How I plan to learn / acquire Lithuanian

While I have experience in learning / acquiring new languages my process is reliant on various resources that are not available for Lithuanian. Apps such as Speakly, Taalhammer and LingQ are fundamental to my usual approach but unfortunately they do not provide Lithuanian as an option. On top of that there is not as much content aimed at beginners such as YouTube channels, podcasts and resources.

Because of this I will have to adjust my approach but for contrast my usual method can be summed up as follows:

  1. Use spaced repetition apps to learn vocabulary and phrases (recognised recall) .

  2. Listen to content that contains those learned vocabulary and phrases (recognised recall in context). Also known as 'input'.

  3. Practice speaking using the learned vocabulary and phrases (active recall and recognised recall in context). Also known as 'output'.

'Learning a language' means different things to different people and my preference is to focus heavily on what will allow me to have conversations with people in day to day situations. This means I'm (currently) not interested in reading novels or academic papers. I'm not interested in writing poetry and I'm not interested in watching movies and series. Please understand that this is my current goal (that may change in the future) and that you might have different goals. 

Have a think about what you want to achieve. I would encourage you to get as specific as you can so that you spend your time as efficiently as possible.

As I said I won't be able to use my favourite resources but on the plus side I will be living in Lithuania. In the past it was never the case that I was surrounded by native speakers of my target language so it was much more important to expose myself to as much content as possible. Being in the country also means it would be silly to start with a silent period and refuse to speak until I've exposed myself to X number of hours of native content. 

Overall my approach for Lithuanian will be more focussed on active recall and production of words and phrases right from the start compared to my normal input heavy approach. Nothing is set in stone of course and perhaps I will revert to an input heavy/first approach or a blend of both. 

Before I outline my intended plan to learn to speak Lithuanian I should say that I usually do so on my own so that I can follow my own method and schedule without distraction. However since I'm having to go without some critical apps and resources I've decided to sign up to a beginners evening course with Lingua Lituanica: https://lingualit.lt 

I'm doing this so that I can cover some of the early critical aspects to learning a language especially in regards to recognising and producing the phonemes (sounds) of Lithuanian. I want to be able o get personal feedback from a teacher about my ability to pronounce (whether from speaking or reading out loud) Lithuanian.

I don't think it's necessary to to sign up to a course to follow along with my Lithuanian language journey but I do think it's important that you find a way to get feedback on your pronunciation as early as possible.

Anyway here's my current (as of March 2026) plan to learn / acquire Lithuanian for the purpose of having day to day conversations.

  1. Learn the phonemes and practice pronouncing them correctly

  2. Acquire vocabulary and phrases using an Anki deck or other spaced repetition system apps. I don't know how extensive the material that is provided by Lingua Lituanica will be so it might be that what they provide will be enough. Otherwise I will study decks like Xefjord's Useful Phrases or a most common words list. 

  3. Create phrases and short dialogues using the new vocabulary I'm acquiring and memorise them with SRS apps.

  4. Create audio files of the words, phrases and dialogues that I'm learning for extensive listening.

  5. Become aware of the grammar but being overly worried about memorising rules. As with everything else this will depend on how much emphasis is placed on grammar in the evening course.

  6. Practice speaking to people in real life.

  7. Loop through steps 2, 3, 4 and 6 (occasionally step 5 with grammar) with a focus on what will be useful in day to day conversations or what can be easily adapted to many different situations for example Tim Ferris' 12 Golden Sentences or my list of Conversation Connectors.

  8. Immerse in content such as books, podcasts, series and movies if anything in particular takes my interest. Personally I don't usually like to consume that kind of content (in any language) but I recognise that it is useful. I may create my own content for this purpose either by using AI tools or by recording interviews and dialogues with real people.

So that's how I plan to learn how to speak conversation Lithuanian. Almost the opposite of how I've learned other language in the past but perhaps more relevant to the my personal situation.

If you are interested in joining me in this process then join my free Skool Community where I will share resources, insights and tips: Skool.com/Natural-Language-Acquisition

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