Learn the Lingo Little by Little

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A holiday is the perfect time to submerge yourself in a new language. Even if you're not traveling to a foreign country (though I strongly recommend it to anyone willing to broaden their mind), you might have some extra time at home where you can close the door to unwelcome (i.e. native language) interruptions and create a foreign language environment for yourself.
But what if you don't really want to spend the hours it takes to learn a new language? You'll be glad to know that it doesn't take as much effort to learn enough to get by. All it takes is a couple of minutes each day of dedicated practice, and the willingness to test out your skill in real life.

When learning a new language, people often start cramming in vocabulary and grammar, thinking that this will eventually lead to full mastery of the language. It will ... eventually ... as in decades from today. But why do you need to get to a near-native level? Unless you want to teach the language you're studying, it's okay to make mistakes. (Actually, I know plenty of foreign language teachers that still make mistakes, including me.)

What you should focus on in the beginning, is picking up those key phrases that will get you in good graces with the locals. Find out how to say 'hello', 'nice weather today' and how to ask where the bathroom is. Learn one of these phrases when you have time, and then repeat it whenever you have the opportunity.

The key to learning a language is not dedication or the perfect course, it's repetition. Repeat, repeat, repeat! Ask any 3-year old. 

I learned English through endless repetitions of the same phrases on TV, on the radio, in my made-up conversations with guys I had a crush on (who never spoke English, so why I was making up conversations in a language we would never use together could go a long way to explaining why I was single all the way through high school.)
The Chinese I can remember is stuff I use from time to time. I'm forced to repeat it, so I'm forced to remember. The lack of repetition means you forget. No matter how many years you studied and how much grammar you knew!

Are you currently learning any languages? Which ones would you want to learn?