What To Learn In A New Language: Step-By-Step Guide [2025]

I know, it might be overwhelming to start learning a new language if you don’t know how and what to begin with.

That’s why I want to answer all your questions and doubts about what to learn in a new language. So many people fail to learn a new language simply because they get lost. Not having a plan and not knowing what you should learn is a major issue for failure.

I’ve already learned 3 foreign languages and keep learning. So, in this article, I’ll tell you what to learn in a new language and how to approach learning.

Are you ready? Let’s get started!

What To Learn In A New Language: Revealed!

Here is a list of things to learn in a new language as a beginner (A1 & A2 level):

Vocabulary Basics

Grammar Basics

Grammar Tenses

• Imperative Tense
• Future Tense
• Past Tense

1. Week Of Learning A New Language

Here is what I suggest you learn during the first week from vocabulary and grammar perspective:

Vocabulary

The first thing I suggest you learn is ‘Greetings.’ You’ll learn how to say hello to somebody and basic words such as good morning, afternoon, evening, goodbye, and how are you.

Right after, you can start by introducing yourself. Learn basic phrases such as “My name is,” “I come from,” “Where are you from,” etc. Imagine you’re meeting a new Mexican friend (or German, whatever language you’re learning) and trying to introduce yourself to him. So think about all the phrases you would use and learn them in a foreign language.

The first week is like an introduction to the new language. You get familiar with it and learn these basic phrases and words.

Grammar

As for grammar, learn personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they). Also, you can incorporate questions. Learn how to form questions in a foreign language. You’ll learn how to present yourself and must ask somebody to introduce himself to you.

So, learn the interrogative pronouns (what, why, where, when, how). Also, study how questions are formed in the language.

👉 READ ALSO: How To Set Achievable Language Learning Goals: 9-Step Guide

2. Week Of Learning A New Language

Here is what I suggest learning during the second week. You can also learn less within the first week and add more things to the second week – just find your pace.

Less is more, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Rather, learn less, whatever fits your schedule.

Vocabulary

You can start with countries and nationalities since you’ll need these words when introducing yourself. Or you’ll need to understand somebody telling you where they are from. Here you can also learn languages. How would you express what languages you speak?

Also, start learning words for jobs and professions, such as lawyer, shop assistant, businessman, doctor, nurse, truck driver, etc. Think about all your friends and family members’ professions and learn them in a foreign language.

Grammar

In your second week, learn how to create negative sentences. You don’t know many verbs for now, so don’t stress out. Just notice how to form negative sentences in a foreign language. That’s it.

3. Week Of Learning A New Language

Here is the learning schedule for week n. 3:

Vocabulary

You have a couple of vocabulary words in your head already, and you are starting to grasp the basics of the language. That’s amazing. Keep going. This week, we’ll learn everything about our hobbies and interests.

So, think about all your hobbies and interests and learn them in a foreign language.

Afterward, you can learn the basics, such as numbers and colors. Remember that you’re trying to get familiar with all these words in your new foreign language.

Don’t try to stuff them into your head; don’t feel disappointed when you don’t remember a few. Take it easy.

The important thing here is to be in contact with the language and this vocabulary. Use these techniques to memorize new words effectively.

Grammar

Since we are learning about our hobbies and interests, it’s essential to learn basic verbs. So, you first need to learn how to conjugate basic verbs in the language.

I suggest you get the Barron’s Verb Series Book. This book is amazing as it has all the verb conjugations you must learn. So, just look up a verb you need and see how to conjugate it in each sentence.

The verb conjugation is not a big deal in English. However, learning German, Spanish, French, or Italian becomes more difficult. In these languages, verbs are conjugated differently for each personal pronoun.

💡 PRO TIP: So pick a verb you want to learn, look it up in the book, and learn how to conjugate it in all persons. Do so with as many verbs as you need. You can also make a habit of picking 10 new verbs each week or so.

4. Week Of Learning A New Language

This week is also going to be one of the exciting ones. We are learning how to express activities and things we do in our daily routines.

Vocabulary

Go through your day and think about all the phrases you need to express what you do during your day.

Along with daily activities, you’ll also learn the time when you do them. Learn how to say what time it is in your foreign language. Also, add days of the week to say on which day you do particular activities.

Grammar

For this week, keep up with learning verbs. New verbs will add up when learning how to express your daily activities – especially reflexive verbs.

So, you can now learn how to conjugate reflexive verbs. And just keep looking up all the verbs in Barron’s verb book.

👉 READ ALSO: 7 Benefits Of Learning A Foreign Language For Travel

5. Week Of Learning A New Language

This week, we’ll learn everything that’s left on our list. These are family members, weather, and giving directions in a city or on the street.

Vocabulary

When learning about family members, just learn the basic words such as mother, father, sister, brother, and grandma. Don’t spend too much time on it. You can learn more words later on.

The same applies to weather. Learn how to say, “It’s cold, it’s hot, it’s snowing, cloudy, it’s sunny,” and that’s it. This will help you get a general understanding of the language.

Grammar

When learning family members, you can start learning simple adjectives as well. Learn how to say your mum is beautiful or your dad is clever. Again, think about adjectives you would associate with your friends and family members and learn those simple adjectives.

Congratulations. As a beginner language learner, you’ve now learned all the basic vocabulary you need. You’ve gone so far. Look back at everything you’ve achieved so far. Celebrate!

I recommend refreshing every topic you’ve learned in the next three weeks. Start from the beginning again (greetings and introduce yourself) and try to speak the phrases aloud. Just practice and keep learning the vocabulary you started in the past weeks.

6. Week Of Learning A New Language

As a revision, repeat everything you’ve learned. This week, you can go through greetings, introducing yourself, countries and nationalities, jobs and professions, and hobbies and interests.

Imagine you’re talking to somebody in a foreign language and telling them everything about yourself, your profession, hobbies, and interests.

💡 PRO TIP: When learning new words and sentences, have a Google Translate open or ChatGPT and listen to the pronunciation right away. Listen to it repeatedly and speak the words out loud.

I believe speaking is the most important language skill. And so, at this stage, as you revise the vocabulary and sentences you’ve learned, I highly recommend finding a tutor online and having these simple conversations with him.

Tell him what you’ve been learning by yourself and ask him to practice simple dialogues such as introducing yourself, asking him where he is from, etc.

I’ve been practicing speaking Spanish with natives on iTalki, which has improved my language skills immensely.

➡ Check out iTalki and practice speaking with native speakers.

7. Week Of Learning A New Language

This week, revise everything you do in your daily life. Make a speech in front of a mirror and tell yourself what you do each day of the week and at what time you do it.

You can also have a look at the modal verbs this week. Just learn how to express modal verbs in your foreign language. Modal verbs are: can, may, must, shall, will.

You don’t need to necessarily learn the past version of them (could, might, should, would). Keep it simple, and don’t overload yourself with verbs.

👉 READ ALSO: How To Overcome The Fear Of Speaking A Foreign Language: 9 Proven Tips

8. Week Of Learning A New Language

As part of the last week, repeat vocabulary such as family member, weather, and giving directions.

When revising family members, you can start learning comparisons. But, again, stick to the basics and learn how to say: my dad is taller than my mum. My brother is funnier than my sister, etc.

Also, you can look at ordinal numbers and become familiar with them. Again, don’t worry if you can’t remember all of them. Only have a look at the first 10 ordinal numbers.

You’ll use it at some point when speaking. So then you can come back to it and use it in a conversation. It’s only important to gather the material and know these ordinal numbers exist.

7 Steps To Learn A New Language: Full Guide

Here is a quick list of the steps to take when learning a new language:

1. Focus on 1 topic at a time
2. Write down all the words/verbs within a topic you need in a conversation
3. Memorize new vocabulary and verbs in a fun way (playing games)
4. Construct sentences & dialogues using new vocabulary & verbs
5. Practice pronunciation of the sentences & talk to yourself
6. Find a tutor online and practice speaking these dialogues
7. Repeat these steps for every new topic

I recommend focusing on one topic at a time. Write down all the words in a topic you want to learn, and then translate them into your foreign language.

After that, memorize new vocabulary in a fun and effective way by creating flashcards and playing games (pexeso, taboo). At a later stage, try to construct sentences using new verbs and vocabulary you have learned.

Imagine a basic situation in which you want to speak the language. Let’s say ‘introducing yourself‘. This is about a dialogue you would have with another person. Write the entire dialogue down in your language notebook.

Also, write it into a Google Translate and listen to the pronunciation. Then practice speaking – talk to yourself first. Afterward, find a tutor online and practice dialogue with him.

Repeat this process for every topic, incorporating more words, new situations, and new grammar structures. Always ask your tutor to learn and explain the topic you first learn by yourself.

Incorporate More Language Resources

Also, after about a month, incorporate more resources. Start listening to a podcast (I recommend Coffee Break Languages) or audiobooks.

You don’t need to understand everything, but it’s important to be in contact with the language. If you come across a new word you want to learn, pause it, write it in your language notebook, and remember it.

➡ Check out these audiobooks & listening resources.

Start reading some books and magazines. You’ll see how the words are written and how sentences are structured.

➡ Check out these foreign language books with magazines & reading resources.

To have more fun, watch some movies in a foreign language. I like watching movies on Lingopie. It’s like a Netflix for language learning.

Not only can you watch your favorite movies or TV shows, but it also motivates you to learn the language along the way. You can save new vocabulary and practice pronouncing it on the platform.

➡ Check out Lingopie & watch your favorite movies & TV shows here.

Most importantly, don’t forget to speak, speak, and speak. Talk to yourself every day in the language. Find a tutor or a friend with whom you can have conversations and who can correct you when speaking. It’s essential to get rid of your fear of speaking.

So once you’re in the country, you can communicate clearly and have fun.

➡ Check out iTalki & practice speaking with natives here.

BONUS: Best Way To Learn A New Language As An Adult: Simple 9-Step Guide

This is what I suggest you study when you start learning a new language. I’ve developed my own method for learning languages, thanks to which I’ve already learned 3 foreign languages and keep learning more.

If you want to learn a new language as an adult, click on the image below and follow my detailed guide on how to do it, too:

Get My Language Travel Notebook

I’ve created a language notebook for you to keep track of new vocabulary. Whenever you want to learn a new word, mark it down within a respective topic and come back to it if you forget its meaning. It’s your best language-learning companion.

Get the language travel notebook by clicking on the image below:

First 100 Words & Phrases To Learn In A New Language

I’ve also created a list of 100 words & phrases to learn in a new language. So, if you’re just starting with your foreign language, download this list for free and incorporate these words and sentences into your learning process:

FAQs

I’ve also answered some of the frequently asked questions about learning a new language. So check my answers below:

What Is The Best Thing To Learn In A New Language?

Vocabulary in topics/situations in which you know you’ll speak the language. Imagine all the situations in which you’ll come across the language while traveling, on a business trip, or at school. Then, write down all the vocabulary you’ll need to speak within each topic and learn it in dialogues.

What Is The First Thing You Should Learn When Learning A New Language?

Basic vocabulary, such as introducing yourself, numbers, months, weekdays, family members, colors, food, etc. Also, incorporate basic grammar like pronouns, adjectives, simple sentence structure, questions, negative sentences, and basic verbs.

What Are The 5 C’s Of Learning A New Language?

Communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities are the 5 Cs of learning a new language. These give you a clear purpose for why you’re learning a new language, rather than just following basic institutional structures or forcing you to learn it at school.

If you have a clearer reason for learning a language (like family members speaking the language and you wanting to connect or learn a language as a traveler, connecting with your business partners, or moving to a new place), it makes the language learning more effective.

What Is The 15/30/15 Method?

Spend 15 minutes learning the language in the morning (e.g., while having breakfast), 30 minutes learning at lunchtime, and 15 minutes in the evening.

This makes it easier for your brain to process and find the time. And you won’t even realize you’ve learned a language for 1 full hour daily.

WRAP-UP: What To Learn In A New Language

This is what I’ve been doing to learn a new language and what I recommend you do as well. Don’t forget to make it fun and part of your everyday life. Incorporate resources that you like to make it more interesting. Language learning can be a lot of fun if we know what to learn and how to learn it. And I’m sure this process will help you with it.

If you have any questions or need help learning languages, contact me at info(at)voicesoftravel.com.

Happy Learning!