Learning a language is a skill. More so learning Samskrit due to the foreign method being employed in its teaching, its literature predominantly being in Sloka form and the non-availability of good teachers and books around you. Hence here are some tips.
Language is basically speech and interactive. Reading and writing through script comes later. Hence it should be learnt in that order only. Speak the language before you read and write, and listen before you speak. You may start with video lessons available at http://www.sanskrit.nic.in/ or there may be many other conversational lessons available in the internet. While viewing them, listen attentively and repeat the words and sentences as many times as possible. As you pick them up, start using those words and sentences in your daily life at home or with friends. It makes you acquainted with Samskrit sounds and naturally internalises the word forms and sentence structures. This accelerates your learning.

Further, you may join any of the courses offered by Samskrit Promotion Foundation’s https://www.learnsamskrit.online or Samskrita Bharati’s https://www.samskritabharati.in/correspondence or http://nsktu.ac.in (National Sanskrit University Tirupati) or https://www.sanskritfromhome.in (Vyoma Linguistic Labs Foundation) or https://www.hua.edu/academics/programs/ (Hindu University of America) to name a few. There are many other good online courses offered by institutions and individual scholars. Every course is unique and useful. You may choose the course depending upon your interest and level of your language proficiency. Courses offered by Samskrit Promotion Foundation are supported by Videos, Audios, weekly classes and WhatsApp help apart from course books.

The success of your learning hinges mainly on three things given in the order of importance - 1. Learner’s efforts and approach to learning 2. Teacher and teaching method 3. Books/Teaching-learning-material. Though in the context of education in general, the order of importance would have been 2, 3 and 1, here in your context, 2nd and 3rd are not directly in your circle of influence whereas 1st is fully at your command. Hence let us delve on the 1st.

Though your purpose of learning Samskrit may be to read and understand the great works of Samskrit, at the stage of learning the language and for the sake of mastering it, you need to practice communication in Samskrit both oral and written form. Don’t wait for people with whom you can speak Samskrit, but start speaking Samskrit with whoever is around you. Listening and speaking will give you fluency. Reading and writing will enhance the correctness of your language and improve the vocabulary as well. Constant thinking about the words, their forms like linga, vacana, vibhakti, pratyaya, visheshana-visheshya-sambandha, etc., about the sentence, its vacya, karaka, verbal declensions etc. alone will give you command over the language. Memorising would also help. First practice basic language skills, secondly learn basic Vyakarana and study Kavya, then Laghu Siddhanta Kaumudi and so on. Then you may start your journey with the study of a Shastra. Listen Samskrit, speak Samskrit, read Samskrit and write Samskrit. Don’t run after the translation of each and every word but rather try to understand and think in Samskrit. Understanding 6 Karakas, 6 Karaka Vibhaktis, Shashthi Vibhakti and all the Upapada Vibhaktis is very important to construct faultless and good sentences in Samskrit.

Repeated and continuous listening to GOOD Samskrit is very much essential for acquiring GOOD language. Download good Samskrit speeches from YouTube or articles and stories from www.sambhashanasandesha.com, record the audio while you read them out loudly and later keep listening to the audios again and again with full attention to the words and sentence structures used.

I would advise children and teenagers to memorise Subhashitas, Stotras, Shabdarupani, Dhaturupani, Amarakosha, Ashtadhyayi, Bhagavad Gita etc. Memorising these will be a great asset throughout one’s life. Adults may read out one of these items loudly every day for a few months.

Sambhashanam is the beginning and also the instrument to attain the Shastrajnanam. Kavyadhyayanam with the application of Vyakaranam will give you good proficiency in Samskrit. Language is for using and not for only understanding. Hence use it.
After mastering basic Samskrit language skills, the second most important skill you need to acquire is making Anvaya of a Sloka which you can learn through the practice of Akanksha Paddhati.

There are several dimensions and levels of learning Samskrit like Sarala-Manaka-Samskritam for all modes of communication and education, Vishishtoddesha-Samskritam - Samskrit for Specific Purpose like Ayurveda, Yoga etc, Praudha-Kavya-Samskritam for reading the literature and for literary appreciation, Nyayabhasha-Samskritam for Shastradhyayanam and Shastra-goshthi, Vaidika-Samskritam for Vedadhyanam, etc. However, Sarala Manaka Samskritam (Simple Standard Samskritam) is the stepping stone and entry gate to all other forms and levels of Samskrit learning.

A scholar who can explain with Sutras how a given Samskrit word is derived is called “Vyutpanna”. Every student of Samskrit language aspires to be a Vyutpanna in his/her life time. Would you like to be one?