How do we learn to talk when we are toddlers? You point at something and ask what is it, you learn its name, you repeat it out loud (use it in a few phrases, with more or less success). You generally ask something about it, too (what does it do, why is it so big, etc...). So when you are done, you know the name, the use, how does it looks like, what does it do, etc.
You have to understand that just memorising words or phrases won't get you very far. You need to associate these words with something that makes sense to you, to fully understand and integrate them into your brain.
I teach myself languages as a hobby, now and then. I've learnt some Japanese and Chinese, for example (using iKnow [1], great website and apps). I wanted to learn the Russian alphabet but was having a hard time reading the characters until I came across an article [2] which provides cheeky associative method. It's brilliant, I can read any text in Russian now (I can't understand it yet, but hey, it's a first step!).
You have to understand that just memorising words or phrases won't get you very far. You need to associate these words with something that makes sense to you, to fully understand and integrate them into your brain.
I teach myself languages as a hobby, now and then. I've learnt some Japanese and Chinese, for example (using iKnow [1], great website and apps). I wanted to learn the Russian alphabet but was having a hard time reading the characters until I came across an article [2] which provides cheeky associative method. It's brilliant, I can read any text in Russian now (I can't understand it yet, but hey, it's a first step!).
[1] http://iknow.jp/ [2] http://gadling.com/2009/03/30/gadling-teaches-you-to-read-th...