1. Learn a full sentence or phrase at a time. Don’t waste your valuable time learning individual words. In Estonian, words take on a variety of forms and there is not much to do with basic forms. Don’t be afraid your head will explode – it won’t.

2. Use your imagination; find your sense of humor – everything you say in class does not need to be grounded in reality. The teacher hardly ever shows up at your house to check whether you really have a red or yellow cat. Nobody will be surprised if you say that you have a crocodile living in your bathtub.

3. Do not write translations of dialogues and expressions in the textbook. This makes it impossible to test yourself later to find out what you remember. Instead, use colorful sticky notes, which are easy to place to the wall of your bathroom, kitchen or office.

4. Likewise, do not write answers to the exercises in the textbook, but in a notebook instead. This will give you the opportunity to demonstrate your language skills in class as you read the exercises from a clean book. In addition, this enables you to show what a smarty you are!

5. Do not get hung up on grammar. Grammar is present in every single sentence or phrase that you learn. Grammatical rules are useless if you do not know what to do with them. Focusing your efforts on vocabulary and phrases develops your language skills much faster.

6. Make colorful flash cards with a phrase in Estonian on one side and the corresponding translation on the other. Carry them with you everywhere! They are good for soothing your nerves in a traffic jam or in the dentist’s waiting room, and for entertainment during boring business meetings.

7. Don’t take Estonian too seriously! Don’t stress. Have fun!

A language requires neither a skirt nor pants. (Estonian proverb)

Estonian text in T nagu Tallinn textbook.