The argument against needing to learn vocabulary seems to ignore the problem of understanding native speakers who are talking to you. I can certainly say a lot

The argument against needing to learn vocabulary seems to ignore the problem of understanding native speakers who are talking to you. I can certainly say a lot of things with some creative use of a small vocab, but I won't have a clue what people are saying to me. More generally, I think language learning can be a bit like dieting, in that there are a lot of complicated individual factors, and the method that works for a given person is the one that motivates them and that they actually persist with.