever makes remembering and understanding it easier is the way to go!
Are those phrases incorrect? Google has done a lot of work with on the translator and I’ve found it to be really good if what I’m translating is kept simple. It’s much better than it used to be.
This was my thought too @anon89892515!
@Mephistopheles I know as a native speaker this might not be on your radar, but do you know of any good resources for someone looking to learn Finnish? I can’t say I’m prepared to pick it up at this point, but I’m always interested in resources. Particularly for languages not part of the massive Indo-European language family, they tend to pique my interest in a special way.
For me it’s a trigger because so much is tied to money. Whether we like it or not. I don’t think living on the street would put me in a state of bliss no matter how much I changed my perspective, which is where I’d end up if I was completely broke. I’d probably just get sick and get my ass kicked.
It’s related to not being able to find work, and being seen as a failure by my peers and society. Money is critical to a healthy life, and being able to do the things you want to do. At least for now. In some countries it’s easier to get by without it than others.
Anyway, if you’re really curious, just pm me. I’d be happy to talk about it. Just fyi too, I have a bachelors degree in accounting
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Yep, totally agree. It’s just one tool of many! The best way to learn is immersion, and living in the native country. Talking with native speakers is number two!
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Thanks @Dreams and @ifs. I’m doing what I can! It’s sink or swim time for me so it’s good motivation. I’m gonna make the most out of it while I have the drive. Luckily I enjoy writing the characters so that makes it a little easier. I didn’t get the free writing time in last night so I’ll try and make it up today. Studying after working sucks, but hey, しょうがないですね!! It’s a skill I want now, and it will open a lot of doors!
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I found these four principles are key (from the Supermemo website):
1. Do not learn if you do not understand
Trying to learn things you do not understand may seem like an utmost nonsense. Still, an amazing proportion of students commit the offence of learning without comprehension. Very often they have no other choice! The quality of many textbooks or lecture scripts is deplorable while examination deadlines are unmovable.
If you are not a speaker of German, it is still possible to learn a history textbook in German. The book can be crammed word for word. However, the time needed for such “blind learning” is astronomical. Even more important: The value of such knowledge is negligible. If you cram a German book on history, you will still know nothing of history.
The German history book example is an extreme. However, the materials you learn may often seem well structured and you may tend to blame yourself for lack of comprehension. Soon you may pollute your learning process with a great deal of useless material that treacherously makes you believe “it will be useful some day”.
2. Learn before you memorize
Before you proceed with memorizing idividual facts and rules, you need to build an overall picture of the learned knowledge. Only when individual pieces fit to build a single coherent structure, will you be able to dramatically reduce the learning time. This is closely related to the problem comprehension mentioned in Rule 1: Do not learn if you do not understand. A single separated piece of your picture is like a single German word in the textbook of history.
Do not start from memorizing loosely related facts! First read a chapter in your book that puts them together (e.g. the principles of the internal combustion engine). Only then proceed with learning using individual questions and answers (e.g. What moves the pistons in the internal combustion engine?), etc.
3. Build upon the basics
The picture of the learned whole (as discussed in Rule 2: Learn before you memorize) does not have to be complete to the last detail. Just the opposite, the simpler the picture the better. The shorter the initial chapter of your book the better. Simple models are easier to comprehend and encompass. You can always build upon them later on.
Do not neglect the basics. Memorizing seemingly obvious things is not a waste of time! Basics may also appear volatile and the cost of memorizing easy things is little. Better err on the safe side. Remember that usually you spend 50% of your time repeating just 3-5% of the learned material [source]! Basics are usually easy to retain and take a microscopic proportion of your time. However, each memory lapse on basics can cost you dearly!
4. Stick to the minimum information principle
The material you learn must be formulated in as simple way as it is
Simple is easy
By definition, simple material is easy to remember. This comes from the fact that its simplicity makes is easy for the brain to process it always in the same way. Imagine a labyrinth. When making a repetition of a piece of material, your brain is running through a labyrinth (you can view a neural network as a tangle of paths). While running through the labyrinth, the brain leaves a track on the walls. If it can run in only one unique way, the path is continuous and easy to follow. If there are many combinations, each run may leave a different trace that will interfere with other traces making it difficult to find the exit. The same happens on the cellular level with different synaptic connections being activated at each repetition of complex material
Repetitions of simple items are easier to schedule
I assume you will make repetitions of the learned material using optimum inter-repetition intervals (as in SuperMemo). If you consider an item that is composed of two sub-items, you will need to make repetitions that are frequent enough to keep the more difficult item in memory. If you split the complex item into sub-items, each can be repeated at its own pace saving your time. Very often, inexperienced students create items that could easily be split into ten or more simpler sub-items! Although the number of items increases, the number of repetitions of each item will usually be small enough to greatly outweigh the cost of (1) forgetting the complex item again and again, (2) repeating it in excessively short intervals or (3) actually remembering it only in part!
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Kanji of the day
Uke (受け) (IPA: [ɯke]) is in Japanese martial arts the person who “receives” a technique.[1] The exact role of uke varies between the different arts and often within the art itself depending on the situation.[2][3] For instance, in aikido, judo kata, and bujinkan ninjutsu, uke initiates an attack against their partner, who then defends, whereas in competition judo, there is no designated uke.[4]
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