1. Don't Focus on Fluency
Realistically, complete and total fluency for someone learning a language on an adult level, is not impossible (clearly a lot of people do get there), but it should not be the focus of you trying to learn a language as an adult. Bring your focus down to a more manageable level. I want to be able to talk about make-up with my Spanish speaking clients. I want to learn how to say my order in French at the Bistro. I want to learn how to get directions in German. Start there and then grow your way up through the language in stages. Focus on smaller goals within the time frame you've given yourself to learn, and use those milestones to then transition into learning new things within the language. Say, now that I've learned how to ask for directions to the museum, now I want to know how to ask about the artwork there.
2. Don't waste time on irrelevant words/conversations
Language covers everything we do as human beings and that is an enormously tall order to try to think of having to learn another language in those terms. Instead, focus on words, phrases, and conversations that would be relevant to you. If you are going to be taking on a job dealing with kids, learning the names of colors, numbers, school supplies, times of day, the subject matter you'll be teaching, are important. Learning stock market terms, or medical terminology, probably aren't going to serve you well. In other words, maximize your learning time on things and concepts that will be relevant to you and who it is you'll be speaking to.
3. Label Everything
If you are at ground zero meaning you know nothing in another language, make/buy some flashcards. Focus on learning one concept/area/situation at a time. Label everything in your house, but in order to sort of minimize the chaos of that, go in stages. Learn something, like all the main items in one room of your house per week in another language, like the bathroom. Label your toothbrush, the window, the floor, your make-up, the toothpaste, the sink, everything with it's foreign name and every time you use it, pick it up, look at it, repeat that word. It's easier if you have a visual cue attached to the words to help give it context. When you feel competent that you have learned a word, remove it's flashcard and store it for later generalized practice.
When you are more advanced, focus more on words/phrases you've heard often or that you read but did not understand and make note of those for flashcards. It makes sense to learn words and phrases that you've heard spoken or seen often because odds are they will come up in conversation or you will need to know what they mean.
4. Use your words in a sentence
When you start memorizing and understanding words, don't just let them sit in the attic of your brain. Use them in sentences. Use them every single day, over and over. Even if you feel dumb, do it anyway. For example, if you have labeled your kitchen, and you've learned the word for apple in Spanish, practice in the real world: "my favorite fruit are manzanas." All week long, every time you say apple, say it's foreign word in place of, or joining with the word in your native tongue. Learn basic sentences, and use them. Keep adding to these sentences each week, not just the key words, but verbs, adjectives, nouns, common phrases, etc.
5. Toss the Grammar book out the window (for now)
If I said to another English speaker, "I goed to the car." That sentence doesn't make sense, and yet it does. The other person would understand that this person probably meant that they went to the car, though grammatically what they said was incorrect. Rather than sit there and conjugate every verb for the next six years, learn the basic structure of another language first. In Spanish: "Yo comer manzanas," literally means, "I eat apples," but like the 'goed' in the first example, it's incorrect grammar. However, the concept is understood by native speakers. Even if you didn't use the correct tense, they understand that you meant, you eat apples. Once you get the basics down of just putting together somewhat coherent sentences, then go back in and spend the time learning to fineness the language. You just don't want to spend forever getting bogged down with a bunch of grammar, half of which native speakers, even in your own tongue, don't follow 100% of the time.
6. Get a teacher, IRL or over the internet
Learning by yourself is great. You can become extremely dedicated, but you do eventually need someone to practice with and who can help you with that pesky grammar and using correct accents. Unlike in school where you were forced to learn from a certain teacher, pick someone who makes it fun and helps you learn what you need to learn without it seeming like a punishment. Shop around. Hit up the internet to find online courses or better yet, find someone in person, maybe even a friend, who wants to practice with you that is very patient as you are just learning.
7. Watch and Listen
Tv, radio, youtube videos, movies...watch and listen to all of these things in a foreign language regularly. Language is not just about parroting words on a page, but it's about how you talk with your hands, the jokes you tell, the slang, etc. You need to absorb some of these things whenever you don't have time to practice with another human being. Listen to the accents, listen for the words you've learned, jot down words and phrases you want to learn. Put on the captions, in that language, not your own.
8. Immersion
YES, it's scary going to a place where everyone knows the language, the jokes, knows what each other is saying, and you do not, but you have to get out of your comfort zone and either fully go to that other country and navigate your way through the language, or go where the Native speakers are near you, and force yourself to use what you know, to start the journey to speak the language. If you are super nervous, go with a friend who speaks the native tongue who can help you, but try and practice practice practice. Yes, there will be some a-holes who want to make fun of you. There are these types of a-holes in every language by the way, but there are just as many if not more who want to help you out and help you to speak their language.
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