Depending on the language you want to learn there may be thousands of books, CD's or tools out there (if you're lucky) to help you learn the language. Don't run out and buy anything just yet.

1. First you should do some research. Research the books, and materials best suited to your needs. How do you do that? Well the easiest way is to go online and visit the largest shopping sites that sell books, CD's and multimedia; customers often leave feedback on items they have bought. Read the feedback and quite quickly you should be able to determine what books or materials are best suited to your needs. On the other hand, you may not need to buy anything at all. Some libraries have a foreign language section and they will let you borrow their material for free. In addition, some websites such as speakingjamaican.com can also give you a free head start in the language or dialect you want to learn. If you are a student, who is in high school or plans to go to college, (or are already in college) you can ask a teachers' opinion on what books/materials are best suited for learning your foreign language (of choice). Students could also consider taking the foreign language, of interest, as part of their curriculum.

Another very important point to remember when learning some foreign languages is that there are dialects and forms of the language and they vary by country or by region. You should decide which dialect you want to learn to speak. Here is a simple example: a dialect from "country A" may not be understood in country B, C or D even though it is classified as the same language. On the other hand, another dialect spoken in "country E" may be understood by all other countries. What's a common reason that the dialect of "country E" is widely understood (by other countries)? Well it may be widely understood because all or most of the movies, music or entertainment might be produced in that country (country E), therefore the dialect is widely understood in all the other countries. A foreigner wanting to learn the language might be better off learning the dialect of "country E" since it is more widely understood. Another thing to remember is that, in some foreign languages, a huge variation in dialect should not be an issue because learning the standard form of the language should ensure that you are understood by all native speakers.

Ok other tips for learning foreign languages are:

2. Listen to foreign language music and watch foreign language television, even if at first the language all sounds like "one big long word." By watching the programs, you'll learn new words. Some words have a way of jumping out at you and sticking with you even if you initially have no idea what they mean. With time, you can learn what these words mean by asking a native speaker, asking at school or through self study. If you keep listening to foreign music or watching foreign language television, in time the "one big word" will begin to sound like "smaller word chunks" and eventually you should be able to tell where one word begins and another ends even if you don't understand what the word(s) mean. Later on, you can investigate their meanings.

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