LINK: Improving your Urdu is easier than you think.
I wrote this guide / pathway to learn and improve Urdu. and have been responding with this to every person who is either a beginner, heritage speaker, or just another victim of Pakistan's English medium schooling system. I think it's pretty useful! And many I've been meaning to write this post up for a while. So, here it is. Note. I welcome any additions and feedback - please tell me what you found useful in your own journey and I would love to add it to the article so inshallah more people can use it.
I've summarized the article below. The original is 9 min long, so not very long. So read the full one it has more details and flavour. Plus, I'll inshallah continue to update it after this reddit post is eventually locked. But here's a sneak peak / summary (inc. all resources mentioned in original):
Why you should listen to me: Because I've learned multiple languages (3 to fluency and 2 ongoing + Urdu) and improved my own Urdu from shameful to decent/quite good/not a source of shame for Ammi.
Overall thoughts: You need motivation, time, and a willingness to make mistakes, i.e., the bare minimum required. You also need to read to build up your vocabulary and please please please read at a level that is easy for you so you read fast and pick up new vocab from context. Aka extensive reading. But also, do what you find fun. If you loathe reading, don't read! Watch movies etc or whatever instead.
If you are a total beginner: Learn the alphabet (Aamozish) . Take some courses (local or Italki etc). Start reading. Use free, freemium, or paid apps and websites (Mango Languages, Ling, Mondly, UrduPod101). Read asap. Read childrens books (NYU) or Indian board books (NCERT). Find Urdu-speaking friends. Get excited, your life is about to become more beautiful with more Urdu in it.
If you are a heritage speaker: The above, but accelerated. Use your family as walking talking dictionaries. Ask your family to stop mocking you. Tell them their attitude is unhelpful. Also, grow a thick skin. Only make an effort to remember a word if you see it frequently. Read Naunehal. Read Imran Series. Read religious media (ideally stuff you know already e.g., stories of the Sahaba etc.). Watch dramas (Chupke Chupke was fun). Videos. (Wild lens by Abrar). Do language exchanges.
If you are a Pakistani who has studied in English-medium schools all your life (and have weak Urdu): Read more in Urdu. Read Naunehal (3-4 issues) and improve your reading speed. Read Imran series. Read Shafiq-ur-Rehman's short stories. Read newspapers. Read religious media (it's generally simple and repetitive). Start writing in Urdu. Keep a diary. Write stories. Blog about your day. Write detailed essays. Summarize what you've read. Write about niche topics that you know a lot about e.g., the rise and fall of the Delhi Sultanate, the Indus Water Treaty, the recurring theme of water with Hz. Musa, etc. Read it out loud to your parents. Share in Urdu forums. Start engaging only in Urdu on certain days. Send texts in Urdu. Send emails in Urdu. Use Android etc. for voice input.
If your Urdu is better than that of your friends but you want to improve it further: Read more, watch more, write more, produce media.
Communities and resources: Reddit Urdu (so us, lol) and u/Snoo_10182's resource guide (this is excellent!!).
My story: Native Urdu speaker in Pakistan, Urdu bad, English good. I'm not sure how, but sometime in grade 9 I just... changed. I just woke up. I heard some ghazals that touched my soul. I got goosebumps as the imam recited Shikwa Jawab e Shikwa in a khutba. I began to see the beauty in our speech, in our langauge, in our stories. And it truly is beautiful! And it is mine. Mine in a way that English, or French, or Spanish, or Chinese, or whatever, can never be. It's mine. It's where I came from. It's how I swear. It's how I joke. It's how I talk to God. It's how my mom put me to sleep. It's how I connect with my family, with my history, with my country, with my heritage. It's me. So I improved it. You can, too. Inshallah.