Got a long list to memorize? Don’t start with memory tricks. Start with letting the list take you to a different world.

I’m learning Spanish by Christmas, and the first step is learning the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). First for English, then for Spanish. The best way to learn the IPA? Anki decks.

Last month, I announced my goal to learn Spanish by Christmas. Over the last few weeks, I’ve ordered books and CDs, and downloaded decks and audio files. Find out what it actually looks like to start studying a language on your own.

The other morning, I tried reciting a few chapters of Mark while I jogged. The synergy surprised me. Both reciting and jogging felt much easier.

I’ve been talking my whole life, but never been aware of how my mouth actually makes these sounds. Now, the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is revealing the hidden, intricate precision of how my mouth constructs thousands of sounds per day.

I’ve wanted to learn other languages for as long as I can remember. But wanting doesn’t get you far. Neither does making big Anki vocabulary decks that have critical flaws. But thanks to my recent finds in both language learning and self-motivation, my time has come. I’m learning Spanish by Christmas.