Most language learners want to become fluent in the target language. The fastest way to reach fluency is by having fun. Learning a new language requires a lot of effort and time, if you don’t enjoy the process there is a great chance that you’ll burn out.
To become fluent you need to learn how to understand and express yourself in the language. And the best way to do it is by exposing yourself to the language and expressing yourself. Studying grammar and memorizing words can help, but are not necessary. For example, how did you learn to speak your native language? You probably listen and then started talking a bit by bit. Learning a language today is in fact not so different and a lot easier. There are mainly 3 methods to learn a language that you can choose from:
Expression-based
This method is for those who wants to achieve a basic level fast or if you want to start talking right away.
You’ll be focusing on writing and talking right from the start. You’ll also spend a lot of time learning grammar and words. This method is the one they’re using at most language courses.
However, this method is best suited for reaching A1 and lower A2. So don’t use it if you want to achieve fluency.
Immersion-based
If you want a really high level or if you have no problem with watching or reading something you don’t understand, then this method is maybe the one.
This method is divided in to two parts. Part 1 is where you want to gain as much intuition as possible. You’ll only be reading or listening to the language. If you want to you can memorize vocabulary and learn some grammar rules, but it’s not necessary. Maybe for the most advanced languages though. This part usually lasts for 9 months or more.
The second part is where you start to express yourself. This part starts when you can understand most of what is being said, or later it’s up to you. You’ll start having conversations, writing and talking to yourself. But you still need to immerse yourself.
This method is the one we used to learn our first language, and is in fact the least time-consuming method if you want to reach a really high level. However, you won’t see a lot of progression in the beginning so if you think you’ll burn out don’t pick this method.
The combination
This method is best if you want to reach fluency fast or if you just want a combination of the two of her methods. This method is divided in to 3 parts. The first part is like the first part in the immersion-based method, but you’ll focus more on learning words. In the second part, you’ll start to learn some grammar and make sentences, but you’ll still be reading or listening to the language. And in the third part, you’ll start having conversations and the things you’ve been doing earlier.
You decide how much time you want to spend at each part. It depends on what you like doing, what language you’re learning, and your goals. Reaching basic fluency would take around 6-12 months if you spend 1 hour every single day.
Find the method for you
The first thing you should take into consideration is your goals and the difficulty of the language. If you just want to reach A1 go for the expression-based method, if you want to reach A2 go for the expression-based method or the combination. For B1 choose the combination and for B2 or higher go for the combination method or the immersion-based method. But it’s a bit different for more difficult languages, for example, if you only know English, Chinese would be a hard language to learn. So the level you’ll reach with each method would be shifted. For example, if you want to reach A2 you should not use the expression-based method, and even A1 would be hard.