I learned Italian to the almost fluent level. I can conduct business and get through complex negotiations. I learned a little Spanish before having to switch to

I learned Italian to the almost fluent level. I can conduct business and get through complex negotiations. I learned a little Spanish before having to switch to Portuguese for business reasons, and I'm now advanced beginner in PT after a few months. I have also learned a little Mandarin. How long before things started clicking? Almost immediately. You recognize what you've recently learned from your other resources and you get to hear different pronunciations, accents, and even slurring. But to learn new things from context takes longer. It's very hard to say. I'm not keeping track of how many times I hear a slang phrase or some other common phrase before it sinks in. I would guess hundreds of times. But that's why this method works so well. The most common phrases and words will be repeated over and over even in one movie. So you are automatically getting more exposure to the most common words.