Multiple Methods

In recent days, I've touched on Lingq and Assimil, but also on the idea of real language and pretend language and bridging the gap between the two. Looking back, I have a sense that this is always how my language journey has progressed, except that it's not a case of crossing that bridge once but of going along a river between pretend land and real land, crossing the bridge every time the walk gets too easy from the pretend side or too hard from the real side. I've been trying to come up with a way to make some sense of this, or see if there's an underlying method.

So far, alas, the answer is "no". A new language blogger, Frodo Lives, has gathered a few observations of his own. If you're new to the language learning game, have a look for some ideas. The most important bit of advice, in my view, is to use multiple methods. But this is not purely a matter of pedagogy. Using multiple materials or methods doesn't just give you multiple perspectives on the language. It also gives you someplace to turn when things get too easy (boring) or too difficult (frustrating) - gives you bridges to cross - so that you can keep up motivation. And, let's face it, what finally prevents a person from learning a foreign language is not a book, a teacher or the nature of a language but rather the fact of the person stopping before reaching his or her goals.