tl;dr: learn basic grammar and vocab, then find a high quality exam through Coursera. Then, use my guide for how to study for an exam.
If you want to learn a language, there are two things you have to keep in mind.
First of all, learning a language requires a lot of hours. There’s no way around it. You’re going to have to spend a lot of time learning vocabulary and grammar, pronouncing words, and listening to people talk.
Also, like all learning, you’re going to have to spend a lot of time making mistakes in every part of the language before you’re close to fluent.
The second thing is that there’s no such thing as “learning a language”. Weird thing for me to say, right?
Well, let me put it this way. If I took the local drunk outside my office building to the classroom of my geophysics professor in college, neither of them would be able to understand the other.
They both speak English, but in very different contexts, using different vocabulary to achieve different goals.
Before you decide to learn a language, decide what learning a language means to you. Do you want to watch a sitcom in that language? Ask for directions? Read a textbook?
Then follow the steps below.
1. If you’re starting from scratch, first learn the basic vocabulary of the language. This should be around 500 words, which you can learn by just putting definitions into 21st Night.
If you’re learning how to speak or listen to the language, too, you can do so by finding appropriate Youtube videos.
2. Then, learn the basic grammar of the language, using the vocabulary words you’ve compiled.
3. Get a high-quality test that tests what you’re looking to learn, preferably with additional practice tests and lots of practice questions.
I’d advise Coursera courses, which are free, have quizzes, and are popular enough that it’s easy to find your exact questions already on the Internet.
4. Follow my guide of how to study for an exam.