Reddit reviews The Practical Talmud Dictionary (English and Hebrew Edition)

This is hard to answer. Most scholars would say that you need to have training in how to learn the Talmud before you can competently study it by yourself.

Having said that, get a copy of Frank's Practical Talmud Dictionary and Jastrow's dictionary. Memorize nearly all of the terms in the Practical Talmud Dictionary — not just the translation, but the meaning and implications of that meaning on the flow of the Talmud's argument.

When learning Talmud, start with focusing on the structure or flow of the argument. The Ramchal talks about 7 basic agenda's that you will find in the Talmud:

1 - Statement
2 - Question
3 - Response
4 - Problem
5 - Resolution
6 - Proof
7 - Refutation

Break the text into parts and find which of the seven each part is.

For more information, see the beginning of my book on the topic.

You can also join my chaburah (learning group) online here.

If you want more information, you can PM me for my contact info.

You can always join some local classes, so look at your local synagogue and see if they have any Talmud classes for beginners (in my experience, this is extremely rare at Chabad. It's more common at other Orthodox synagogues).

However, learning Talmud is more of a skill set that requires a lot of specialized vocabulary. If you're interested in it, you can teach yourself quite a bit with enough dedication and the right books, e.g. Steinsaltz's Reference Guide, Frank's Practical Dictionary & Jastrow's Dictionary, but if it's something you seriously want to develop, it's best to go to a program which has the goal of giving you Jewish textual literacy.