Learn a Language: Strategies
Learning a language is a process that can take different forms for different people. The truth is that, although constant research into teaching and learning techniques has given us plenty of room to improve, there is not one right way to learn a language but several methods or approaches that can work equally as well. From the several strategies that you can use to learn a language these are three of the most popular ones.
Naturalistic Acquisition
This one relies on utilizing the same method we used to learn our mother tongue as children. The idea is to pick up the language by immersing yourself head on into the culture and surround yourself with natives so that you need to deal with the language at all times. You can do this in several ways: by reading books, magazines or Internet websites; by watching films or series; by talking to natives in person, on the phone or online; or even by visiting the country where your target language is spoken (by, for instance, going to learn French in France.)
If you are using this strategy, you usually don't worry too much about the language forms used and the focus is on the meaning of the words and how they are used in conversation. With enough exposition to the language you can make incredible advances in record time. There are, however, certain drawbacks: if you need or want to be able to write and produce the language in other means or styles than the ones you can be exposed to, you will need to find a way to practice them or be exposed to them as well.
Tutor Based Learning
The Good Language Learner
- Is willing to guess and has good intuition.
- Is motivated to communicate with others.
- Is not easily inhibited.
- Is ready to pay close attention to forms and styles.
- Practises.
- Keeps a close eye to his own speech and the speech of others.
- Puts and emphasis on meaning.
Probably the method used by most language students is learning with the help of a tutor or teacher. The tutor makes sure to break down the language learning experience into manageable chunks and can thoroughly explain all the complicated parts of the language as well as give you accurate corrections. Using this method you make sure to have a structured approach to the language which will save you many hours of planning and makes sure you don't miss out on any parts of it because you are not able to expose yourself to them.
Of course, not everyone has pleasant experiences learning inside a classroom or with a teacher. Some people even like to combine the tutor based learning and the naturalistic method and decide to study at a language school or at a university that offers courses for foreigners in a country where the target language is widely spoken. Nowadays there are a lot of offers for foreigners to travel and learn the language, whether you want to learn English in London or learn French in Paris you are sure to find someone that will accommodate you.
Self Teaching
With the advent of worldwide communications and the ample information that can be distributed digitally, self teaching is nowadays a perfectly accessible way to learn a language. You can learn on your own with books, audio files and movies. Of course, this approach requires certain skills to be present in the student: you will need to be proactive, self motivated and highly disciplined for this method to pay off.
see full comment 
