There are many resources for learning a language, but I think everyone needs to figure out what works for them. There was someone in my language class who swore by this app which helped him learn words by repeating them every day. That worked well for him, but it wouldn’t for me. I think everyone has to find their own way in which to learn the language – and here is what worked for me…
Language school
I have been learning Danish both at language school and in the ‘real world’. One of the great things here in Denmark is that language school is actually free. Imagine what a difference that makes for people who would like to learn the language – especially a language that is only spoken in a small country of 5.5 million people. Although language school has helped a lot, I still prefer to learn the language in real life situations, because that’s where it’s relevant and so much more fun to learn. So instead of writing a fictional e-mail to a friend about some topic suggested by the language school, I wrote e-mails to actual 
Danish friends, and then sent them off. To fluer med et smæk! (two birds with one stone)
‘Expression of the week’
A Dutch friend of mine gave me this idea; she did this with a foreign colleague of her. Every week, she would teach her a typical Dutch expression – it could be a saying, but also just a way of saying things. So I put a paper on my office door, inviting my colleagues to contribute an ‘expression of the week’. That was a lot of fun, because they came up with fun and interesting expressions that are actually used in everyday life. I think sayings are the fun part of learning a language!
The magic of Harry Potter
And then there is Harry Potter… Having read the books in English several times, I am very familiar with the story. This means that I could read the book in Danish without having to look up every single word – I could often guess what something meant. This was a great help, because starting to read in a new language can be very difficult and a bit tedious. I didn’t find the books that are specifically written for new language learners that interesting, and the books that I would like to read take ages because I would have to look up every single word. It might be a bit of an unorthodox way of learning a language, but it works for me!
I am curious to hear about your ways of learning a language. What has worked for you?