There is a lot you can do for learning a language all by yourself — and save a lot of money!

Of course, self-study has its limits.

You can read a book about riding a bicycle, but you will not really develop the skill until you actually ride.

The same can be said of conversation skills:

• Fluent speech requires real practice.
• The mouth and tongue need to learn new sounds and combinations

Now, of course, you can speak at your own pace – even if that pace is very slow.

But you cannot listen at your own pace!

• Being able to „keep up“ with what another speaker is saying is a skill that comes only with practice.
• Native speakers speak quickly, run words together so that it is difficult to distinguish individual words.

Similarly with writing skills

• You need good feedback and correction.

The least expensive solution would be to find a conversation partner – ideally a native speaker – who is willing to help you practice.

More expensive – but faster – would be:

• Taking an intensive course, or

• Taking a long vacation or a job somewhere where you are forced to apply the language.

Lozanov