What is, for you, the most efficient way to learn a new language ?

[Permidian]

Personally online tutorials and learning the way it's typically done in schools is of not much help to me. I always did very poorly at languages learning way back when I was still in school, but very good at it when doing it my own way.

For me, past the basic vocabulary learning, what's most efficient is simply interacting with people online in the language I'm trying to learn. Be it on forums, chat rooms, an online game or Skype (I suppose it would be even better if you could live for a while in a country where they speak the language you're trying to learn, but not everyone can afford that), and reading books / articles that interest me and simply look it up online when I come across a word or expression I'm unfamiliar with. At least this is how I went from hardly understanding anything in English and badly failing at it in school to becoming completely fluent in the language within a relatively short period of time.

So, what works best for you ?

[mareebaybay]

The most efficient way for me to learn a language, is with the help of someone who speaks that language fluently. I have a hard time learning a language by myself, but with some assistance it is made easy.

[Permidian]

The most efficient way for me to learn a language, is with the help of someone who speaks that language fluently. I have a hard time learning a language by myself, but with some assistance it is made easy.

That is very true, having someone whom you can speak the language with helps a lot indeed.

Early this year I tried learning Cantonese; having my now ex girlfriend (She's Chinese) to speak it with helped a lot and I learned more and more efficiently than I probably would have without her.

Admittedly though, I still gave up with it despite having her to help me as I found it hard if not impossible for me to get the language's pronunciation consistently correct.

[ChrisUren]

I find listening to the language a much easier way to learn, some people prefer to read and copy but for me, listening to it and then repeating it is always easier.

[Baburra]

I think conversation or immersion is the most efficient way to learn a language. There's no better way to more naturally pick up the language, including the accent and the correct pronunciations, in my opinion. And I think your brain just works a little bit differently when you absolutely have no other choice.

[Rosa]

The most effective way, to me, for effectively learning a language is by immersion. I have proven it but personally I don't think it would be enough for me. I would very much prefer a classroom setting, where the teacher completely knows my native language and I have other class mates around to share ideas and we could assist one another through difficulties.

[healthandfitness]

I feel that a wonderful way to learn a new language is to think in that language, and speak daily (or chat online) with people that are native to that language. I have helped others that speak other languages speak English, by talking, chatting and talking on Skype. It is the repetitive approach that works best, IMHO.

[Canadien]

I think one of the most effective ways is simply, as others have mentioned, complete immersion in the language. Being constantly surrounded by the language and being forced to use it in order to interact with others is the quickest way to learn a new language. However, for most people this is simply not feasible all the time. You can't drop everything, spend loads of money, and go live in Paris for a month.

For those who aren't able to be immersed in the language, I think it's a big combination of online tutorials, conversing with others (online through Skype, games, forums, etc), and rigorous self study (memorizing verbs, conjugations, tenses). Daily repetition of the above routine also enables one to learn a language from home, without having to travel to another country.

With that said, everyone learns differently and everyone has their own method tailored to themselves. Learning a language takes work, but it's very rewarding!

[Gelsemium]

The most effective way to learn a new language is to be living in a country where that language is spoken an having a private teacher and dedicating at least 8 hours per day to it's study. I can't imagine a better way to do it.

[SpringBreeze]

I think cultural immersion is the best and quickest way to learn another language. And the best type of cultural immersion would be living in a country where the main language is the language you are study as well as attending some sort of educational program.

Reasons why this is best...

1. You are forced to speak the language continuously in many different situations.

2. You are forced to hear the language all day.

3. Along with learning the colloquial form of the language on the streets, you will also learn the formal form in a class and practice proper grammar and sentence formation. This is necessary for writing and employment.

[AmYy]

First of all, if you want to be really fluent in a foreign language, you can't leave the books aside. You must find a good book that will help you understand the basic concepts of the grammar, which includes constructions of the sentences, tenses, some basic rules etc. When you get to know it, then you can start to learn by communicating with other people, especially native speakers. It doesn't have to be strictly face to face, you can use lots of internet sites which can help you a lot as well. At least that's what I do when I want to learn a new foreign language.

[Trellum]

For me the most efficient way to learn English was by simply using it as much as I could.  I know I have said this before maaaaaaaaaaaany times, but I have to do it again, lol!  Ah well...  I learnt English all on my own when I was 16 years old, no previous knowledge or anything like that.

I learn it by just sitting on a yahoo chat room and pay attention to the things the people there wrote or said on the mic.  Yup, it really was as simple as that.  I know this isn't the way to go for most people, but it was for me.  I learnt it (I believe) mostly because I got a real curiosity and interest (almost without knowing it) in the language, so much I kept doing what I did everyday.  I then started participating in the chat, then got myself a few pen pals...

[skywatcher]

A combination of a lot of things, really. But for me, the most efficient way of learning a language is to expose myself to the language - literature, film, and all that.

I want to learn how to speak Japanese (the writing seems to be a bit harder, haha), so I expose myself to JDrama, tokusatsu and anime. While it's been years since I've been watching those things, and it's been recently that I'm starting to get about 10% of what I'm hearing, it's been very helpful for me.

Watching these things made me notice certain trends and patterns when Japanese is being spoken, the subtle changes in the words being spoken when certain "forms" of the words are being used, and all that. I mean, while a tutorial book is useful when learning the language, it gets more interesting when you're actually listening and watching people using the language in order to react to some situations. It's like, as much as they're not teaching the language in the series, they're absorbing you into their environment - they need the language to survive and covey their feelings, so you'd really learn the language while feeling them.