I've always done best by choosing a project that I'm naturally and personally interested in, and trying to implement it in that language. Bonus points if the pr

I've always done best by choosing a project that I'm naturally and personally interested in, and trying to implement it in that language. Bonus points if the project is something that takes advantage of what the language is best at, or what the culture focuses on. For instance, I recently wanted to learn Clojure, so I chose a project that involved a lot of multi-threading related to a topic I'm very interested in. It's been about a week, and I feel very comfortable in the language. In the past I've tried learning from books, etc... but when I need to apply the knowledge, I find myself referring back to what I read entirely too much. By having a specific project I'm trying to accomplish, my learning is directed. I'm learning solutions to problems that I already understand and appreciate. This way, you understand a lot more about the reasoning behind the language, and the way it should be applied. By just reading cold, you miss that entire aspect.