How to learn a language without pulling your hair out

Lots of questions I get from this blog relate to language learning and fluency. Now I know there are people way more qualified than I am to answer question on language learning methods and advanced software programs and all that jazz, but I'll let you know what I did and then we'll call it a day.  My experience, of course, is with Spanish but the following can apply to French or Russian or whatever you like.  Only not Tagalog. Or Azerbaijani. 

First, I'd highly recommend the free podcast Notes in Spanish (can be found here).  I found when we came to Spain that we had paper knowledge of Spanish but totally lacked conversation skills and the ability to listen to native speakers, so these podcasts helped a ton.  

Second, check out Meetup.com and see if there are any Spanish language meetups in your area.  In Phoenix, the levels ranged from native speakers to total beginners, and it was a friendly and supportive learning environment, as well as being a fun place to meet new friends. As an added bonus if you are very lucky, you will occasionally get to learn inappropriate pick-up lines in other languages.

Third, check out the "Practice Makes Perfect" series of workbooks – you can find them fairly cheap on Amazon, and they provide good structure and exercises to remember all the past perfect subjunctive thingamajigs that sadly actually matter when you're learning a new language. Also, you get to translate sentences like "I belong on the A-list" (see Figure A above).

Fourth, try to find some children's books in Spanish at your local library and read through them with a dictionary.  Basic vocabulary, basic grammar. If you are like me, you will be shamed and humiliated that a 3-year-old can speak circles around you - it's motivating and good practice for the ego hits you'll be taking once you start speaking to native speakers. 

Fifth, have a blast.  It's really fun, gets your brain moving, and opens up new worlds. And if you have a language buddy, you can speak code in your new foreign language when you don't want other to eavesdrop.

Sixth, don't be afraid.  I'll repeat it: don't be afraid.  Embarrassment and perfectionism don't have a place in language learning, so leave them at the door. Be loose, and know that you're going to make mistakes, hundreds and thousands of them, and that you'll laugh at yourself and keep going. You'll get better. Everybody does.