Quora: What works the best when learning a new language?

Question on @Quora: What works the best when learning a new language?

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Learning a language is a life-long journey. The founding father of Singapore, the late LKY, was still learning his last Chinese lesson the night before admitting to hospital in February 2015. He passed away on 23 March at age 91. Like Bill Gates, both of them have only ONE regret in life – mastering Chinese language !

One can never claim to be an expert even in his mother tongue.

Below is my own learning journey with 5 languages – 3 spoken & written (Chinese as mother tongue, English as 2nd language in secondary & high schools, French in university), 2 at only elementary level (Japanese and Korean):

1. Chinese: as a child we learn how to speak before how to write Chinese characters. This is also the helpful tip for foreigners who want to learn…