Which is most useful when studying a new language, books, movies, or music?

[SamClemensMT]

I think that reading is the foundation for studying any language, although, music and film stimulate other areas of your mind giving a solid assist to the language learning process.  What do you think?  Am I overlooking any other form of media that can be exploited in learning a new language?

[takibari]

I think that reading is the foundation for studying any language, although, music and film stimulate other areas of your mind giving a solid assist to the language learning process.  What do you think?  Am I overlooking any other form of media that can be exploited in learning a new language?

I believe these media and all others (social media, language learning apps) do indeed provide great assistance in the language learning process. I also agree that reading is the foundation for studying any language. But that's just it - a person wanting to learn a new language should not limit itself to just reading. One can devour all books he wants, but must not forget that 'language' is a tool for communication and that communication is a two-way process. As it is a two-way process, one must test or at least practice what he's learning from the books from going out of his way to engage another individual. The language must force himself to interact with people in order for him to cement his learning and eventually acquire fluency.

[Baburra]

It's hard to tell because we all grow up with all these so it's hard to isolate which one contributes the most. If I had to guess, though, I'd say that television shows and movies contribute the most to learning a language because if you watch enough shows throughout the day and it's what you watch when you go to the movies you're bound to learn the language one way or another. This is probably why lots of kids learn language through shows even before they start reading or listening to their own music.

[Verba]

I do think it depends on what type of learner a person is. I personally would go for books because I can relate more with text that I read. I can easily go back to a text I'm having a hard time understanding without having to pause and rewind.  Watching for me is all right but it will take some time for me to process what is being communicated. Audio, especially when the language used is unfamiliar or still strange to me, will not be too understandable. But this comes a second best to me in learning a language.