in my case I would start firs of all by what I label it as "to create the noise of it " and that's by listening and watching whatever I find pleasing to me (in my case usually it's documentaries and cartoons), just to get the gist and the melody of it and that is usually serving as a warm-up of some psychological and mental aspects ,as if signaling my spirit of what's coming!! In the next step I would start with something handling basics regardless of the form of the material, videos books(like Assimil)or course with both of them, as long as I'm taking notes I could get feeling that I'm intentionally learning and aiming for that particular language ...after that I always try to keep track of my level and the hours I am putting in the process just to try blocking the tenacious sneaking devil when learning a language, and that is Frustration and anxiety !!, because ultimately if you could really deal with those rest assured that you'll hit the fluency in such language!!

I guess it really depends on your drive and dedication but I’m sure you could learn by yourself (to an extent) with how much information is on the internet. Personally I’ve tried apps like duolingo and flash cards, which is great for teaching basic words but ultimately for the right direction you need a person to teach you. Just my opinion though😆

Hi Lara! If it’s a totally new language for me, I choose the platform/the book/some online courses where they teach languages. They usually start with 1 lesson, where they slowly introduce you the primitive grammar (for example, pronouns: I(me), you, he she etc), the simple vocabulary, simple dialogue/audio/video etc. So i think it will be difficult to start on your own. It’s better to choose the right platform/book or course to learn languages.

I think it depends on what you want to achieve