hydrashok

I’ve been using Duolingo to learn a language for a few years now, enjoy it, and feel that I continue to progress. I know there are other apps out there as well but I don’t have any experience with them. Duo does have a gamification component to it — some of which you can disable, but not all — and there is a cost if you choose to subscribe.

For me, though, I’m likely going to need to immerse myself and/or take a few formal classes to get better at conversational speaking as I keep learning. Not many folks around me learning German. The app does help practice conversations and give tips, which is nice, but using a language in real life with another person is more effective for me.

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

Train yourself. Pavlov’s sleep. Every time you go to bed, watch/listen to the same thing. Eventually, your brain associate the thing with “time to sleep”. That’s how it works for me, anyway. I turn on the same movie and pass out in minutes. Don’t do it with one of your favorites, though.

And also, don’t do things like lay in bed watching TV or messing with your phone all the time. You want the bed to be mostly mentally associated with sleep