Learn a language-you need to know

 

学习语言必备

 

Make realistic, specific goals

 

制定现实而具体的目标

 

You have decided to learn another language. Now what? On our recent live chat our panellists first piece of advice was to ask yourself: what do you want to achieve and by when?

 

Donavan Whyte, vice president of enterprise and education at Rosetta Stone, says: "Language learning is best when broken down into manageable goals that are achievable over a few months. This is far more motivating and realistic."

 

You might be feeling wildly optimistic when you start but aiming to be fluent is not necessarily the best idea.

 

Phil McGowan, director at Verbmaps, recommends making these goals tangible and specific: "Why not set yourself a target of being able to read a newspaper article in the target language without having to look up any words in the dictionary?"